Three takeaways from Joe DeCamillis’ media availability

1- Competition at placekicker

Following the 2023 season, Mitch Jeter hit the transfer portal leaving a void at placekicker for South Carolina. Spring Valley product Alex Herrera returns for his sixth year with the program and will be looking to earn the starting job after serving as a backup since arriving in 2019. But it hasn’t been the start Herrera envisioned this spring after dealing with a lower body injury.

“Unfortunately for Alex, he ended up getting a little bit of a heel injury right before we started,” said DeCamillis. “He’s been limited in quite a few practices early on. He ended up hitting some balls (on Thursday at practice) which was good to see. It’s been a little bit of a struggle for him so far. But the other guys, I tell you, (William) Joyce has done a good job for us — some of the guys who have been here in the past. We’ve had a good competition so far there so that’s good to see.”

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Joyce walked on with the program out of Spartanburg High School in 2021 as a kicker/punter. Since his arrival, he’s mainly served as a backup punter but has continued to get reps in practice as placekicker.

2- Early plan with Mason Love

Although true freshman Mason Love was rated as the No.1 punter in the 2024 class by the Kohl’s Kicking Camp, which is considered the premier clinic for specialist in the country, he has also shinned as a placekicker. While Love enrolled in South Carolina in January, DeCamillis shared that they’re easing him into the swing of things.

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“I think right now I would view him more as a kickoff man and as a punter… I’m not sure that we want to put him in that position now as a placekicker but we’ll see how it goes during the summer. We want to spoon feed him a little bit and get him going where he’s positive. He’s had a really good spring so far as a punter and a kickoff man.”

Setting ten school records this past season at Park Hill South High School (Riverside, Mo.) including a 57-yard field goal, 16 field goals made in a season, 167 career points, and highest punt average in a career, Love can add some much welcomed competition if called upon.

3- Looking for kickoff, punt returners

The Gamecocks will need to replace their most productive kickoff returners after Xavier Legette and Dakereon Joyner exhausted their remaining eligibility. Additionally, Jalon Kilgore is the only returner who fielded punts last season for USC. Four weeks into spring practices and there’s been a handful of players getting work on both kickoff and punt returns.

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“Vicari (Swain) has been one of those guys that’s been back there on punt return. Gage (Larvadain) has been back there on punt return. We’ve had (Jalon) Kilgore back there on punt return — those are three guys. Kickoff return, all of those same guys. Payton Mangrum has been back there on kickoff returns.”

Two other players who returned kicks last season, that weren’t mentioned, include Juju McDowell and Tyshawn Russell. McDowell is currently sidelined after re-aggravating his collarbone injury he sustained in the fall by falling on it during practice. Russell returned one kick as a true freshman last season for 12 yards.

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