How South Carolina football has ‘answered the bell’ amid roster turnover before bowl
South Carolina football has lost seven players to the transfer portal since the end of the 2021 regular season, and two of its top performers won’t play against North Carolina in the upcoming Duke’s Mayo Bowl as they prepare for the NFL Draft.
USC offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield said missing those players came up in Monday’s team meeting, when head coach Shane Beamer brought their absence to the players’ attention.
“Coach (Beamer) talked about that today. There’s people not in the team meeting that were in the meeting at the end of the season,” Satterfield told reporters in a Monday press conference. “We’ve got to come together, people have to start picking up the slack for those guys that aren’t here. The guys have answered the bell.”
Satterfield said the postseason offensive attrition hasn’t been too much for the Gamecocks to overcome. They shuffled between three quarterbacks and dealt with a number of injuries across the offense in 2021.
“It’s not something you want to be used to, but we’re kind of used to it at this point, playing the amount of guys that we’ve played at every position,” Satterfield said. “This is when it becomes invaluable. This is nothing new for our guys. We’re used to change. They didn’t flinch.”
Among the departures was leading rusher ZaQuandre White, who excelled in South Carolina’s November wins over Florida and Auburn that clinched a bowl spot. White accumulated 583 yards on 88 carries and added another 202 yards on 19 receptions, totaling five all-purpose touchdowns.
White, who had another season of eligibility remaining, made his NFL future official in an announcement Dec. 8. Beamer left the door open for White to return for the bowl game, but running back Kevin Harris said last week White hadn’t been attending bowl practices.
Satterfield said White’s energy has been missed, but he’s seen the Gamecocks’ other tailbacks step up in his absence. Freshman running back Juju McDowell, who got off to a strong start in 2021 but saw his carries limited later in the season, kept the spirit in practice, Satterfield said.
“Juju is maybe not as energetic as (White), but close,” Satterfield said. “Juju is doing a nice job of making sure the competitive spirit’s there in that room (and) on the sidelines.”
South Carolina also lost quarterback Jason Brown, when he opted for the transfer portal last week. Brown, who started the last four games for the Gamecocks, departed just after Oklahoma transfer Spencer Rattler announced he’d be coming to Columbia for next season.
Graduate assistant-turned-quarterback Zeb Noland will get a start for the first time since October, fully recovered from a minor procedure on his meniscus. Noland, will exhaust all of his playing eligibility with the bowl game, said last week he plans on staying with South Carolina in his GA role, and he wished Brown well in his move.
“It came as a surprise to everybody,” Noland said on Brown’s decision. “It’s kind of hard. Doesn’t matter who’s coming or who’s going, those guys are my friends, my teammates and guys that I enjoy being with. I think that’s the hardest thing. ... I’m happy for Jason. He did a lot for this program, and he’s a good person.”
As of Monday, defensive coordinator Clayton White will keep many of his key pieces for the bowl game, including second team All-American defensive back Jaylan Foster (no eligibility remaining), linebacker Brad Johnson (one year remaining) and defensive lineman Zacch Pickens (two years remaining).
The principle loss for White’s defense has been Edge lineman Kingsley “JJ” Enagbare, an NFL hopeful who announced last week he will not participate in the bowl game.
The next man up on the Gamecocks’ depth chart is Georgia State transfer Jordan Strachan, who totaled 20 tackles, 1.5 sacks and an interception this year, seeing action in all 12 games.
“Obviously when you lose a guy like JJ, you want to wish him well and (are) hopeful he’s making the right decision for him and his family,” White said in a Monday press conference. “As far as us, we won’t change anything. We just keep it going, next man up. We have a couple of good players behind him, so we feel good about the talent that’s there.”
Foster, who led the country with five interceptions in the regular season, said South Carolina’s focus hasn’t been affected by the roster turnover. Foster will suit up as a Gamecock for the last time against UNC in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl in Charlotte on Dec. 30.
“First and foremost, those guys are our brothers,” Foster said. “Whatever decision they make, that’s the decision they felt like was best for them. But a guy that’s here, you’re here, so it’s all in. There’s no different mindset because those guys are gone. We’re here to play football, so that’s what we’re gonna do.”
Gamecocks departing the football program
Entering the transfer portal, unless otherwise stated.
Dec. 15: Keveon Mullins, TE
Dec. 15: Kinglsey “JJ” Enagbare, EDGE (opted out of bowl to prepare for NFL Draft)
Dec. 15: Jason Brown, QB
Dec. 12: Vincent Murphy, OL
Dec. 12: Connor Jordan, QB
Dec. 8: ZaQuandre White, RB (opted out of bowl to prepare for NFL Draft)
Dec. 8: Dominick Hill, DB
Dec. 6: Jahmar Brown, LB/S
Nov. 30: Ger-Cari Caldwell, WR
Oct. 18: Rosendo Louis, LB
Oct. 4: OrTre Smith, WR
