WR Bryan Edwards impressing USC defenders, snags more big catches
South Carolina freshman wide receiver Bryan Edwards hasn’t disappointed when his team opened practice to the public the past few days.
Even the guys trying to cover him are giving him his due.
“I like Bryan Edwards,” sophomore cornerback Rashad Fenton said. “Great at attacking the ball, not gonna lie.”
A day after a leaping one-handed grab in the corner of the end zone captivated fans, he again drew cheers Tuesday. The Conway High product had one nice score in red zone work, badly shaking off cornerback Chris Lammons, and later raced past Steven Montac on a go route.
Fenton handed out praise to a few other receivers, saying he liked how freshman wide receiver Randrecous Davis has looked and calling Deebo Samuel the hardest receiver on the team to cover on fades.
New spot, no rest
Javon Charleston guessed he’d get about a week of mental work after getting switched from wide receiver to defensive back. Instead he got thrown a heavy workload on the field.
“I didn’t know I would get many reps,” Charleston said. “They’re just trying to throw me out there fast so I can get mental reps of actually what’s on the field.”
He has mostly worked with the third unit, but that still says something considering he had not played defense since middle school.
He joked about getting excited to square someone up and accidentally lining up at receiver in 1-on-1 drills. He pointed out there were only four safeties on the roster, so the staff might need to move more guys there. His knowledge of that spot could help him out in his new one.
He was only told about the position change three days ago, and he said he’s still making the mental adjustments.
“Very strange,” said Charleston, who is now wearing No. 12. “Lining up against them when I’m usually helping them, critiquing them on how to get open. Now I’m trying to figure out how they’re working against me.”
High-five
The Gamecocks added a new look to their defense Tuesday: the cinco package.
That group in the 3-3-5 formation (five DBs) has Bryson Allen-Williams lined up at Buck, often standing up. Coaches have been effuse with praise for his versatility and ceiling all offseason, but he’s spent most of August at inside linebacker.
“We started off in that today,” Allen-Williams said of the new role. “It was fun to get back out there playing Buck. Coach is not trying to put too much on me.”
Next
The Gamecocks will return to Williams-Brice Stadium for Wednesday’s final open practice of the preseason. That practice begins at 6:30 p.m. Free parking is located in Quad 1 of Gamecock Park (turn at the light by the old Bojangles’ site). Fans can sit in sections 1-9 on the lower west side of the stadium, which will open at 6 p.m.
This story was originally published August 16, 2016 at 10:11 PM with the headline "WR Bryan Edwards impressing USC defenders, snags more big catches."