Tyshawn Wannamaker probably knew the question was coming before he walked into South Carolina\u2019s media room. But he couldn\u2019t help but smile.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was a question about graduate transfer Nick Gargiulo. And Wannamaker gushed about the leadership ability of the offensive lineman born and bred in the Ivy League.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNick is a proven, born leader. He comes in and brings the energy every day,\u201d Wannamaker said. \u201cHe\u2019s a great guy to be around. There\u2019s something special coming with that one this year.\u201d<\/p>\n
[VIP Tickets now available: Gamecock Central Kickoff Party 2023!]<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Gargiulo came in this January just another piece of the Gamecocks\u2019 transfer portal class.<\/p>\n The plan was for him to contribute in some way, shape or form but he\u2019s vastly surpassed the minimum expectations for him.\u00a0<\/p>\n Not only is he an almost guaranteed starter heading into the season, he\u2019s become the lynchpin of this group up front.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cNick Gargiulo is the heart and soul of our offensive line when it comes to the nitty gritty, when it comes to leadership and when it comes to bringing all of us together,\u201d Sidney Fugar. \u201cWe all count on Nick. So Nick Gargiulo took a big step and got to be the guy here.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n It was a challenge for Gargiulo to come in and chisel out a role on the field and as a leader, but he did it relatively quickly.\u00a0<\/p>\n [Enter to win two FREE season tickets to football, MBB, WBB, and baseball from 107.5 The Game!]<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n A captain during his time at Yale, he knows what it\u2019s like to lead and has slid in almost effortlessly as an older, vocal guy in a room chock full of older players.<\/p>\n And Gargiulo\u2013who famously ate a then record-breaking 10 burgers in one sitting at a local Five Points establishment\u2013has a way of connecting with players and fitting into a system.<\/p>\n \u201cFirst and foremost you have to earn the trust and respect of the guys. Initially, I came in here and wanted to prove to them that I was going to be a contributing member of the room in all facets. I was going to abide by the standards we operate within the room and contribute to the culture we have,\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThen you have a good group of leaders at the top with Vershon Lee and Jakai Moore and Tyshawn. When those guys take a step up and take leadership roles as well, it\u2019s relatively easy.\u201d<\/p>\n [Garnet Trust: \u201cWe Can Build Champions!\u201d]<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n Gargiulo is going to be a massive piece for South Carolina on the field, too. He\u2019s look at as one of the Gamecocks\u2019 starting guards entering the season.<\/p>\n And he\u2019s living up to the billing in preseason camp.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cOn the field, he turns into a beast; pancaking dudes and dumping guys,\u201d Spencer Rattler said. \u201cHe\u2019s the full package you want for an O-lineman\u2026He\u2019s a great strength up front for us.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The post Nick Gargiulo the \u2018heart and soul\u2019 of offensive line<\/a> appeared first on On3<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Tyshawn Wannamaker probably knew the question was coming before he walked into South Carolina\u2019s media…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14115","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14115","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14115"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14115\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14115"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14115"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14115"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Discuss South Carolina football on The Insiders Forum!<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n