With game on the line, Gamecocks leaned on promising freshman to provide a spark
South Carolina freshman Juju McDowell had every reason to be nervous. Yet in the minutes before he played his first college road game Saturday, McDowell stood in East Carolina’s end zone and danced.
Typical McDowell. Once his energy starts flowing, it’s impossible to stop.
Even when the vibes were lacking, morale was low and the Gamecocks appeared on the cusp of disaster against ECU, McDowell took it upon himself to provide a jolt. He walked over to USC’s cheerleaders, turned toward the USC fan section at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium and gyrated his arms, willing fans to get into a game that had been marred by turnovers, penalties and miscues.
That was only the appetizer. In the fourth quarter, McDowell truly gave those fans something to cheer about.
In USC’s 20-17 win over the Pirates, it was the freshman McDowell — not reigning SEC rushing leader Kevin Harris or senior ZaQuandre White or former blue-chip recruit MarShawn Lloyd — who carried the team to victory.
It started with a kick return. With just eight minutes to play and ECU up by a field goal, the 5-foot-9, 180-pound tailback electrified USC’s sideline with an explosive 63-yard kickoff return — immediately putting the Gamecocks in position to tie the game. On the team’s final game-winning drive, McDowell carried the ball six times, including gains of 15 yards and 8 yards, to milk the clock and set up a Parker White kick.
“I just got in the huddle and I said, ‘Look, dude, you’re made for this,’ ” quarterback Zeb Noland said. “I said, ‘Just don’t fumble it. Hang on to it. Let’s roll.’ He had a good return that set up the kick. The return was huge, too. Juju is a good kid. He’s really smart for a freshman.”
The McDowell praise isn’t new. Throughout much of the preseason, player after player pointed to McDowell as one of the most exciting new additions to the team. Center Eric Douglas said before the season opener that “the most electric (running back) we have is Juju. He’s gonna let it loose on Saturday for everybody to see.”
McDowell certainly let it loose against the Pirates, leading the Gamecocks with 11 carries and 71 rushing yards. The moment didn’t seem too big for him, even at the end, when the Gamecocks needed tough running yards the most.
“I feel — not comfortable because I never want to get complacent — but I’m proud of the position that I’m in, especially being surrounded by the caliber of backs that we have in our running back room,” McDowell said after the game. “So I take it as quite the accomplishment just being able to step on the field with those guys.”
Discounted for much his life due to his smaller stature, McDowell brings a certain edge that allows him to play bigger than his frame. His coach at Lee County High in Georgia, Dean Fabrizio, told The State that McDowell squatted 600 pounds and benched more than 300 pounds in high school. During the five-game high school playoffs last season, McDowell scored an absurd 19 touchdowns.
His teammates at USC can’t stop raving about him.
“Every time someone will ask me about Juju, I’m gonna tell them I love that kid, man,” defensive lineman Kingsley “JJ” Enagbare said. “Ever since he came he just has something different about him. He carries himself different. Deep down he’s got that dog in him. He’s probably the smallest person on our team, but he plays like the biggest, talk like the biggest.
Added Enagbare, joking: “You would never know he’s 5-foot-2.”
Wide receiver Josh Vann joked that McDowell plays like he’s 6-foot-5.
McDowell is the kind of player who is easy to joke with, because he oozes positivity. Head coach Shane Beamer said after Saturday’s game that he loves McDowell’s energy, both on and off the field, which he displayed in emphatic fashion against ECU. As he prepared to transition to the college game, McDowell heard from mentors that “the only way you will be successful is if you maintain your fun, your love for the game.”
And that fun mindset is something that teammates have encouraged the Leesburg, Georgia native to embrace — to continue being his energetic self.
“It comes from deep down, like I’ve had this energy my whole life,” McDowell said. “Coming from my hometown, there’s a lot of things that go on. There’s a lot of things I’ve been through, and football has been like an outlet. I love the game so much. I can’t help but to show my passion for the game when I’m out there.
“And my whole life growing up, everyone has always told me I would be too small to play running back, too small to play in the SEC. I’m thankful to God that coach Beamer has given me this opportunity. I can’t do anything but embrace it.”
