Gamecocks red zone run game a work in progress
South Carolina starts its first practice under Will Muschamp on March 15. The State will take the 15 days of the month leading up to that to look at 15 “keys” for the Gamecocks as they prepare for Muschamp’s first season.
This will come as little surprise to the “RUN THE BALL IN THE RED ZONE!” choir, but only 11 teams in the country had fewer rushing touchdowns last season than South Carolina.
The Gamecocks ran the ball into the end zone 11 times and four of those times came against Texas A&M, meaning they averaged .64 rushing touchdowns in the other 11 games of the season. South Carolina failed to score a rushing touchdown in five games.
So how do they fix that? Maybe 5-foot-10, 220-pound Mon Denson can help. Denson, a former three-star prospect, redshirted last year. He might not ever be the starting tailback for South Carolina, but he can add a lot of value this year if he can prove to have a knack for finding the goal line at his size.
Offensive line play also will have to improve close to the goal line. The Gamecocks will have three new starters up front, and Steve Spurrier raved about the bulk of his upcoming crop of offensive linemen before his resignation.
USC’s spring RB roster
David Williams is the known commodity. The redshirt junior averaged 3.5 yards per carry last year in relief of Brandon Wilds and enters the spring as the starter by default.
The more interesting evaluations will center around freshmen Mon Denson, A.J. Turner and C.J. Freeman. Denson and Turner redshirted last year, and Freeman is an early enrollee.
Williams has shown the ability to be a solid starter in the right situation, but the Gamecocks need some explosion in the backfield. Denson, Turner and Freeman will get a chance to prove they can provide that.
▪ Darius Paulk, Sr., 5-7, 195
▪ Rod Talley, Jr., 5-9, 200
▪ David Williams, Jr., 6-1, 216
Mon Denson, Fr., 5-10, 220
▪ C.J. Freeman*, Fr., 5-11, 196
▪ A.J. Turner, Fr., 5-10, 186
This story was originally published March 2, 2016 at 11:21 AM with the headline "Gamecocks red zone run game a work in progress."