Working hard was an issue, his coaches say. Now he's set to start for the Gamecocks
South Carolina offensive line coach Eric Wolford didn’t sugarcoat things when talking about Blake Camper.
The 6-foot-8, 311-pound tackle is in line to start on the right side next season, and he proved to be a useful backup last season. But early in his career, he held himself back.
“Blake’s a guy that came here, and I think by his own admission would tell you that he didn’t work hard,” Wolford said, ”that he didn’t do what he needed to do as far as investing in the weight room. I think he was more of a guy that just came in and did what was asked, maybe, and kind of went on his way.”
Coaches will forgive a lot if a player is working hard, approaching things in a manner they approve of. Sometimes, a player is talented or experienced enough to play regardless, but often, that’s not the case.
So what changed?
“This offseason, he’s been in the weight room every day, on his own, every Saturday, every Sunday, doing the things he needed to do,” Wolford said. “Thus, you see him much better.”
Camper’s career has reflected, in some ways, the ups and downs of the program around him. He came to USC a big prospect out of Virginia, and he got work early, starting a game when Mason Zandi got hurt.
He started one game and got some time as a sophomore reserve, but also missed time with an ankle injury and played sparingly after returning. His presence wasn’t enough to keep Zack Bailey from moving to right tackle last season, though he stepped in when USC’s line was decimated by injuries and earned praise from the coaches. (He also started the bowl in place of a banged up Bailey and got replaced after two series.)
With Bailey moving back inside, he’s the top option at right tackle. Former starter Malik Young was briefly moved to defense before getting hurt. The tackles with the second team in spring ball were early enrollee Maxwell Iyama and redshirt freshman Eric Douglas, who could end up anywhere on the line.
USC’s coaches have praised the top unit on the line of Camper, Bailey, Sadarius Hutcherson, Donell Stanley and Dennis Daley, but questioned the depth behind them. That puts a fair amount of faith in the player who might not have worked hard enough in the past, but he’s done enough to earn that trust.
“Camper jumped in last year and played in the Tennessee game, played in the Arkansas game and you would never know that we had three staring O-linemen out,” Wolford said. “That’s a compliment to him.”
This story was originally published April 9, 2018 at 1:07 PM with the headline "Working hard was an issue, his coaches say. Now he's set to start for the Gamecocks."