Gamecocks mailbag: Errant throws, kicking woes and anonymous sources
The State Gamecocks writers Josh Kendall and Ben Breiner answer your questions about the football team as the 2018 season closes in. Got a question for our next mailbag? Email statesports@thestate.com.
Out of the South Carolina freshmen, who is most likely to become an all-SEC performer. You can only choose one! From @RubrChickens via Twitter
With the sheer volume of praise coming out for Jaycee Horn, he’s got to be the guy. From the sound of it, he’s been good enough to let other players move around from what looks like a somewhat-thin cornerback spot. He’s got size and talent. It’ll be a hard spot to break through, given the level of depth there in the conference, but there’s no one that 100 percent stands out at the potentially thinner spots (linebacker, tight end, center, wide receiver). — Breiner
Is anyone else a little concerned that our push for tempo is going to lead to errant throws? I love Bentley, but he threw some ducks last year. From @newsense45 via Twitter
Quarterback Jake Bentley’s coaches believe that it will have exactly the opposite effect. Muschamp has said numerous times he believes that playing faster will help Bentley. If Bentley has spent as much time on his footwork during the offseason as he says, then I agree with Muschamp.
He’s a talented player. We’ve all seen that. And moving faster seems like it will allow Bentley to rely more on his athleticism with less thinking going into each throw. My guess is the “ducks” you remember came on what seemed to be wide-open shots. Those are the ones I remember, and those types of misses seem to fit into the overthinking category to me.
One of the smartest quarterbacks I ever covered, David Greene at Georgia, told me that his sophomore year was harder than his freshman year because as a sophomore, the coaches gave him more information and he was thinking too much and reacting too little. I think Bentley suffered some of that last year. I don’t think he will this year. I think he’s going to have a big-ish season. — Kendall
No chance Jamyes Williams doesn’t start ... right? From @ariddle8 via Twitter
At the start of camp, I would’ve said just about none. Now it seems less certain. Williams moved to safety, where Steven Montac has been a shoo-in to start and the staff has seemed to throw every body possible to find someone else. The latest option is Nick Harvey, who can play anywhere and the staff like him at safety.
Here’s what we know
▪ Montac: Should start at safety.
▪ Rashad Fenton: Should start at corner.
▪ Keisean Nixon: Can play corner or nickel, should start somewhere.
▪ Harvey: Can play anywhere, should start somewhere.
▪ Williams: At safety, has played nickel.
▪ Jaycee Horn: Was getting a lot of buzz just as Harvey moved from corner to safety.
▪ J.T. Ibe: Missed most of camp until last week.
If Horn turns out to be that good, he could start outside and keep Williams as a reserve. If Ibe finally shows something, that could change things as well. Outside that, it seems likely Williams starts, though Muschamp never explicitly said he was happy with Williams’ performance at safety and has listed reasons they moved him away from slot corner. — Breiner
What’s coach Muschamp’s favorite phrase? A. That I can promise you. B. I assure you of that. C. At the end of the day. From @gnewburn via Twitter.
This is an easy one. At the end of the day, it’s C. I’ve thought many times that if I knew how to program a quick key into my keyboard, I would develop one that would insert that phrase at the touch of a button, which I estimate would have saved me six hours of my life since Muschamp has been hired. Just for fun, I went back and searched the transcript of Muschamp’s remarks in the main media room at SEC Media Days, and he used the phrase three times that day. That’s an off day for him. — Kendall
Who is leading in the PK battle right now? From @CrustyBeard via Twitter
Will Muschamp said Saturday it’s Parker White at the moment, and to a degree, that’s not much of a surprise. He had a lot of turbulence last year, but distance kicks were the issue, and it’s also clear he’s got a big leg. Plus it wasn’t like they added anyone who was a surefire upgrade. — Breiner
Am I being overly miffed on why coach Muschamp and now President Pastides have continued to unnecessarily comment on “anonymous sources”? From @jmathwig via Twitter
No, I don’t think so. It’ll come as no surprise I believe that the near constant and deliberate hammering away at the media’s credibility is bad for the country. The “anonymous sources” debate honestly is a short one, and it’s an easy one for my side to win. Almost every person who has ever decried “anonymous sources” has been an anonymous source. The reasons that people would not use their name with a piece of information are varied, and in the vast majority of cases, journalists use good judgment when deciding whether or not to use anonymous sources.
Muschamp’s original remarks that started this hubbub weren’t terribly surprising. He’s a guy who, like almost all of us, reacts first with emotion, and his first emotion was loyalty to and defense of a friend. In his desire to do that, he seemed to be insensitive to the death of a young man, and in attacking the sourcing of the story, he seemed to be suggesting that it is not the media’s role to attempt to uncover inappropriate behavior in large and secretive organizations, which is the media’s most important job. I don’t believe either of those things was his intent.
His follow-up statement is what he should have said the first time and likely what he would have said had he not let his emotions take over. We’ve all wished we could say something better after we’ve flubbed it the first time. He got that chance and responded appropriately, and I think that’s in the rearview mirror. What was more troubling to me was Pastides’ seeming support of Muschamp’s skepticism of anonymous sources. I expect a university president to have a wider and more nuanced view than a football coach. — Kendall
This story was originally published August 20, 2018 at 7:54 AM.