The most underrated Gamecock? ESPN weighs in

The South Carolina football team is set to return a few big names for the 2018 season.

Quarterback Jake Bentley is the obvious one, plus wide receiver Deebo Samuel as he returns from the injury that cost him last season. But which player is the most underrated?

The answer according to ESPN, might surprise a few USC fans.

ESPN's experts picked wide receiver Bryan Edwards, a player who has started every game since he's been on campus. He's already plenty known to Gamecocks fans, with 108 receptions for 1,383 yards, but his name might not be quite as out there nationally.

"A lot of people are going to be excited about the return of Deebo Samuel to the Gamecocks' receiver corps, and they should be," Alex Scarborough said. "But don't sleep on Bryan Edwards. He's caught (108) passes and eight touchdowns the past two seasons, after all."

Edwards, a four-star recruit out of Conway who committed to Steve Spurrier, decommitted after he left and recommitted to Will Muschamp's staff, has caught a pass in every game of his USC career.

From the local level, Edwards is probably too well-known to be underrated, but a few other Gamecocks might qualify:

▪ Defensive back Steven Montac: He was a late add before camp in 2016 and has been vital in plugging holes anywhere in South Carolina's secondary. Muschamp said Montac the only safety he fully trusts going into next season.

▪ Linebacker Bryson Allen-Williams: He missed most of last season with a shoulder injury, but Allen-Williams blossomed from a blue chip recruit whose career started slowly into a versatile and reliable player at a variety of spots.

▪ Defensive lineman Keir Thomas: He's not posting gaudy numbers, but the South Florida product has bounced between end and tackle. He took a starting job last season and will be an undersized anchor at tackle this season.

▪ Offensive lineman Donell Stanley: He was an understatedly solid guard through all of last season, a bright spot in an interior line that struggled much of last season. He'll move over to center next season.

▪ Tight end Jacob August: Hayden Hurst rightly got all the headlines, but the staff seemed to trust August in a lot of spots. He played more than 40 percent of USC's snaps last season and was the top blocking tight end the team had.

This story was originally published June 28, 2018 at 10:37 AM.