Why South Carolina’s offensive line projects as a strength for Gamecocks in 2021
South Carolina’s offense continues to be a work in progress.
Quarterback Luke Doty heads into his first season as the full-time starter. Running backs Kevin Harris, MarShawn Lloyd and ZaQuandre White are all talented, but how their carries are chopped up remains to be seen. And then there’s a receiving corps that has been maligned for its inconsistency and lack of playmakers.
But for what unproven pieces the Gamecocks have scattered throughout Marcus Satterfield’s offense, the offensive line should prove a strength and an anchor for a unit that will be climbing an uphill battle in the Southeastern Conference in 2021.
“With a lot of people coming back, we’re familiar, we’re comfortable with each other,” senior tackle Dylan Wonnum said. “That means we can trust each other more. It’s all about trust. If you don’t trust your partner to the left or to the right of you, it can kind of mess you up.”
South Carolina brings back a trio in Wonnum, guard Jovaughn Gwyn and center Eric Douglas who each started all 10 games during a 2-8 2020 campaign.
Douglas, who has played in 31 games over three years in Columbia, is the most experienced of the bunch and has the versatility to play both guard and center — though it’s expected he’ll hold down the reins snapping to Doty.
Wonnum, the brother of former South Carolina standout and current Minnesota Viking D.J. Wonnum, has nearly double the amount of starts as Douglas (24 to Douglas’ 12) and has seen action in at least seven games in each of the three years he has been at South Carolina. But for a player who has seen the field as much as Wonnum has, his 58.7 Pro Football Focus run blocking grade ranked just 66th among SEC offensive linemen in 2020.
Gwyn is technically the least experienced of the Gamecocks’ steady offensive line trio having appeared in 23 games, but also boasts some of the versatility Douglas possesses on the interior. During spring ball, Gwyn spent the bulk of his time at guard opposite junior Jaylin Nichols and figures to be a lead blocker next to Douglas.
“We all have that experience and we all have those reps in our back pocket,” Douglas said in March. “It’s like we can really do something special. ... When all five of us across that line bring the energy it just raises the play of the offense.”
Beyond South Carolina’s triumvirate of size and experience, Nichols, redshirt junior Jakai Moore and senior Jazston Turnetine should all factor into the rotation or starting slots.
Nichols figures to stick at guard, while Turnetine — a junior college transfer a season ago — has likely the most room for improvement among South Carolina’s projected starters as he was the lowest-graded blocker of them all in 2020.
Moore is perhaps the biggest question mark of the group as he was seen in a cast and on a scooter for the majority of spring practices, so his timetable for a return remains to be seen.
Return date aside, Moore should prove a dynamic piece to the blocking puzzle whenever he gets healthy. During the 2020 season, he ranked ninth among SEC offensive lineman on run blocking downs, according to Pro Football Focus. PFF also rated him the third-best blocker on the Gamecocks offensive line a year ago.
South Carolina’s offensive line finished in the middle-to-bottom of the SEC last season, ranking ninth in the conference in run blocking and 12th in pass blocking, according to PFF.
Another offseason together as a unit figures to help. So too does the tutelage of new offensive line coach Greg Adkins, who has spent time at Georgia, Tennessee and with the Buffalo Bills during a career that has spanned almost four decades.
Adkins told reporters in late-January he boils offensive line play into four simple steps: Get off, strike, body position and finish. Rather than overcomplicate minute details, he explained how the four larger pillars he preaches help to bring together a more complete unit that can grow as a group and allows players to easily identify what they can improve on when watching film.
“If we start talking all these little things — and little things do matter — sometimes you can complicate and make it really unclear to a player,” he said. “So you want to be very concise, very detailed and if they do these four things, they can almost grade themselves.”
Satterfield talked at length this spring about philosophy and the schematics of what South Carolina’s offense might look like. Coach Shane Beamer, who most recently worked alongside Oklahoma head coach and offensive wunderkind Lincoln Riley, noted Wednesday during a booster event that the offense will take whatever shape best fits South Carolina’s personnel.
Doty should give the Gamecocks added value in an already impressive run game given his dual-threat nature. The three-headed rushing attack of Harris, Lloyd and White also figures to be as prolific a stable of backs in the country this fall.
But for South Carolina to truly unleash what it hopes to offensively — albeit a unit that projects among the middle of the pack in the SEC — it’ll start up front with a group that boasts 101 appearances between its five projected starters.
“We all pull our own weight because we’re all grown men at the end of the day,” Wonnum said. “We’re going to have to do what we’ve got to do.”
