What’s held back South Carolina’s batch of young wide receivers in 2020?
When the final story of the South Carolina 2020 football team is written, the wide receivers will get an early mention.
The Gamecocks came into the season with one somewhat proven receiver in senior Shi Smith and plenty of question marks. Nine games in, with Smith trying to work back from a concussion, those question marks remain.
Outside of Smith, the Gamecocks have zero other wide receivers with more than 10 catches. In the last 10 years (seasons that featured more games) South Carolina had two, three and sometimes four wide receivers with double-digit catches.
In 2020, only one receiver has more than 100 yards. That player, Xavier Legette, had a bout of bad drops and missed the past three games and most of the previous two.
The set of receivers includes multiple former four-star recruits, some of those the staff was high on early in the season.
So what happened?
“I would say injuries is one of the reasons at that position,” Gamecocks interim head coach Mike Bobo said this week, “guys not being able to stay healthy. Another would be limited spring practice, where guys can learn a new offense and understand how to run route concepts versus different coverages.”
The former offensive coordinator ran down a few of the issues player by player.
▪ Dakereon Joyner: still learning the position after playing QB all his life.
▪ Rico Powers: played running back through his junior year of high school.
▪ Legette: injuries have hampered his progress.
▪ Jalen Brooks: challenges adjusting to SEC man coverage after sitting the first half of the season (he had apparently been a strong practice player).
▪ Ger-Cari Caldwell: still developing physically.
“If you don’t have elite speed, it takes time to learn how to be a technician,” Bobo said. “I’ve said that since I’ve been here — the team speed has to improve.”
That’s meant the passing offense has run through one slot receiver as well as throwing to tight ends (Nick Muse, and Keveon Mullins before he got hurt) and running backs (Kevin Harris and Deshaun Fenwick). Bobo had not done that before in nearly two decades running offenses.
He did praise Caldwell coming off the Georgia game, noting the tall, skinny Northwestern High School product competed and blocked well. Several of the Gamecocks players said they’d seen some progress from the group, as it’s had to try to find footing with Smith out and Luke Doty, a dual-threat true freshman, handling the QB spot.
“It goes back to just the next-man-up mentality,” Doty said. “We’ve had guys like like Rico Powers, Ger-Cari Caldwell, guys like that, Jaheim Bell, just step into to a role in this offense that we’ve been able to use them. And they’ve been able to get some good action.
“I definitely think the future with them is going to be bright.”
Joyner added, “All of those guys, every single day they come to work. I got to commend all the guys that were doing that because you’re never know when your number was going to be called, but I think all of them took the role seriously. ... I think their confidence has grown a lot.”
Smith has told Bobo he doesn’t plan on returning to school. But that leaves the rest of the group’s future at the discretion of an as-of-yet unhired coach.
The need for speed Bobo mentioned was supposed to be answered in part with the coming recruiting class, but two of the four receiver prospects broke off their commitments to USC (one already pledged to Mississippi State). The other two are waiting to see who gets the job.
Coming off last season, Bryan Edwards’ departure left a big hole in an already-thin group. And the drive to fill in those spots was stunted to a degree, another bump in the rough road that has been 2020 for the Gamecocks.
“That hurt us this year, too, the (lack) of offseason training and not being able to get in the weight room and COVID,” Bobo said. “These guys are not developed where they should be physically, and you’re asking them to go up there and play against SEC defenses. It’s going through some growing pains. But all of those guys I’ve named are getting experience and playing football and they are going to be better for it.”
This story was originally published December 3, 2020 at 5:15 PM.
