What to watch out for in South Carolina’s spring football game
April 06, 2019
As with any spring, the Gamecocks are short on bodies. Half the freshmen aren’t enrolled. Plenty of the starters or potential starters are recovering from injuries. USC will be without Javon Kinlaw and T.J. Brunson. That’s before considering the likes of OrTre Smith, Jamyest Williams or Rico Dowdle who have all been banged up or limited this spring. Assuming the team stays with its first-team/second-team format, we might at least get a sense of where things are stacking up.
A spring game isn’t the best place for a defensive lineman, as his opportunities to tackle a quarterback tend to be limited (although USC’s backups will be live). That said, Pickens is a big curiosity as a five-star recruit, the highest-rated the program has had since Jadeveon Clowney. He’s got the size and ability to be an impact player in Year 1, and we get our first look at what he might be.
Yes, this list is heavy on the freshmen. Outside of them, much of the group has already held some kind of role in-season. Oh, and newcomer Kevin Harris got some social media buzz trampling over some defenders in video that leaked out online. Through spring, the early enrollee has been praised for his power, for how hard he is to tackle and been compared to at least one NFL player with a vehicular nickname. If he can truck a few backup linebackers, it would be worth taking a watch.
- THE BACKUP QBS, LED BY HILINSKI
Going into any spring game, the top focus is going to be the quarterbacks if there’s an open competition or the backups because they’re so rarely seen. Jake Bentley is pretty much in line to start, but it will be the public debut of four-star freshman Ryan Hilinski. He, former four-star Dakereon Joyner and Jay Urich are battling for the No. 2 job. What order they go in and what they show might give an inkling as to who is making progress as the team prepares for the season after Bentley departs.
Unless a defensive back just really shines (looking at you Jaycee Horn and Israel Mukuamu), spring games are mostly about skill guys. South Carolina either knows what it has or will be missing key faces at receiver in running back, but tight end is a bit of a question mark. Kiel Pollard and Kyle Markway are the obvious heir apparents, as they got the most backup work last season. But Evan Hinson could be a factor as a play-maker, the staff mentioned Will Register a few times during the spring and early enrollee Traevon Kenion will see some action.
