Antwane Wells’ electric performance gives a jolt to USC’s offense against Arkansas
South Carolina’s offensive efforts needed some juice Saturday against No. 16 Arkansas — and despite the loss, they got it.
As the Gamecocks trailed 21-9 in the second quarter, the team faced third-and-17 after a sequence of negative plays. Quarterback Spencer Rattler fumbled twice on the same drive, and USC moved backward on a false start.
Just as it seemed the team might end another drive without points, Antwane “Juice” Wells got open, caught the ball at the 36 and sprinted for a 62-yard touchdown.
“We eliminated all the mess-ups and we just locked in on what we had to do on that play,” Wells said. “We took advantage of it.”
Wells’ play on that third and long was emblematic of the Gamecocks’ 44-30 loss: a struggling offense made better by Juice’s performance.
Wells finished the game with:
▪ 185 yards and one touchdown — he accounted for about half of the team’s receiving yards.
▪ two 60-plus yard gains, the aforementioned 62-yarder and a 64-yard gain in the fourth quarter as he squirmed his way out of a tackle. He added a 30-yard reception in the second half.
His statline earned him the East-West Shrine Bowl “Breakout Offensive Player” award for the week.
“Dude’s a playmaker,” Rattler said. “He makes big-time catches, he’s a big-time player and we need to get the ball to him more.”
Wells’ second-quarter touchdown brought South Carolina back into the game for a moment, but the team couldn’t ultimately capitalize.
The defense forced a turnover on downs, but the Gamecock offense went three-and-out before Arkansas added another touchdown to extend its lead.
MarShawn Lloyd fumbled the ball on the next play, and USC never brought the game back within one possession.
“I’m my biggest critic,” Lloyd said. “That’s going to haunt me for the rest of the week.”
Wells’ production, however, gives the team a reliable target moving forward. It’s the second game in a row he’s led the team in catches, putting him at 15 through two games.
Since his arrival, he’s formed a unique connection with Rattler. The two made a trip to Phoenix before the season to get extra reps in and get familiar with each other.
“I feel like that helped us out a lot,” Wells said, “to build chemistry and get to know me on a different type of level. We’re just going to continue to build.”
Rattler praised Wells’ performance Saturday, saying he could have scored more touchdowns than he did.
USC wasn’t able to keep up with Arkansas’ offensive production early on, but the passing game showed potential in the second half.
Rattler’s lone interception came when he was targeting Wells in the endzone in the fourth quarter. Wells’ 64-yard pickup helped set up a touchdown on the next drive.
“They were bringing pressure at the end of the game and we were making plays,” head coach Shane Beamer said.
With the way Wells has played, Beamer is still confident the other skill players can add to the offensive game plan. Lloyd has scored three total touchdowns for the Gamecocks this year, and Juju McDowell and Jaheim Bell picked up touchdowns against the Razorbacks.
“There’s a lot of guys that showed what they can do when the ball’s in their hands,” Beamer said.
South Carolina’s offense has relied primarily on Wells in the first two games, with the outing against Arkansas proving more effective than against Georgia State.
“As an offense, we put up more points,” Wells said. “We definitely took a step forward. We’ve just got to continue to build off that.”
This story was originally published September 11, 2022 at 8:10 AM.
