What we learned about the Gamecocks in 2021, and what it all means for 2022 season
South Carolina put an emphatic cap on its 2021 season Thursday with a 38-21 romp of North Carolina in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl.
With head coach Shane Beamer’s first season at USC now in the books, it’s time to look back at a few things we learned about the Gamecocks this fall.
Here are four things we learned:
South Carolina’s culture has flipped
The word “culture” gets thrown around in college football circles more often than it should, but there’s something to it.
Beamer inherited a bit of a mess when he arrived in Columbia in December. Players were transferring left and right after Will Muschamp’s midseason firing. The Gamecocks finished the year 2-8 and watched their bowl game washed out due to COVID-19 issues.
Yet, Beamer preached the Gamecocks could compete in Year 1. That they did and then some.
South Carolina’s 7-6 record marked its first winning record since 2018. Beamer also became just the second first-year head coach in program history to win a bowl game in his inaugural campaign.
USC wasn’t the most talented team in 2021. It might not have been the fifth-most talented team in its own division. But the Gamecocks played hard. That translates when the talent comes. So, too, does positivity. All that took form in Year 1 under Beamer.
Gamecocks QB room will be totally different
What Dakereon Joyner did on Thursday was nothing short of spectacular.
The high school quarterback-turned-college receiver-turned-QB again, completed all nine of his passes for 160 yards and a touchdown in his first real action at signal-caller since the 2019 season.
That said, Joyner shouldn’t be needed at quarterback next year with Oklahoma transfer Spencer Rattler coming to town this fall.
Rattler comes to Columbia as arguably the highest profile signal-caller import in program history. He was a Heisman Trophy candidate to start the 2020 season, but a midseason benching led him to a new home in South Carolina.
Beyond Rattler, South Carolina also brings in four-star freshmen Tanner Bailey and Braden Davis. They’ll fill spots previously allotted to Zeb Noland and Jason Brown.
Add in returners Luke Doty and Colten Gauthier and it’s a quickly revamped quarterback room that a year ago was down to just two scholarship signal-callers.
USC’s defensive line handled its business. Who’s next?
South Carolina’s secondary had its share of detractors heading into the season. The defensive line, though — that group was circled from the start.
With Kingsley “JJ” Enagbare back alongside Aaron Sterling, Rick Sandidge and a supporting cast that included Zacch Pickens, Jordan Burch and Georgia State transfer Jordan Strachan, the Gamecocks felt confident about their ability in the trenches.
With Enagbare off to the NFL and Sterling likely gone, too, that leaves holes to plug. Pickens played well throughout the year and he’ll be a crucial piece next fall. Burch is a former five-star recruit who hasn’t really touched his potential. Next year will go a long way in telling how his career shapes up.
Strachan could also conceivably come back next year, should he so choose. He wasn’t at practice on Tuesday, prompting speculation he’d departed for the NFL Draft. He did, in fact, play Thursday and could boost his draft stock as a featured defensive end in the SEC.
South Carolina’s defensive line anchored its defense in 2021. It’ll take a cast of new faces to hold things together in 2022.
South Carolina has something at running back
With ZaQuandre White and Kevin Harris leaping from South Carolina to the NFL, that leaves the Gamecocks looking for a featured back heading into next season.
Juju McDowell feels like a trendy pick to see a higher usage rate in next year’s offense. The shifty and dynamic freshman is a blur in the open field and runs bigger than his 5-foot-9, 177-pound frame might suggest.
McDowell capped off his strong inaugural campaign with a 35-yard touchdown in Thursday’s win over North Carolina to keep the Tar Heels at an arm’s distance in the second quarter.
South Carolina also returns former top-50 running back MarShawn Lloyd. Lloyd was hampered some as he returned from a torn ACL that ended his first year on campus during fall camp. Another offseason of work should have him ready to take on a featured role in the offense.
Rashad Amos should also be in the mix for the Gamecocks in 2021. Amos hasn’t had many, if any, chances to crack the depth chart, but he’s a projectable, big-bodied back that could take more of a beating than either Lloyd or McDowell at their size.
Losing White and Harris stings some, but South Carolina should feel confident it’ll find someone to shoulder the load at tailback.
This story was originally published December 31, 2021 at 9:48 AM.
