‘A pretty cool story.’ Two small-school transfers could play big roles for USC
When Jason Brown entered South Carolina’s game at Texas A&M and threw his first pass toward E.J. Jenkins, it surprised exactly no one.
The entire USC coaching staff knows just how much Brown loves throwing to the 6-foot-7 receiver/tight end hybrid.
“We kid Jason all the time,” head coach Shane Beamer said. “If we’ve got five receivers out on the route, there’s about a 97% chance the ball is going to E.J. no matter whether he’s open or not.”
The Brown-Jenkins connection is one that has brewed since both men were middle school boys. They grew up together in Fredericksburg, Virginia and have played on the same football teams every step of the way, from middle school, to high school, to FCS school St. Francis and now to South Carolina. Brown’s sister even calls Jenkins her “older brother.”
With just four games left, the duo’s chemistry could become all the more important for the Gamecocks (4-4, 1-4 SEC).
With Luke Doty out for the season and Zeb Noland recovering from a minor surgical procedure on his knee, Brown could be on the cusp of making his first start of the season Saturday night against Florida. While it’s doubtful he’ll throw to Jenkins 97% of the time, as Beamer quipped, it would make sense to pair Brown with a familiar target, and Beamer said Tuesday that Jenkins is a player the Gamecocks want to get on the field more often in a variety of packages.
Beamer described Brown and Jenkins as inseparable, glued at the hip, and said there was no chance one of the players would have transferred to USC without the other coming as well.
Gamecock fans haven’t seen much of Brown this season. He’s thrown just 20 passes, completing 12 for 129 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. But Jenkins has been catching passes from Brown his entire life and expressed confidence in the senior signal-caller should he earn the start Saturday.
“Just seeing him be successful and do what he normally does and everybody else be amazed by what kind of passes he’s making, it’s an everyday thing,” Jenkins said. “I’ve been seeing it forever.”
Added veteran receiver Josh Vann: “He’s stepping up. Since the beginning of the season, he’s been there. So he knows what’s going on. So as an offense, the next quarterback up, you just gotta trust him.”
Both Brown and Jenkins transferred to USC to pursue a dream of playing FBS football in the SEC, and both have had to bide their time this season waiting for opportunities to get on the field.
Jenkins has caught five passes this season for 70 yards and a touchdown, and is behind both Vann at the “X” receiver position and Nick Muse at tight end. Brown, meanwhile, finds himself in the position he’s in now because of the injuries to both Doty and Noland.
All the while, the longtime teammates and friends have tried to support each other and keep each other engaged.
“It was hard in the beginning,” Jenkins said. “But we continue to motivate each other every day, even when you’re feeling down. Like when Jason tore his ACL (at St. Francis), he went on a downhill slope, and just being there for him every day, just uplifting him, just giving him encouragement day in and day out. And he does it for me, vice versa, just helping each other every day.”
Beamer has yet to rule out Noland for Saturday’s game but did say the quarterback will need to improve his mobility and show more in practice to earn consideration for the starting job. With his status in doubt, the Gamecocks’ fate against the Gators may rest in the hands of two small-school transfers.
“It’s just the relationship they have, and it goes way beyond football,” Beamer said. “There’s a great connection for those guys. They have great care and love for one another, and it’s a pretty cool story with both of them.
“They’re great young men. Thankful that both of them are in our program.”
