Dakereon Joyner injury update

South Carolina offered Dakereon Joyner a football scholarship when he was in the eighth grade. On Wednesday, Joyner finally signed the paperwork.

“I am blessed,” Joyner said on the first day of the early signing period after a ceremony at Fort Dorchester High School. “Time flew by and I’m finally a Gamecock now. I committed because I wanted to go there, and I’ve been 100 percent committed since the day I committed.”

Joyner is among the highest-rated players to sign with the Gamecocks in the early period, a four-star quarterback who accounted for 13,069 yards of total offense and 159 touchdowns in his high school career. Joyner threw for 9,745 yards and rushed for another 3,324 yards for the Patriots.

“It’s obviously special what he has done here,” Fort Dorchester coach Steve Laprad said.

After signing, Joyner pronounced himself healthy. He left the Shrine Bowl last week with an injury to his non-throwing shoulder, but he plans to travel to New Orleans, La., next week for the Offense-Defense high school all-star game and may play in that game, he said.

“I’m doing good,” he said of the injury. “I think I should (be able to play), depending on how I feel.”

Joyner will enroll at South Carolina in January.

“I don’t know if I’m going to redshirt or which way it’s going to go, but I don’t want to redshirt,” he said. “I am going to go in there and ball. Whatever my role is, I am going to do it and I’m going to play it.”

This story was originally published December 20, 2017 at 1:06 PM with the headline "Dakereon Joyner injury update."