Real work begins for Gamecocks as spring practice wraps up

It wasn’t anything spectacular to wow the fans, and it wasn’t players out there just goofing around.

It was exactly what Will Muschamp said it would be – constant competition on every snap for a South Carolina team that will remain a gigantic question mark until the ball is kicked off Sept. 1.

The final score – Black 35, Garnet 14 – was irrelevant since it was mostly offense vs. defense, and the day’s main objective was to give Muschamp and his staff a starting point for who will take the field in September. The Garnet and Black Game ended 15 sessions of spring ball and as expected, Muschamp wasn’t going to declare any locked-up decisions afterward.

So he said what he could, which was the same as he said at the beginning of spring practice – there’s a lot of work to do.

“We got a critical time starting from here to Aug. 1,” said Muschamp, pointing out that while coaches can’t work with players on the field, there’s no rule prohibiting the players from working with each other. “Our guys have got to take ownership in that. You can make a tremendous amount of improvement in your football team, offensively and defensively, during this time, and I think we have the leadership and the maturity to handle that.”

Muschamp’s offense stands to be as conservative as it was at Florida, although this will be by necessity instead of choice. The Gamecocks simply don’t have a lot of talent at key positions, and while Brandon McIlwain took the ball first and had the best numbers of any quarterback (19-of-26 for 169 yards and two touchdowns), the competition will continue into fall.

The Gamecocks threw for 437 yards, many on completions designed for the edges to take advantage of their tight ends and new slot receiver Jamari Smith. Their downfield throws weren’t a factor until the reserve defenders entered, with Connor Mitch overthrowing several open receivers.

The running game was a non-factor, USC mustering a mere 144 yards on 48 carries. Rod Talley led the way with 34 yards on five attempts. Presumed starter David Williams had six rushes for 6 yards.

While the defense looked much more aggressive, swarming to the ball and getting a few breakups, Muschamp has cautioned since spring ball began that the secondary is simply not ready for the season. Senior Chris Moody said the secondary takes it personally and has improved, but the real work comes this summer.

“The second scrimmage, they beat our butt,” he said. “We’ve just got to get consistent, find a couple of guys that can play, keep our spirits up. It’s going to take a long time, but we got time.”

McIlwain stood out, making good decisions and showing off his wheels with one 18-yard touchdown run, which was allowed to stand as the defense turned down a holding penalty that would have negated it. He also tossed a pair of touchdowns to freshman Bryan Edwards.

McIlwain, nor any other quarterback, was cleared to speak – as they have not been all spring. Muschamp made it clear that everybody will still have a shot in the fall, meaning that freshman Jake Bentley will enroll and compete with McIlwain, Mitch, Michael Scarnecchia, Perry Orth (cleared to resume throwing on June 1) and Lorenzo Nunez.

“Competition is our best friend as coaches, and we got a lot of competition,” Muschamp said. “That’s going to help our football team be better.”

Punter Sean Kelly averaged 48.6 yards on three kicks, with one 59-yarder, and Elliott Fry was 2-for-3 on field goals. Several players had outstanding moments – Boosie Whitlow had two sacks, Sherrod Pittman led the way with seven tackles, Deebo Samuel continues to earn praise as a potential breakout receiver – but nobody was offering too much praise or criticism.

Muschamp knows he didn’t walk into a glamorous situation. He knows there is a lot of repairing to be done to a program that, until last year, had finally seemed to turn the corner and become a consistently good team.

But he was brought in to make it better. The process may be long, but it has begun.

“Every team in the country has concerns,” Muschamp said. “Ours are, number one, we need to find a quarterback. We don’t have much depth as far as playmakers are concerned. On defense, the secondary’s a concern.

“I thought we made a lot of strides.”

This story was originally published April 9, 2016 at 4:54 PM with the headline "Real work begins for Gamecocks as spring practice wraps up."