Will Muschamp addresses USC roster departures

The South Carolina football team saw seven players decide to leave the team this offseason, most with eyes on transferring.

Gamecocks coach Will Muschamp addressed the run of roster departures Wednesday morning in a radio interview with Teddy Heffner and Rick Sanford on WGCV.

“Any time there’s a coaching change, attrition happens,” Muschamp said. “That’s part of it. Generally when a guy transfers, it’s not his choice or he’s not playing. That’s what happens, let’s be honest.

“A guy’s not playing and wants another opportunity or feels like he’s not getting a fair shake where he is.”

The topic of player movement and transfers has become more prevalent in recent years, though it’s not clear if more players are moving or there’s more vigilance about the moves. Some attrition is normal, and Steve Spurrier’s later teams usually lost between 5-10 players each offseason.

This offseason, USC has lost defensive lineman Boosie Whitlow, quarterback Lorenzo Nunez, running back David Williams (who landed at UConn), defensive back Jasper Sasser, wide receiver Jamari Smith and linebackers Jalen Dread and Sherrod Pittman.

The Gamecocks also lost a smattering of transfers during Muschamp’s first offseason, including wide receivers Shaq Davidson and D.J. Neal, defensive lineman David Johnson and defensive back Al Harris (cornerback Rico McWilliams left the team in fall camp).

Muschamp pointed out while most of the departures come from wanting playing time, that starts somewhere else.

“At the end of the day, we base everything on practice on production and how you perform and prepare yourself,” Muschamp said. “If they’re not practicing very good, they’re not going to play for us.”

This story was originally published February 8, 2017 at 2:50 PM with the headline "Will Muschamp addresses USC roster departures."