South Carolina has a lot of options at crucial offensive position
The man who the South Carolina football team had tabbed to protect its quarterbacks’ blind side in the spring simply hasn’t been consistent, Gamecocks offensive line coach Eric Wolford said Tuesday.
Jazston Turnetine is enormous and showed well in spring, but since preseason camp started, it hasn’t all been there. In a video with USC’s sports information staff, Wolford explained a fortunate situation the team sits in on that front.
“We have a lot of guys who can play left tackle,” Wolford said. “Jakai Moore can play left tackle. He showed that (Tuesday). Obviously Dylan Wonnum can play left tackle. ... Even Vershon Lee can play left tackle.”
The team had a vacancy there after moving veteran Sadarius Hutcherson over to guard.
Moore is a talented recruit who got in a few starts last season, while Lee is a freshman who has mostly been working at guard. Wonnum has started the past few seasons at right tackle when healthy and had worked some on the left side earlier in camp.
Overall, the team has at least four tackles it likes in the aforementioned group, plus Jaylen Nichols.
Wolford compared Turnetine’s journey to Dennis Daley, another junior college player who took some time to get going. Daley didn’t make it into the starting lineup until a few games in, but he held the left tackle spot for most of his two seasons, got drafted and is now set to start with the Carolina Panthers this week.
Blue chippers to deliver?
Much of the fate of South Carolina’s defense will be set by Zacch Pickens and Rick Sandidge, the highest-ranked players in USC’s 2019 and 2018 recruiting classes, respectively.
Yet for much of camp, they’ve been running with the backups. If either or both can play to their recruiting hype, South Carolina’s defense sees its ceiling go up. But getting them toward that point has been a process at times, Gamecocks defensive line coach Tracy Rocker told the school’s sports information staff in a video Tuesday.
“Those guys have to approach practice every day to get better,” Rocker said. “We make strides throughout practice. We sit here and we say 18 periods of practice. Can we get them to stay mentally tough and mentally focused for 18 periods? And we’re getting there. One day, we’re pulling teeth and the next day we don’t have to pull teeth, so that’s part of football, but I like the growth that we’re having with them.”
Opt-in explanation
South Carolina’s offensive line has gotten a boost with Jordan Rhodes back in the fold.
The 2019 starter had opted out because of the COVID pandemic, but recently decided he’d play this season. Gamecocks coach Will Muschamp said the lineman is still working his way back into shape, and his position coach had an explanation for what brought him back.
“Rhoady missed us,” Wolford said. “Sometimes you don’t realize the camaraderie of being around players, your fellow teammates and coaches. This is the best place in the world. Your college football experiences are the best time of your life. All these guys you play ball with become your best friends for life.
“When you’re away, you realize it.”
Practice tidbits
▪ Walk-on quarterback Connor Jordan changed his number to 18.
▪ Gamecocks coach Will Muschamp said in a school release that the first-and-10 run game was a focus Tuesday.
▪ After putting a pooch punt into the end zone during Saturday’s scrimmage, punter Kai Kroeger hit one well Tuesday, with Cam Smith downing it near the goal line, Muschamp said.
This story was originally published September 8, 2020 at 2:11 PM.
