South Carolina’s Will Muschamp explains the next steps for Dakereon Joyner
South Carolina football coach Will Muschamp wanted to make it clear: Although redshirt freshman Dakereon Joyner has lost the backup quarterback battle to Ryan Hilinski, Joyner will still be a quarterback.
And a little more.
“Ryan is repping for our second group. Dakereon is continuing to rep at the quarterback position,” Muschamp said Thursday. “This is something we needed to narrow down the reps for someone. Ryan ended up getting those reps. But Dakereon is still playing quarterback. He’s also going to help our team in some other roles. We’ll see as those roles continue to evolve going forward.”
There had been some buzz his speed and skill could be valuable at another position. He was a dynamic player in high school, rushing for 980 yards or more three years in a row.
Joyner came out and spoke positively on social media after the decision, but Muschamp said it still wasn’t easy.
“It’s hard, at the end of the day,” Muschamp said. “Those meetings are never easy and difficult and difficult on him. But he’s handled everything with absolutely first class.
“He’s going to be tremendously successful at South Carolina.”
Joyner played in one game last year, running for 24 yards and throwing for 1 late in a blowout of an FCS team. Should he remain at Carolina through the season, he’ll be competing with Hilinski and four-star freshman Luke Doty next year for the starting job after Jake Bentley exhausts his eligibility.
This story was originally published August 22, 2019 at 12:28 PM.
