Muschamp dishes on Edwards, Georgia, opener vs. CCU in Myrtle Beach visit
Conway High graduate Bryan Edwards won South Carolina’s Steve Spurrier Offensive MVP Award last season.
He had 64 receptions, 793 receiving yards and five touchdown catches, and led the team in receptions in nine games as a sophomore.
Gamecocks coach Will Muschamp said Wednesday that he believes Edwards may be even better this upcoming season, even with redshirt senior Deebo Samuel returning to the wide receiver corps after being limited to three early-season games by a broken leg.
“Bryan had a huge year for us last year. Obviously when Deebo got hurt he became our No. 1 guy. I think the sky is the limit,” said Muschamp, speaking at the Horry-Georgetown Gamecock Club Spring Meeting at the Crown Reef Resort as part of USC Football’s 2018 Spurs Up Tour.
“He’s a guy that works extremely hard at the game, he is a guy who approaches the game in the right way, but he does that in every form of his life.”
Edwards is a go-get-it, 6-foot-3, 216-pound receiver. He has 108 receptions for 1,383 yards in his 25-game college career, with a catch in every game he has played.
The USC offense should be more potent in 2018 with the return of Samuel and junior quarterback Jake Bentley, who has gone 13-7 while starting the last 20 games, and Edwards should be one of the primary weapons. He’s also someone Muschamp relies upon to lead by example in the program.
“He lives right off the field. He works extremely hard. I’ve seen him change his body in the two years he’s been in Columbia,” Muschamp said. “. . . His parents are great people. I think the world of Bryan Edwards. He’s a guy that goes and competes every single day the way you want him to compete. He represents our university and our program in a first class manner. He’s one of my favorite guys.”
Muschamp said senior Michael Scarnecchia is Bentley’s primary backup, and freshman Dakereon Joyner of Fort Dorchester High in North Charleston “did some really nice things in the spring. We’ll see how he progresses through the summer and how he gets into fall camp and how he can continue to help our football team.”
In addition to Edwards, the Gamecocks have two other players on the roster from the Grand Strand in Myrtle Beach linebacker Sean McGonigal, who is listed at 6-foot-1 and 220 pounds, and Aynor tight end Caleb Jenerette, who is listed at 6-2 and 233. Both walk-ons will be redshirt freshmen.
“Both of those guys have got to make their name on special teams,” said Muschamp, who was a walk-on at Georgia who earned a scholarship by the spring of his redshirt freshman season and was eventually named co-captain as a senior safety. “Both guys work extremely hard. They come in every single day and work extremely hard. I was a walk-on so I understand exactly what they go through.”
Muschamp cited Javon Charleston, Hayden Hurst and Jacob August as walk-ons who have been granted scholarships in his two seasons. “Both of those guys need to make their name on special teams and we’ll go from there,” he said.
Muschamp took over the Gamecocks following a 3-9 season in 2015 and has gone 6-7 and 9-4 in the past two years, capping last season with a win over Michigan in the Outback Bowl on New Year’s Day.
The Gamecocks open with Coastal Carolina in 2018, and CCU returns to Williams-Brice Stadium in 2020 for the second game of a two-game agreement.
The Gamecocks began 2016 and 2017 with two away games to start each season. They faced N.C. State in Charlotte followed by a road game at Missouri last season, and traveled to Vanderbilt and Mississippi State to begin 2016.
“I’m glad we’re at home for the first time in my coaching career at Carolina,” Muschamp said.
The Coastal game is followed by a home game against Georgia, the national runner-up and reigning SEC overall and East Division champion. Muschamp is a 1994 Georgia graduate.
He was asked if he would have any practices open to the public in the preseason.
“I don’t know about the folks in [Myrtle Beach], but I know some of the folks we play in Week 2. Do you trust them?” Muschamp asked.
This story was originally published April 26, 2018 at 9:51 AM with the headline "Muschamp dishes on Edwards, Georgia, opener vs. CCU in Myrtle Beach visit."