‘He just wants to be the best’: What star James Madison receiver brings to Gamecocks
Snow danced around Antwane Wells as he caught pass after pass from quarterback Cole Johnson in January of 2020.
Johnson — then in his fourth year at James Madison — had already played in 22 career games. He was slated to be the next in line under center for the Dukes in a program that’s as good as it gets at the FCS level.
The mid-year enrollee receiver running routes in the Virginia winter would be a part of the equation.
“We knew he was explosive off the bat,” Johnson told The State on Monday night. “But I think he’s really worked on his route running and those releases. ... And it’s shown, obviously, on the field.”
Johnson concluded his time at James Madison third in program history in completions and second in passing yards and passing touchdowns. He also set single-season records for passing touchdowns, passing yards and completions. Plenty of that had to to with Wells — who announced his intention to transfer to South Carolina on Monday afternoon.
Wells came to James Madison after spending a year in prep school at Fork Union Military Academy. He was lightly recruited out of high school. His 247Sports high school profile is quite literally blank.
But once in Harrisonburg, Virginia, Johnson and the rest of the James Madison coaching staff caught on to what they had in Wells.
“I think he’s a guy who’s super versatile,” Johnson said. “He can play in the slot or out wide and he’s incredible at beating one-on-one matchups, especially at our level. Any time we could get him matched up one-on-one, we knew he’d win that.”
Just flip to Wells’ Instagram for proof of concept. You’ll find highlights from the past two seasons, videos of his offseason workouts and shot after shot of him beating cornerbacks who simply couldn’t match up.
Not enough evidence? Peep his numbers.
He set single-season school records in catches, yards receiving and touchdowns during the 2021 season. His career numbers — 1,853 yards, 119 receptions and 21 touchdowns — rank third, ninth and ninth, respectively, in the JMU career record books despite playing parts of just two years in the program.
Sure, there’s a distinct difference in lining up across from defensive backs at Campbell versus those at Clemson. That said, Wells — at least on paper — looks the part of a dynamic playmaker for a South Carolina offense in need of weapons.
“Offensively, we looked great against Auburn, we looked great against Florida,” head coach Shane Beamer said after USC’s 38-21 Duke’s Mayo Bowl win over North Carolina on Dec. 30. “We all saw us at Texas A&M and Missouri and Clemson. ... I’m well aware we have to be more consistent (offensively).”
Wells will join a receiving corps in Columbia that’s in the midst of a reboot. Leading receiver Josh Vann is coming back to Columbia. Do-it-all dynamo Jaheim Bell figures to get more touches in the passing game in 2022, too. The Gamecocks also added the crucial pieces to their rebuild formula in quarterback Spencer Rattler and his Oklahoma running mate tight end Austin Stogner.
Throw Wells and Wake Forest running back Christian Beal-Smith — who announced his pledge to South Carolina on Monday night — into that mix and offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield’s group has the makings of a top-flight offense in Year 2.
“I talked to him (Sunday) — a big part of it was, obviously, Rattler coming in and having a quarterback that he knew,” Johnson explained of Wells. “Because I think that was one of the things that he was kind of nervous about. I’m graduating and we’d built that relationship and wasn’t sure what what was going on with the new quarterback. I think having a solidified quarterback (at South Carolina) and somebody he can trust was huge.”
Johnson said players at James Madison compared Wells’ ability and style to that of former LSU star Ja’Marr Chase — who led all rookie NFL pass catchers in receiving by more than 400 yards during the 2021 regular season.
James Madison quarterbacks coach Tino Sunseri, who previously worked as a graduate assistant at Alabama, said Wells could match up with any of the Crimson Tides’ recent receiving studs like John Metchie, Jaylen Waddle and Devonta Smith, according to Johnson.
“He just wants to work to be the best guy in the nation,” Johnson said. “He doesn’t really care about all the bright lights and all that stuff. He just wants to be the best.”
Less than two years ago, Wells was running routes in the snow. Now he’ll move to the Deep South with a chance to leap onto the national stage.
If Southeastern Conference cornerbacks aren’t careful, they’ll be staring at Wells’ footprints in the snow as he blows right past them.
This story was originally published January 11, 2022 at 7:40 AM.
