USC’s offensive line youngsters might play

One of the SEC’s unwritten rules is to redshirt freshman offensive linemen. Almost every rookie is not going to be ready for the battlegrounds of the country’s toughest league, and a year learning how to eat, lift, condition and to get reps against the starters is almost mandatory.

Shawn Elliott knows it. He’s never been married to it.

Especially this year.

“They’re going to determine that,” the Gamecocks’ line coach said during camp. “How well they pick it up during camp, how physical they are right now, condition-wise, mental … so we’ll wait and see.”

Redshirts won’t be finalized until the end of the season. But it seems three of the Gamecocks’ four true freshman offensive linemen will play this year.

Zack Bailey, Christian Pellage and Blake Camper are listed as top backups on the depth chart for the North Carolina game. Each said what every freshman says – they understand the importance of redshirting, but they want to play.

“No doubt,” Camper said. “If we can play, we want to.”

Bailey (6-foot-6, 320 pounds) is behind Mike Matulis at left guard, Pellage (6-6, 314) is behind Brandon Shell at left tackle and Camper (6-8, 295) is behind Mason Zandi at right tackle. There could be switches – an emphasis of Elliott’s system is that every lineman reps at every position, just in case – but the Gamecocks don’t appear hesitant about throwing the newbies in if need be.

“If he decides he wants me to play, great, but if not, that’s fine,” Bailey said. “I’m just going to get better and better.”

The trio, and fellow freshman Trey Derouen, are rooming together. Naturally, they hang out after practice and talk about playing someday – while eating.

It’s a large part of being a lineman. USC’s training table does a fantastic job, but equal portions fill up a lot more of 5-10 punter than 6-9 lineman.

“We take a lot more visits to the grocery store than I thought we would,” Camper said. “We’ll sit at Golden Corral for two to three hours at a time.”

Each came in hungry (no pun intended) and ready to play if called. Pellage, Camper and Bailey have been in normal, non-scout jerseys during camp and stand to be on Thursday’s dress list.

While the Gamecocks have 13 eligible linemen (Cory Helms can practice but can’t play after transferring from Wake Forest), the breakdown of experience is slim.

Six never have played a down. D.J. Park and Zandi mostly have played on special teams. Cody Waldrop and Matulis have fought injuries throughout their careers. Only Shell, Will Sport and center Alan Knott have played and stayed.

But that’s the group Elliott has. He believes in the youngsters. If they have to play, he and they believe they can play well.

“We go over plays every night, try to make each other better,” Bailey said. “We’re trying to learn as much as we can and push ourselves to get better every single day. If something does happen, we have to be there to fill in if there are any hiccups.”

This story was originally published September 2, 2015 at 7:58 PM with the headline "USC’s offensive line youngsters might play."