What Will Muschamp liked, and didn’t like, about Gamecocks’ first scrimmage
As a big-picture guy, South Carolina football coach Will Muschamp always likes to talk the big picture of the little things when his team hits the field for the closest thing to a real game experience.
On Saturday during the team’s first camp scrimmage, those things such as communications and operation, they left a little room for improvement.
“We still had some mishaps as far as communication and things are concerned,” Muschamp said. “But kind of somewhat expected.
“We did have too many issues that were self-inflicted, jumping offsides on defense twice, a couple delay of game penalties, three false starts, you know, a critical error on the snap on a two-point play, a bad toss on the goal line on fourth down to score. So again, some things that we need to correct.”
That said, he liked the mindset and competitiveness the team showed throughout.
That’s somewhat to be expected, as it was the first scrimmage of camp with a new offensive coordinator. The team had more recent offseason work because of the coronavirus pandemic but also missed a large chunk of the offseason because of that.
One element might have been there Saturday: Young players getting their first taste of that atmosphere.
“I had one coach say, ‘He’s got the bright-eyed look,’” Muschamp said. “I said it was the first time in Williams-Brice.”
Other details Muschamp dropped about Saturday’s work, which was closed to fans and the media:
▪ The team got in 125 scrimmage snaps, plus more special teams work than usual. They got about 45 snaps for the first, second and third groups.
▪ Muschamp declined to get too deep into how quarterbacks performed, though he did say there were some clock issues and delay of game penalties. He liked both Ryan Hilinski’s and Collin Hill’s commands of the huddle, but noted when the offense overall had issues they were often self-inflicted. The offense did, however, deliver some explosive plays.
▪ Defensive backs Jaycee Horn and Jammie Robinson are leading the competition at punt returner. Muschamp liked what he saw from freshman punter Kai Kroeger and Kennesaw State transfer Christian Kinsley.
▪ Wide receiver OrTre Smith has not practiced the past couple days, but the coach said it was not the knee that has bothered him through much of his career. He declined to offer specifics on Smith’s issue.
▪ Eric Douglas has solidly been holding down the top center spot.
▪ Wide receiver Josh Vann has played well of late. The small, speedy receiver has always had talent, but his consistency hasn’t always been there through two seasons.
▪ Muschamp is liking the way freshman running back Rashad Amos has run the inside zone play, but holding onto the ball has been an issue.
▪ The second- and third-team defenses, especially up front, were not good Saturday, Muschamp said.
▪ Strongside linebacker Brad Johnson has had a particularly strong camp.
