McClendon is back, Edwards is gone. USC receivers enter spring with question marks
It’s been a tumultuous offseason for Bryan McClendon.
It started with the South Carolina football assistant being demoted from offensive coordinator soon after the Gamecocks lost to Clemson, ending a disastrous year of offensive production.
In the aftermath, it was speculated that McClendon could be on the move. He was connected in recent weeks to an opening with the Pittsburgh Steelers — a job that was filled by former NFL receiver Ike Hilliard.
So McClendon is back with the Gamecocks as a $1 million wide receivers coach, one of the few non-coordinators in the country to earn that much annually. And USC coach Will Muschamp counts McClendon’s presence as a positive.
“As far as any other things that are concerned, we’re glad he’s at South Carolina,” Muschamp said of McClendon. “A lot of information out there is also misinformation. And in that situation, there was a lot of misinformation. But we have interest in our coaches every year, and we have coaches on our staff, including Bryan, that turn down other opportunities to stay at South Carolina.”
And staying at South Carolina, McClendon will oversee a position group facing a lot of questions heading into spring practice. Bryan Edwards, the most productive receiver in program history, is gone. He accounted for more touchdowns in 2019 than the rest of USC’s receiving corps combined and was far and away the top option in a group that dealt with injuries and inconsistency.
The No. 2 receiver last season, Shi Smith, is a senior and seems like a safe bet to be the go-to guy. Behind him, however, things aren’t as clear.
Muschamp, when asked Tuesday what position group he had the most questions about going into spring practices, initially said all of them, then started by focusing on the receivers, starting with redshirt senior Randrecous Davis who will miss the spring with injury.
“I hate for Randrecous the injury … missing this spring, which is huge for him. We needed him to partake in this spring. Football’s a developmental sport, and we needed him to be able to take part in that,” Muschamp said.
Junior Josh Vann finished third among receivers in yards last year, but the former four-star recruit underwhelmed to start the season and ended the year hurt. He needs to “step up for us,” Muschamp said.
Redshirt junior OrTre Smith, meanwhile, came back from a knee surgery in 2018 to fix a genetic condition, but he continued to deal with lingering health problems throughout last season.
“We need to get OrTre Smith back to year one. He caught 30 balls and was a guy that did a really good job for us. I think he’s back to that point of being back as healthy as he was his first year,” Muschamp said
And sophomore Xavier Legette came on late in the year and flashed some big-play ability. But as Muschamp noted several times Tuesday, he’s still very new to the position.
“Xavier Legette played quarterback his entire career, has never played receiver in his life, and he starts as a true freshman for us and Bryan did a great job of bringing him along. He was a very productive player for us late in the season, and we need Xavier to step up,” Muschamp said.
Converted quarterback Dakereon Joyner and redshirt freshman Tyquan Johnson were also mentioned as players who could step up.
Developing those players into steady contributors will be McClendon’s primary responsibility after spending the last two years calling plays, something Muschamp acknowledged could help in terms of time management. And he pointed to two success stories from the past few seasons as proof of McClendon’s impact.
“I look at the development of Deebo Samuel, who’s extremely talented. So I’m not taking anything away from Deebo. But we first got here, everyone tells us he’s a speed sweep guy, that’s what he is,” Muschamp said. “And then when you talk to the San Francisco 49ers, they talk about his readiness to play in the National Football League, and then you look at his rookie year and what he accomplished, I think you have to credit that to the development of where he was in college, and I think that a lot of that credit goes to Deebo, there’s no doubt about it. But a lot of that credit goes to Bryan.
“You look at Bryan Edwards, who walked out of here statistically as the best receiver in South Carolina history. Now whether we agree he is or not, his name’s plastered all over that stadium for what he accomplished here. And his development with four years with Coach McClendon, in my opinion, was outstanding.”
