South Carolina’s football freshmen settle in, make adjustments for first season
A group of South Carolina’s football players took to Drew Wellness Center in Columbia on Friday for the annual Pigskin Poets event.
The Gamecocks, in partnership with the Richland Library, turn out each July to read books to local kids and then stick around for autographs and pictures.
Four of Shane Beamer’s freshmen — quarterback Cutter Woods, linebacker Josh Smith, tight end Mike Tyler and edge Jaquavious Dodd — spoke with reporters about the day and the lead-up to a new season:
Giving back
All four of the freshmen said they enjoyed the opportunity to give back to the local community via Pigskin Poets.
“It means a lot because the same thing happened when I was younger,” Woods said. “... When I was younger, I definitely looked up to high school football players, college football players. Now I’ll be able to be that person. That’s pretty cool.”
Woods, Smith, Tyler and Dodd are all Palmetto State products. Smith and Tyler are from the Midlands.
“I’m from the city, so giving back is always an honor,” Tyler said.
Smith, a Dutch Fork High School product, said he had fond memories of going to the library in downtown Columbia as a kid, and being from the area made the day even more special for him.
“Seeing the smile on those kids’ faces when you’re running through and stuff like that, you get to sit by them and talk to you and things like that — it’s just a great experience,” Smith said. “Just giving back to the kids, it’s just amazing.”
Adjusting to college ball
One of the biggest adjustments they’ve had to make to college football is simply time management.
“The first couple months were definitely hectic,” Smith said. “Learning time management, learning my schedule ... things like that change every day. So just really time management was a big thing for me these first couple months.”
As for what actually goes into learning time management, Tyler said the simplest thing is prioritizing sleep.
“You’ve gotta get enough sleep,” Tyler said. “If you don’t have enough sleep, you can’t operate. Sleep, being on top [of] and looking at your notes. ... Know what you have to do and where you have to be.”
Smith said the speed of the game is something he’s had to adjust to, while the intensity of workouts was an adjustment for Dodd.
Help from USC veterans
On Friday each freshmen said they’ve already learned a lot from the veterans in their respective position groups.
Woods said the way LaNorris Sellers leads has stuck out to him the most.
“I would say just his demeanor he carries,” Woods said of Sellers. “I think he carries a super calm but leadership demeanor. ... He keeps his cool with every situation. It’s really cool to see.”
The South Carolina linebacker room is relatively young, but Smith said redshirt junior transfer Shawn Murphy has taken him under his wing.
“Any time I have a question about whether it’s football or life or anything like that, he keeps it 100 with me,” Smith said. “He tells me things I need to hear, not what I want to hear, anything like that.”
Dodd said when he first got to South Carolina he was “kind of off” when it came to learning plays, but extra work with talented guys above him on the depth chart has helped him adjust.
“I felt like I was learning, because I got some guys above me, like Desmond Umeozulu and Dylan Stewart,” Dodd said. “All these boys were just helping me.”
