Where things stand with South Carolina’s No. 3 receiver spot
South Carolina’s football team has seemed to settle on a solution for questions at the No. 3 wide receiver spot: Only put two on the field at a time.
Against Georgia, the Gamecocks went with two tight ends nearly two-thirds of the time. The team came into the season planning to build on three-receiver sets, but the NCAA waiver for and then emergence of Nick Muse, plus Kyle Markway blossoming, have changed that dynamic.
Still, a three-receiver set is the standard offensive look of the time, and the Gamecocks have some persisting questions there. Shi Smith and Bryan Edwards are the top pair, and three other players have been delivering a little push and pull for snaps at the last spot. Will Muschamp broke down each last week
▪ Senior Chavis Dawkins, five catches for 60 yards: The senior and member of Muschamp’s first class has always been a rotation player but never really much of a play-maker. The Spartanburg product, who joined the team as eventual All-ACC receiver Kelvin Harmon departed, had a nice play or two against Georgia and played by far the third-most snaps behind Smith and Edwards.
“Chavis Dawkins has been steady-Eddie for us. He does everything right, blocks the right people, is a very physical guy in the run game, but obviously you remember the touchdown pass he caught against A&M last year in the end zone. What a phenomenal catch. He has the ability to really continue to take off for us,” Muschamp said.
▪ Sophomore Josh Vann, 13 catches, 95 yards: A former four-star recruit, Vann was the team’s No. 4 receiver and opened the season as No. 3. He’s had trouble generating big plays, with zero play longer than nine yards in two years.
“Josh (Vann) has done some really nice things. Really excited me ... with his catch against Kentucky. Broke a tackle on our sideline and cut-up the field. And we need Josh to do that. Josh is more than capable of doing that. He’s been a little inconsistent with some things, but he’s certainly got the ability to do it,” Muschamp said.
▪ Freshman Xavier Legette, one catch for four yards: The freshman showed well enough in camp to make the rotation ahead of a higher rated classmate. The production hasn’t been there yet, but he got a decent load of snaps against Kentucky.
“The young guy who keeps coming on that we’re excited about is Xavier Legette, from Mullins, South Carolina. A guy that’s got big-time ability. He played quarterback in high school. … He’s never played the receiver position before, so there’s a lot of learning for him going on right now. There’s a lot of new things happening every single day, but he’s a guy who’s got a tremendous upside and continue to play more as we continue to move forward,” Muschamp said.
▪ Redshirt sophomore OrTre Smith, four catches for 42 yards: The former top recruit in the state was projected to start after spending most of his freshman year with the first team. He got jumped by Vann and hasn’t seen much in the way of targets or consistent workload. He got single-digit snaps against Georgia but was in the 20s the previous two games.
A team doesn’t necessarily need a deep array of pass catchers, even beyond four or five guys in some cases. The Gamecocks have Smith, Edwards and Markway carrying most of the load, with Muse rising and tailbacks Rico Dowdle and Tavien Feaster combining for 20 catches.
It mattered less in a run-heavy game against Georgia, and with a hobbled Ryan Hilinski, the Gamecocks could again find themselves loading up with a second tight end and going ground and pound against a good Florida team.