The blunt reason a projected starter has hardly played for the Gamecocks thus far
As South Carolina’s football team went from spring practice into the long break forced upon it by the COVID pandemic, it did so feeling good about having an option locked in at the left tackle spot in Jazston Turnetine.
Three games into the season, he’s played only a handful of snaps on offense, all against a woeful Vanderbilt team.
South Carolina’s coaches have no doubt told Turnetine himself the reason in rather blunt terms, and on Tuesday, Gamecocks coach Will Muschamp gave one of the more critical assessments a player will receive in a public setting.
“I remember Jazston telling me, ‘I think I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been in,’” Muschamp said. “And in those five (spring) practices, he was extremely impressive and then we had six months off where, we can say we worked out, we can say we ran, we can say we lifted weights, we can say we did this. At the end of the day, unless you’re in the building, it’s hard, and quite frankly, he was not in great shape when we started training camp.”
That camp started more than two months after the team arrived back on campus. Turnetine had a hard time sustaining his energy, Muschamp explained, which led to missed assignments and an inability to hold onto the starting job.
And that had a fallout when it came to South Carolina’s offensive line overall.
The three interior players have been consistently solid through three games, while the tackles have been a revolving door. Dylan Wonnum had to move from right tackle to left, and the trio of Jakai Moore, Jaylin Nichols and freshman Vershon Lee have been rolling in on the right. None has been consistent enough to hold the job and Wonnum hasn’t exactly been a brick wall on the left.
This is part of the reason that the Gamecocks rank 66th out of 76 nationally in sacks per game allowed.
The Vanderbilt game might be a bit of a step forward for the 6-foot-7, 330-pound Turnetine, and if he can be a consistent presence, it changes things. Outside a practice or two, he’s mostly been on the left side, so if he could step in, it bumps Wonnum to the right side.
South Carolina’s next two opponents, Auburn and LSU aren’t quite as fearsome as in past seasons when it comes to the pass rush, but at some point, the Gamecocks might like to find a way to get to some longer-developing plays without having Collin Hill stand in and take hits.
The answer might be Turnetine, who has stood in while facing direct words from his coaches and at least taken a step toward the player they thought he could be in spring.
“He’s now worked himself into better shape,” Muschamp said. “He’s able to sustain, he’s able to play longer, play harder than he’s played before. That’s been the issue. It’s nothing that I haven’t told him. It’s nothing that Eric Wolford hasn’t told him.”
This story was originally published October 14, 2020 at 10:15 AM.
