Gamecocks add 2 grad transfers. What that hints about Muschamp’s 2020 roster plans
College football has some particular quirks when it comes to short- and long-range roster planning.
On one hand, a lot of players generally take two or three years to fully develop and grow into impact guys, meaning the timeline is in theory longer to get pieces in place. On the other, if a team suffers two bad years after a few seasons of success, it generally leads to a coaching change.
South Carolina‘s football program is coming off one bad year, and another one could very easily sink the Will Muschamp era. This staff has not minded burning through some resources for short-term help — and facing what amounts to a do-or-die situation, their roster is in an interesting place.
In the past week, USC added two graduate transfers in Colorado State products Collin Hill and Adam Prentice. One (Prentice) addresses a real and tangible need, while the other (Hill) is more a kind of insurance.
The pair also fills up the back end of the Gamecocks‘ recruiting class, which leads to an interesting note or two about USC‘s scholarship situation.
By unofficial count, the Gamecocks are sitting at 59 current scholarship players. Because of several late-arriving roster additions last summer who count toward the next class — known as blueshirts — they can only add 23 more scholarship players through the spring and early summer. USC signed 17 of those 23 available spots last month.
There is an expectation of at least two more blueshirts in 2020 special-teamer commits — they’ll enroll in August and their scholarships will count toward 2021 — but there is also plenty of offseason to go, including everything around spring practice. If history is any indication, we should expect more roster attrition.
All that means is that it’s not unrealistic to guess the team will enter the 2020 season more than a few scholarships short of the maximum allowed of 85.
How did this happen? In part, natural roster attrition will hit most programs. South Carolina also has been active in recruiting the transfer and grad transfer markets but not been able to convert many of those additions into long-term contributors.
A look at some of those:
▪ 2018 offseason: The Gamecocks signed a pair of graduate transfers in safeties J.T. Ibe and Nick Harvey in the spring and four-star defensive tackle Josh Belk and defensive back Jamel Cook joined the team as transfers in the summer, with Belk getting immediate eligibility. Both Ibe and Harvey played fewer than five games because of a knee injury and concussion. Harvey left as a transfer following the season, while Ibe got an extra year and started all season in 2019. Belk played sparingly, then quit the team the next offseason. Cook redshirted, couldn’t break into the lineup in 2019 and was thrown off the team during the season after a domestic violence arrest.
▪ 2019 offseason: The team added two grad transfers in long snapper Matt Oliveira and running back Tavien Feaster, plus traditional transfer Nick Muse. All three held key roles last year, with Muse getting an NCAA waiver. Only Muse will be on the roster after the season.
▪ The 2020 offseason has already included Hill and Prentice, both players who won’t be around in 2021. Then again, if they or other additions don’t pay off, the folks making the decisions might not be around either.
In any case, it will likely take more than a few summer signees (who can count to the 2021 class) and walk-ons getting scholarships to get to that 85 mark. That more than a few will borrow against the next class, and at some point soon, that blueshirt loophole will close for the most part owing to the NCAA’s initial counter system. (Teams were allowed some leeway when that system was installed, and it is slowly shrinking.)
With that in mind, it’s worth looking at what the two latest additions might mean for South Carolina in 2020:
▪ QB Collin Hill: His addition might not add to much on the field if everything goes well. USC has two former top-75 QB recruits at the position, one who started 11 games in Ryan Hilinski. He was far from perfect, so there’s always a chance Hill (137.7 rating in the Mountain West) comes out on top. If he doesn’t, he’s a steady backup for a team that played an injured quarterback much of last season because it had no other options. Maybe that makes a difference, and even if it does in just one game, this team needs every game it can get in 2020.
▪ FB Adam Prentice: A lot was made and will continue to be made about his ability to play fullback, something USC hasn’t had as part of the offense in years. But he also can function as a tight end for a team that was deeply short at the spot. Outside of Muse (coming off a torn ACL), the position had two redshirt freshmen, two true freshmen and a seldom-used veteran. Prentice helps shore that up in a big way.
The team has 17 official 2020 signees, plus the two grad transfers. They also have commitments from four-star tackle Alex Huntley and five-star end Jordan Burch to bring them to 21 for the class. Muschamp has indicated plans to add another running back to the class.
That leaves a single spot that will likely go toward one of these two prospects: committed-but-unsigned N.C. receiver Da’Qon Stewart, or uncommitted Northwestern High receiver Ger-Cari Caldwell, who spoke highly of USC.
USC could also bring in another grad transfer for more short-term help.
This year might well be do-or-die for this Gamecocks coaching staff. Their use of resources reflects that to a degree, and the offseason might bring more roster changes soon enough.
This story was originally published January 2, 2020 at 11:25 AM.
