Why loaded tight end room could be focal point for South Carolina’s offense in 2022
Jody Wright isn’t the world’s biggest guy.
He’s 5-foot-9 on a good day. His days as a running back at Jacksonville State are about two decades past. But during his first spring practices as South Carolina’s tight ends coach, Wright quipped that his position group was so thin he could wrap his arms around the entire unit.
That’s not exactly the case anymore.
“We’ve got a lot of guys who can do a lot of things, that can cause defenses problems, we hope, in the fall,” Wright told The State.
South Carolina’s offense has undergone an overhaul via the transfer portal this offseason. Quarterback Spencer Rattler (Oklahoma) and receivers Antwane “Juice” Wells and Corey Rucker Jr. (Arkansas State) are among the headliners.
Wright’s group, however, is perhaps as deep as any on the Gamecocks’ offense following the additions of former Oklahoma standout Austin Stogner and East Tennessee State’s Nate Adkins to a room that already boasted Jaheim Bell and Traevon Kenion.
“It’s gonna be a lot of fun to have four tight ends, to have three or four backs that can touch it, to have seven wideouts who can do things with a quarterback that can spin the ball,” Satterfield told The State. “I think all that stuff’s gonna be a lot of fun to do.”
Bell is the unicorn of the group. He’s a rare combination of size and speed that has Wright and Satterfield salivating over his possible production in 2022.
There were glimpses last fall. He took a handoff over 60 yards for a touchdown against Eastern Illinois, before it was called back for a holding penalty. He notched the first 100-yard receiving game of his career five weeks later in a last-second win over Vanderbilt.
The Duke’s Mayo Bowl victory over North Carolina was its own coming-out party of sorts for the big-bodied Florida product.
Bell took a handoff 20 yards on South Carolina’s first play from scrimmage. Two snaps later, Dakereon Joyner hit him streaking up the seam for a 69-yard touchdown — one of his two scores on the day.
He finished the Gamecocks’ dominating 38-21 win with five receptions for 159 yards. Short of Joyner’s perfect 9-for-9 showing under center, Bell likely would’ve taken home bowl MVP honors.
He’s been projected as a first-round pick in next year’s NFL Draft by a handful of outlets. His coaches genuinely believe there’s no ceiling to what he’s capable of.
“If he wants to prepare and work his butt off and learn as much as he can, he has a chance to do some really special things,” Satterfield said. “I think he’s the only one that can ever get in his own way. “
Where Bell is as close to a proven commodity as USC has on its roster entering 2022, Stogner and Adkins feel like high-floor, higher-ceiling candidates.
Stogner, not all that dissimilar to Rattler, is a season removed from putting up all-conference level numbers at Oklahoma. A thigh bruise and subsequent infection left the Texas native in a life-threatening position toward the tail end of his third season with the Sooners.
Now healthy, there’s belief Stogner can play himself onto NFL radars again given his ideal size at 6-foot-6, 221 pounds and wide catch radius that makes him an ideal fit in the modern passing game.
“He’s a quarterback’s dream,” Shanon Purcell, Stogner’s offensive coordinator his senior year at Prestonwood Christian, told The State earlier this year.
Adkins is the least proven of South Carolina’s elder statesmen in the tight ends room, if only because he’s spent his career at the FCS level up to this point.
The son of South Carolina offensive line coach Greg Adkins, Nate compiled 43 receptions for 458 yards over his final two seasons at ETSU. He earned All-Southern Conference honors for his efforts.
Hitting the transfer portal in April, Adkins received legitimate interest from LSU and Alabama. Playing for his dad at South Carolina, though, has him in Columbia for his final year of eligibility.
“They’re all multiple,” Wright explained of his group. “They can all play Y, which makes it really good the way you can use them all. And they really get along — which is probably the best thing. They all embrace being able to be in multiple roles, either on the ball, off the ball, split out at receiver.”
South Carolina’s offensive struggles in 2021 are well-documented. The Gamecocks finished 11th in the Southeastern Conference in rushing offense and 13th in both total offense and passing offense.
USC’s offseason imports and loaded tight end room suggest a brighter immediate future. So much so, Wright’s looking to borrow the Pit Viper sunglasses Bell donned in his post-Duke’s Mayo Bowl presser.
“I borrowed those the other day at practice,” Wright said through a smirk. “I told him he needs to get me a pair.”
