Five burning questions for South Carolina’s FCS game: A lot involving Ryan Hilinski
South Carolina will take the field at Williams-Brice Stadium for the first time this season Saturday, hosting FCS opponent Charleston Southern at noon. The game will be televised on the SEC Network and feature freshman quarterback Ryan Hilinski making his first career start as the Gamecocks seek their first win of 2019.
Here are the most important questions USC will look to answer this weekend.
HOW WILL RYAN HILINSKI LOOK?
This is it. Fans have been raring to see Hilinski at quarterback for the Gamecocks since the decorated recruit committed to South Carolina. After last week’s disappointing loss to UNC, calls for him to take over for senior Jake Bentley grew even more. With Bentley now sidelined with a foot injury, Hilinski is under center and under pressure to live up to the hype.
It helps that Hilinski’s first career collegiate start will come against a middling FCS program, and if the spring game is any indication, the coaching staff likely won’t ask him to do too much. But with the season already teetering on the edge of disappointment, any upside he shows will be met with tremendous excitement from the USC faithful.
HOW WILL DAKEREON JOYNER BE USED?
Yes, we asked this question last week, but Bentley’s injury keeps it at the forefront this weekend. Joyner got some time in at wide receiver against the Tar Heels, but after competing with Hilinski through most of training camp for the backup QB job, he’s now in position to move up the depth chart.
But will coach Will Muschamp still try to get Joyner in the game at receiver? Muschamp and his coaching staff talked a whole lot about getting the best players in the game no matter what, and Joyner is an intriguing talent anywhere he plays. Would that be enough to justify risking injury to his backup quarterback? Or perhaps Muschamp feels Hilinski needs all the work he can get and keeps him on the field even if the Gamecocks are up big against the Bucs.
WILL CHANGES TO THE OFFENSIVE LINE WORK?
The offensive line came under fire for the amount of pressure it allowed against UNC, as well as an anemic running attack after the first quarter. In response, Muschamp has indicated that redshirt freshman center Hank Manos will be benched in favor of last year’s snapper, Donell Stanley. And with Stanley moving over from guard, Jordan Rhodes and Jovaughn Gwyn might get the chance to crack the starting lineup.
Making adjustments to the front five while also undergoing a QB change is a lot to handle, but it’s absolutely crucial Hilinski has time in the pocket. If the Gamecocks can’t provide that against Charleston Southern, it could be a long season.
CAN THE DEFENSE GIVE HILINSKI SOME BREATHING ROOM?
When a true freshman quarterback takes over, it creates pressure on the rest of the team to step up and provide help, no matter how good he is. That extends to the other side of the ball — South Carolina’s defense collapsed late against North Carolina, allowing a pair of 90-yard touchdown drives to a true freshman QB in Sam Howell.
With Bentley under center, those defensive lapses were not good, but fans and coaches still expected the offense to be able to respond. Those same expectations don’t apply for Hilinski’s first career start. USC’s defense has to provide short fields for the offense and come up with big stops when freshman mistakes stall out those offensive drives.
CAN THE GAMECOCKS RESTORE SOME CONFIDENCE AHEAD OF ALABAMA?
South Carolina’s opponent this weekend could hardly be more different than the one that comes to town next week. Charleston Southern was picked to finish third in the FCS Big South conference. Alabama is considered an odds-on favorite to return to the College Football Playoff.
But after the UNC debacle, the Gamecocks need to build some sort of momentum or confidence this weekend before taking on Nick Saban’s team. That might be hard — beating an FCS opponent is expected, not reassuring — but if Hilinski and his teammates can come out and dominate, look comfortable and coast against CSU, it’ll be something for fans to hold on to ahead of the Crimson Tide.
NEXT
Who: Charleston Southern at South Carolina
When: Noon Saturday
Where: Williams-Brice Stadium, Columbia
TV: SEC Network
