What to take from South Carolina’s newest depth chart

South Carolina released its pre-camp depth chart, and based on the way Will Muschamp plays things close to the vest, there might not be many of these coming. Here’s a few things to take away from this one.

No new faces

There isn’t a name on the list who wasn’t present at spring practice. This makes sense, since none of the new guys have been on a field working with coaches in a practice setting. But you can bet it won’t take much time once camp starts for newcomers to start filtering in.

The depth chart notably includes Kobe Smith listed as a backup at both defensive tackle spots and walk-on former receiver Javon Charleston listed as a second-string safety. With junior college tackle Javon Kinlaw, early enrollee M.J. Webb and a slew of young defensive backs coming in, those situations will likely change.

Line questions

The offensive line looked about the same as it did in the spring game, but there’s some intrigue there.

Malik Young is listed as the No. 1 left tackle with Sadarius Hutcherson behind him. Hutcherson is younger, more raw and didn’t start half a season last year, but his ceiling in terms of strength and quickness is high. Both he and Young are in similar molds, athletic and working on the finer points, and progress on the development curve could decide the job.

Zack Bailey is still at right tackle, though Blake Camper could push him after an injury-marred sophomore year. The interior line has a veteran pair in Alan Knott and Cory Helms, and Donell Stanley is still ahead of versatile reserve D.J. Park.

If Camper were to take a step forward, Bailey could be a candidate to return to guard, perhaps shuffling the inside pieces.

Elder statesman

Terry Googer made a first-team appearance after seeing his playing time dwindle through the second half of last season as Deebo Samuel and Bryan Edwards got healthy. Him being listed high might represent a readiness to contribute, but there’s also a strong chance it’s a nod to his seniority and place as a good program guy.

Googer is a senior presence in the receiver room, where nine of 13 players has one or fewer full years with the program. Googer and Deebo Samuel each have three, and Googer has been active promoting the team and recruiting on social media (he’s also one of the best hosts for visits on the roster).

That’s not to say a player with the size (6-foot-4, 220 pounds) and speed can’t make a leap late, but he didn’t make an impact when thrust into a prominent role last season.

Chris’ place

Chris Lammons opened up listed as the team’s top nickelback, with Jamarcus King and Rashad Fenton as the top corners. This doesn’t so much imply a pecking order as a reality of the modern game.

South Carolina faced several wide-open spreads coming down the stretch last season, and Lammons often played nearly every snap at nickel. If there’s more depth and more options, the staff would like a rotation at corner, forcing players to compete for snaps, but that just wasn’t an option without reinforcements.

Against non-spread team, Lammons likely rotates in on the outside.

Newbies

The only two true freshmen listed were receiver OrTre Smith and safety Jaylin Dickerson. Both impressed the staff in the spring.

Into the Wilder

Former nickel Antoine Wilder is now listed as a reserve linebacker behind Bryson Allen-Williams at the strongside spot. It remains to be seen how much this is a tangible change and how much is cosmetic and behind the scenes, as last season he played nickel in run situations, acting as a hybrid of sorts (nickels replace strongside linebackers).

T.J. Brunson is the listed starting middle linebacker, but don’t be surprised if he, Allen Williams and Skai Moore take the lion’s share of the work in the middle and at weakside.

Bucking the trend

D.J. Wonnum was an easy fit at No. 1 Buck, but Daniel Fennell was more interesting. He got a lot of hype last season, but Darius English and Wonnum ultimately took nearly all the snaps there. Fennell has some size at 6-foot-3, 244-pounds, but he didn’t play in the final seven games last season.

Freshman Brad Johnson has gotten bigger over the summer and might have some impact at the position.

This story was originally published July 10, 2017 at 12:55 PM.