Shi Smith carried South Carolina offense vs. Vols. Should he have to carry it less?
A question or two touched on the topic, and considering one game of South Carolina football is the only thing to base anything on, it made sense.
In the Gamecocks’ opener, wide receiver Shi Smith, the team’s top returning offensive weapon, accounted for 14 targets in a 31-27 loss to Tennessee. That was just short of 36% of the team’s targets and he accounted for two in every five of the team’s catches.
The questions, asked to Gamecocks coach Will Muschamp on Tuesday, came about as if there was an emphasis on getting more players involved.
Then came a follow-up: Did it matter?
“As long as we’re scoring and winning, we’re good,” Gamecocks coach Will Muschamp said. “If it means going through one guy, you go though one guy. If it means distributing the ball better throughout your offense, then that’s what you need to do.”
Outside of Smith’s 10 catches, three other players, including a running back, had four catches apiece.
Muschamp said there was an emphasis on just making sure the team had more players who could beat man coverage. That’s the gold standard for skills and something the team might be short on.
Against Tennessee last weekend, the team only played five wide receivers: Smith and Xavier Legette (four catches, 61 yards) got the most work, followed by Dakereon Joyner (no catches), a modest number of snaps for Josh Vann (no catches) and fewer than 10 plays for four-star freshman Rico Powers; he was targeted once with a ball that ended up uncatchable.
“I think our staff has done a great job, letting the receivers know that we have the talent,” tight end Nick Muse said. “They have the talent to have seven-catch games or the 100-yard (receiving games).
“It just depends on whose name is called, what we need to do.”
South Carolina’s recent teams have had a wider range of talented pass catchers as the team had a trio taken in the top three rounds of the NFL draft (Deebo Samuel, Bryan Edwards, Hayden Hurst), but before that, passing numbers could be concentrated at the top.
The 2010 Gamecocks had one player with more than 44 catches in 14 games, and only two with more than 30 catches.
Gamecocks offensive coordinator Mike Bobo’s best offenses while he was head coach and calling plays at Colorado State targeted one receiver about a third of the time. Those receivers included Biletnikoff Award finalists Michael Gallup (Dallas Cowboys) and Rashard Higgins (Cleveland Browns).
And it’s worth remembering that Game 1 is just Game 1. Smith likely won’t catch 10 balls a game. His quarterback, Collin Hill, likely won’t catch one pass a game, as he did with a batted ball vs. Tennessee. This isn’t a template.
The Gamecocks’ offense will keep looking to get its best players the ball however it can, even if that means relying on Smith or Muse or a running back when the situation calls for it.
“We will scheme (Smith) as far as getting him in some different spots, motion, shifts,” Muschamp said. “Create different spots for him on the field for him within the formation, whether it’s outside, whether it’s inside, in the backfield.
“He wasn’t always the primary target on some of the routes. At the end of the day he got open.”
NEXT USC FOOTBALL GAME
Who: South Carolina at Florida
When: Noon, Saturday
Where: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
TV: ESPN
Line: Florida by 18
This story was originally published September 30, 2020 at 11:05 AM.
