Five Gamecocks offensive breakout candidates to watch this spring
The South Carolina football team’s offense fell off last season. There’s no other way to put it.
The Gamecocks dropped from a top-30 quality offense into the 70s or 80s nationally. Part of the reason was a dearth of playmakers, as top running backs kept getting hurt and the set of reliable pass catchers ran about two deep.
USC will need more playmakers, and this spring is a likely chance for some of those players to break out. A few good candidates:
Running back MarShawn Lloyd
The Gamecocks are going to need someone to break out at running back, and there’s little doubt Lloyd has the ability. The four-star prospect ran four more than 1,100 yards against a tough schedule and showed the ability to break highlight reel plays. Fellow runner Kevin Harris broke out to a degree last spring, and Lloyd could be in line to follow that up.
Tight end Traevon Kenion
Perhaps an underrated prospect by the end of his recruiting cycle, Kenion was a terror as a receiver in a run-heavy offense his last year of high school. Enrollment issues and an August injury slowed his development, which meant playing in only three games last season. Starting tight end Nick Muse is out for spring, and Kenion will have to learn a new offense with everyone else. He’s not the biggest, but he possesses play-making talent USC desperately needs,
Wide receiver Xavier Legette
A raw freshman last year who at one point was in line to delay his enrollment, Legette got a surprising amount of playing time. The next step is becoming more productive in that time and growing into a reliable target. After nine catches for 80 yards, the staff spoke highly of his ceiling. With a year under his belt, this would be an opportune time to take a step forward as top target Bryan Edwards, who had 816 yards receiving in 10 games, is off the NFL.
Wide receiver Dakereon Joyner
Once one of the most talked about recruits in the program’s recent history, Joyner is getting a new lease on his career with a new position. He dabbled at receiver last year, catching six passes for 46 yards, but had to split time at QB with Jake Bentley’s injury. He’s got speed and showed some shiftiness when playing receiver. Now he has a chance to develop his skills and perhaps step up in a receivers group thin on reliable targets.
Quarterback Ryan Hilinski
It seems weird that a quarterback who started most of the season could be considered a breakout option, but Hilinski has a chance to be that. He was limited from his third game on last season, first by an elbow injury and then his knee. But more than that, he’s had a little break, some time to slow down and process everything he learned and experienced last season. A college campaign can be a blur and a quarterback takes in so much. This spring could let him grow more while learning a new attack under QBs coach and offensive coordinator Mike Bobo.
This story was originally published February 24, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
