South Carolina’s Will Muschamp gives an update on freshman QB Dakereon Joyner

For a guy who might not play a meaningful snap in the 2018 season, there are a lot of eyes on South Carolina quarterback Dakereon Joyner, both from outside and inside the program.

When he went on the Jamie Bradford Show on Charleston Sports Radio, Gamecocks coach Will Muschamp gave a little update on the former four-star recruit now adapting to life in college football.

“Dakereon’s got all the intangible leadership qualities you want at the position,” Muschamp said. “Obviously a proven winner, and the intangible qualities he has and possesses is just amazing. We’ve got to continue to have the game slow down for him. It’s a fast game.”

USC’s staff said it didn’t want to rush Joyner now that the hype around him is in the rearview mirror.

He had been the No. 206 recruit in the country, No. 9 among dual-threat QBs and No. 4 player in South Carolina, according to the 247Sports composite rankings.

As a high school senior at Fort Dorchester, he had 3,400 yards of offense and 52 touchdowns, and posted a 40-3 career record, including the 15-0 state title run. He’s working behind Jake Bentley and Michael Scarnecchia, while battling with Jay Urich for the No. 3 spot.

There have been murmurs of a run-heavy package for Joyner, but it remains to be seen if that comes to pass.

Both Joyner and Urich struggled in the spring game, as young, dual-threat passers often do. But Muschamp and his staff put them in a challenging position in the last week and liked what they saw.

“When he gets out there in this past scrimmage, we put he and Jay (Urich) both with our second group to give them some quality snaps with those guys,” Muschamp said. “And they did a solid job. I’m pleased with his progress. We’ve got to continue to advance in the throwing game.”