Where things stand with South Carolina’s kickers

Another game, another not-great day from South Carolina football’s place-kicking game.

There were Parker White’s kicks of 29 and 33 yards against Arkansas on Saturday, one that opened the scoring and another that put the Gamecocks up by double digits. The 49-yard kicks he missed are by no means easy, but considering USC is now 0-of-7 from beyond 33 yards, that’s not good.

But Will Muschamp is still keeping the faith.

“A lot goes into how he’s kicked throughout the week, in pregame, we felt really good about where he was,” Muschamp said. “I’ve got a lot of confidence. I think you’ve got to continue to have a lot of confidence. We’re moving the ball, we’re having opportunities. We’re not finishing some drives like we want to. But when you get in those field goal situations, take a shot and see what a guy can do. He’s got the leg. He’s got the leg strength and all that.”

It seemed as if White had turned a corner by bouncing back to hit a game-winner against Louisiana Tech. But he missed from 46 against Texas A&M and twice against the Razorbacks.

And there’s the quirk that leg strength is his strength, but longer kicks have been more of an issue.

Jake Bentley suggested it might be a case of White letting the outside noise seep in. The quarterback said he’s reminding the kicker the team is behind him, and that’s what matters.

“He made some (kicks), and that’s the biggest thing I’m going to focus on with him,” Bentley said. “The ones you make. You don’t want to dwell on the ones you miss. That’s the big thing I’ve been talking to him about.”

USC expected to have a relatively seamless transition from all-time top scorer Elliott Fry to Alex Woznick. But Woznick struggled early and White took over. He’s hit 36.4 percent of his kicks.

But his coach thinks there’s time to turn it around.

“It’s a long season,” Muschamp said. “We’re going to need him to make some kicks for us.”

This story was originally published October 9, 2017 at 11:24 AM.