They should be South Carolina’s seniors this year. What’s happened to USC’s 2017 class
There’s an extra weight put on a college football team’s second recruiting class under a new coach. At the start of a tenure, a team is still primarily selling hope, not limited by the time crunch of a first partial class but also not heavily weighed down by actual early tenure performance.
South Carolina coach Will Muschamp’s second class was hailed as a solid one with a smattering of blue-chip talent. Four years later, this should be the squad’s seniors and redshirt juniors, the kind of veterans who are long-term contributors but perhaps not such shining stars that they’ve moved on to the NFL.
At the start of spring practice, Muschamp directly said he’s got a small group of seniors. Look back at his 2017 class. For some reason or another, many of those players aren’t in high-end contributing roles.
In some ways, that contributed to the struggles in 2019 and some of the questions for the 2020 team. Here’s a look at how each member of the class fared across three-plus seasons.
Still on the roster and contributing in a large role
▪ Shi Smith — Easily the most productive member of the class still around. Smith started 26 of his 34 games and posted 409, 673 and 489 yards in the past three seasons. He’s in line to be the No. 1 receiver in 2020.
▪ Aaron Sterling — A smaller defensive lineman from Atlanta, Sterling grew into a starter and solid option for the defense. He had 40 tackles, 10 for loss, with six sacks last year, and had 15 starts in 20 games the past two seasons.
▪ Sherrod Greene — A burly linebacker, he stepped into the starting lineup on the weak side his second year on campus, but struggled in that role. He lost the job last season, but re-emerged as a strongside linebacker and helped boost the Gamecocks defense.
▪ Jordan Rhodes — He was a raw recruit but ended up starting the final 11 games of last season and was a plus lineman in the run game.
Still on the roster and contributing in a small role
▪ Brad Johnson — A four-star defensive lineman, Johnson rose to be the team’s No. 2 Buck defensive end as a freshman and started two games in 2018 as injury struck. But Johnson missed most of last season and potentially has to go from solid backup to front-line starter.
▪ OrTre Smith — A starter because of injury his first year on campus, injuries have derailed Smith the past two years. A genetic knee issue cost him most of 2018 and he was still slowed by that knee last season. After 30 catches for 326 yards as a freshman, he only had 12 catches and 84 yards the past two seasons. He also didn’t produce much last year when the team desperately needed more pass catchers.
▪ Eric Douglas — A versatile backup offensive lineman, he has played in 21 games, mostly on special teams. He started the 2019 opener before losing that job and has primarily been a reserve.
▪ Damani Staley — The local pass rusher converted into a linebacker and has been a key backup the past two seasons.
Still on the roster but not yet contributing in a notable way
▪ MJ Webb — A four-star lineman, he redshirted, played sparingly in Year 2 and moved to offense last season, where he did not play. He will move back to defense this season, and it remains to be seen if he can carve out a role in a deep interior line.
▪ Chad Terrell — A big-bodied receiver who has mostly played special teams and dealt with a torn ACL. Across 23 games and three years, he has seven catches for 76 yards.
▪ Will Register — A big, local tight end who committed to Spurrier’s last staff and signed after Muschamp’s first year. He has played in 16 games total, 12 last year as a special-teamer. Totaled one catch and has not played much offense.
▪ Jay Urich — A mobile quarterback, he spent last season bouncing between that position and wide receiver. He caught one pass last year and was in the quarterback room for spring.
▪ Jaylin Dickerson — A safety with promise, injuries derailed two of his three seasons and much of the third. Played in 10 games and made 13 tackles in 2018.
▪ Tyreek Johnson — The defensive lineman from Sumter took a greyshirt, battled injuries and played in one game last season.
Contributed but no longer on the roster
▪ Jamyest Williams — The undersized defensive back was up and down across three seasons, but not the star some hoped. Opponents picked on his size often, and his speed didn’t do enough to make up for it. He played in 23 games before leaving the team early in 2019 to preserve a season of eligibility.
Not on the roster and did not contribute
▪ Davonne Bowen — Took a medical disqualification after redshirting.
▪ Kaleb Chalmers — Did not play and left the program after a year (also would be out of eligibility).
▪ Jordon Carty — Played in zero games and transferred at the end of last season.
▪ Tavyn Jackson — The cover corner from Florida missed a season with injury and then took a medical disqualification.
▪ Zay Brown — He was moved from safety to linebacker relatively early in his tenure and eventually transferred to Chattanooga.
Contributed but already out of eligibility
AKA, junior college players
▪ Javon Kinlaw — He grew into a Year 1 starter and eventually an All-American out of junior college. He was a first-round draft pick, but that also means he won’t be on the field in 2020.
▪ Keisean Nixon — The junior college corner hardly played his first season, started the next one with mixed results and spent last season on an NFL roster.
▪ Dennis Daley — A junior college offensive lineman who stepped into the starting lineup a few games into his first year on campus and held the job the next two seasons. He was drafted by the Carolina Panthers last spring.
▪ Eldridge Thompson — Played three seasons as a reserve linebacker and special-teamer. He made 18 tackles in 23 games.
