How one O-line position change should help South Carolina’s offense be more consistent
There’s a confidence in Vershon Lee’s voice these days.
Standing at the lectern for the first set of official press conferences of the fall on Tuesday, he comes off like a player with four years in the program under his belt. Being the older guy in the room will do that. Transitioning from guard to center, too, calls for one to be more vocal.
But this isn’t new. Lee has been the standard-bearer for an offensive line replacing three starters this fall. He’s the most experienced piece. He’s likely the most legitimate NFL prospect on South Carolina’s front five. He’s also a focal point for a line that will need to maximize its potential to help quarterback Spencer Rattler and a plethora of talented skill position pieces thrive.
“He kind of wanted (the responsibility of a center) and he took it on,” first-year offensive line coach Lonnie Teasley said. “... Vershon, in the summer, when (coaches) weren’t around, he would run the meetings — and that’s huge for a center, because now he’s thinking like a coach.”
That Lee has shifted into the spot vacated by sixth-year senior Eric Douglas makes sense. He’s played in 25 games with 16 starts over the past two seasons — the second-most among South Carolina’s projected starters.
There’s a personality, too, that comes with calling plays in the middle. Lee has those natural leadership abilities coaches hope for in their men in the middle. He’s spent the last two years as football’s representative on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).
Lee told reporters Tuesday he’s remained in contact with Douglas since the latter graduated following the 2022 season. He’s picked his brain on seeing the field, how to make calls and what to look for in pre-snap reads.
There are adjustments, though, to moving from guard to center. Lee jokes he no longer wears gloves to help protect from the beating that comes on the interior of a Southeastern Conference offensive line. He needs his hands free to snap the ball.
“My hands are all mangled up,” he said through a smirk.
There’s also the way in which Lee is asked to see the field. Rather than worry simply about the left side of the line, as he did when he was slotted at guard, he’s scanning the entire defense.
“Left guard is usually looking at the left side, looking at your play ground or the left side,” Lee explained. “But at center you have to look at the whole field. You’ve got to see what the right side is showing — like (looking at) the safety rotation on the right side, then you have have to see what the safeties are doing on the left side.
“It’s just a big picture. Left guard was a little bit of a picture cut in half. At center it’s the whole picture.”
South Carolina’s offensive line has its share of questions entering the 2023 season. Besides Douglas, guard Jovaughn Gwyn and tackle Dylan Wonnum are also gone. That leaves Lee and Jakai Moore as the most experienced pieces back this fall, while projected starting left tackle Jaylen Nichols may miss the entire season after suffering a knee injury in the Garnet and Black spring game.
That said, there are pieces for Teasley and new offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains to work with during fall camp. Yale transfer Nick Gargiulo has impressed early in his time in Columbia and has played every position at the college level. Western Illinois transfer Sidney Fugar, fourth-year lineman Trai Jones and four-star freshman Markee Anderson should all get some kind of run as well.
“O-line play has been a lot better,” tight end Trey Knox said. “(Those) boys are are looking nasty out there, playing with a lot of fire.”
Teasley cautioned fall camp is a time for tinkering. The group that appeared as the first team offensive line during the first practice of preseason last week — Moore (left tackle), Gargiulo (left guard), Lee (center), Jones (right guard) and Fugar (right tackle) — may not be the one that trots out on the first series of the season opener against North Carolina on Sept. 3 in Charlotte.
Still, if there’s any certainty, it’s that Lee will be in the center of that cohort — just as he asked for a few months back.
