South Carolina’s Dakereon Joyner: ‘I was never taught to quit something I started’
South Carolina football’s Dakereon Joyner appeared to put to rest any notion that he’ll transfer from the Gamecocks with a Twitter post Monday evening.
“Confidence thrives on honesty, on honor, on the sacredness of obligations, on faithful protection and on unselfish performance. Without them it cannot live. When GOD says it’s SHOWTIME, there isn’t a single person that can say CUT. I was never taught to quit something I started!” Joyner wrote in a tweet over his 2019 season highlights.
He followed that by retweeting multiple messages that said he will not be transferring.
He’s come through an eventful season the past six months.
Joyner lost the battle for the backup quarterback job in 2019 to Ryan Hilinski, but unlike many QBs he decided to stick out the season, play with the team and hopefully compete for the starting spot behind center a year later.
As the team’s No. 3 passer, he quickly stepped into working at wide receiver, a spot he’d never played. He ended up bouncing between there and quarterback, working sometimes as a change-of-pace player and sometimes as a true backup once Hilinski was elevated to starter.
He was slowed by a hamstring issue most of the year, and came in for emergency duty to help South Carolina to an upset of No. 3 Georgia. He also missed the Clemson game with a concussion.
For the season, he had 168 passing yards, 107 rushing yards and 46 receiving yards on six catches.
When new offensive coordinator Mike Bobo arrived, he said Joyner told him and Muschamp that Joyner was ready to do what ever the team needed.
Joyner came to Columbia as a highly decorated recruit, the No. 206 player in the 2018 class. He ran for 1,000 yards three times in high school, threw for nearly 10,000 yards and led his team to a 40-3 record, including a 15-0 state title season as a sophomore.
He played one game as a true freshman, throwing for 1 yard and running for 24. He went through an eight-month quarterback battle with Hilinski and Jake Bentley before ultimately being given the news he was the No. 3 passer on Aug. 19.
In the spring, Joyner said he came to Columbia to play quarterback and that he could’ve gone elsewhere if he wanted to play another position.
This story was originally published January 6, 2020 at 7:16 PM.
