USC’s Hutcherson has high ceiling at tackle, now has to reach it
South Carolina offensive lineman Sadarius Hutcherson spent the past year transforming his body in a massive way and getting a crash course in a position he hadn’t played much.
But it was apparent to his teammates why coaches wanted to see him through the process.
“When he first came in, he’d played defensive end,” offensive lineman Zack Bailey said. “He didn’t know anything he was doing, but he could shoot off the ball. Put him on a board drill, he was going to run someone over.”
The hope was he could run someone over and protect a quarterback’s blind side on the offensive line. It appears that will come sooner rather than later, as the Tennessee product is the team’s No. 2 left tackle this spring and pushing Malik Young for the top spot.
It’s a big step for someone who’d hardly played the position and certainly wasn’t built for it.
“Last year at this time, I was around 225, 230,” Hutcherson said. “So I took a lot of time in the weight room getting bigger, stronger, more explosive for myself. Right now, I’m staying at 310.
“I feel stronger and more powerful.”
He was a defensive end through high school, playing some fullback and offensive tackle as a senior. But even then, he admitted the offense didn’t have him pass block.
Hutcherson said the Gamecocks coaches first came to him during winter workouts, suggesting he might have a chance at a starting role. But teammates, such as Taylor Stallworth, expected it since before the Birmingham Bowl.
Hutcherson had to speed through picking up the nuances of offensive line play in less than a year, and it’s still something he’s working through.
“It’s been a hard process because last year, when I arrived here, and when I enrolled, I didn’t know how to pass block,” Hutcherson said. “I really didn’t know what a pass block was until coach (Shawn) Elliott taught me before he left.”
It hasn’t helped that the team is on its third line coach in the past four months, as Elliott went to Georgia State, gave way to interim coach John Latina and now Eric Wolford.
His ascent shows something about what this staff wants from the position and its current state. Both Hutcherson and Young share a level of athleticism that could allow them to make up for some issues in technique, but both are on the raw side.
How much Hutcherson can change that will determine his role. For now, he’s a 6-foot-5, 310-pound lineman with a high athletic ceiling who can bench press 500 pounds. There are worse places to work from.
“He’s strong as an ox, and plays really hard,” Bailey said. “He’s just waiting for the day to click. It’s all gonna click one day.”
This story was originally published March 24, 2017 at 6:11 PM with the headline "USC’s Hutcherson has high ceiling at tackle, now has to reach it."