Gamecock Nation should be optimistic from this point forward.
1) We lost to better teams.
We knew that the stretch of UGA, @LSU, and @UF would dictate a good part of our season, as far as conference play. We beat UGA, who was overrated at the begging of the season and we knew we could stand toe to toe with them, and with everyone for that matter. We showed what we are truly made out of against UGA and where we were as a program. That was a great win. We then had to travel @LSU and that was where things went down hill. I believe that game was a combination of things. I think part of it was, we let success get to our heads. We now know, anyone can beat anyone on any given day. Probably the biggest reason was, we obviously weren't very effective in moving the ball on Offense. Granted, that was the best Defense we faced and will face all season IMHO. Look back at where LSU had been, where they are now and where they are headed. LSU is still LSU. They are a football juggernaut and every year, they have the talent to win the national championship. The Florida game was awful on many levels. We spotted the Gators 21 points in the first half, by fumbling 3 times. Simply, you can't do that against many teams, if any and we did. At that point at half time, Florida knew what we were going have to do to win. Throw. We put in Dylan Thompson since he has the best arm on the team and at that point our Offense became one dimensional and Florida knew it. Same case with LSU though. Florida is a powerhouse and they are only going to get better under Muschamp and Driskel. We could have done things differently in those games but we didn't, we lost too two top ten teams. One of whom will play in the SEC Championship and one however has a decent chance to beat Alabama. We aren't at that point yet, that simple.
Now onto the future. Reasons we should be and need to be optimistic for this season.
1) The schedule.
There are no more college football powerhouses on the schedule anymore. UT, Arkansas, Wofford, @Clemson. We can beat all of those teams. None of those teams have good defenses. That will allow our Offense to build confidence and show what they got. UT and Clemson have high powered Offenses but our Defense is elite. As long as we do not turn the ball over numerous times and we play our game. We will win out.
I doubt many people are doubting the future of our program. For those who are however lets look at the young talent on our team.
On Offense:
QB: Spurrier has seemed to find his QB of the future in Connor Mitch. He is a gun slinger, not the dual threat QB's we have been landing since Spurrier has gotten here.
HB: Mike Davis, Brandon Wilds, Kendric Salley, and most likely David Williams will provide us with 4 RB's on next years roster who are under classmen. I do not know the status of Carson but I believe he qualifies for a 6th year. 5 young RB's on this team, all of whom are talented and bring something different to the table.
WR: Roland, Fuller, and Smith are the future at this position I believe. Roland is a little bit of everything at the WR position, add that to his natural athleticism and speed and he could develop into one of the best we have had. Fuller is the typical slot, go over the middle and take the hit. He will do that and then some. He is a wrecking ball and bounces off of several tacklers. Smith is possibly the closest thing to Alshon we have at this point. A big 6'4, 200lb kid who runs a solid, but not great 40 time. His frame with his natural athleticism is going to allow him to become our redzone threat.
TE: Jerrell Adams, Rory Anderson, Drew Owens and Kelvin Rainey. All of them bring the complete package to the table but tend to do it in different ways or are better then others at some. Adams and Anderson are two TE's who could give us the best TE tandem we have had at this university. Anderson is a great blocker and Adams is developing at that. Both are great receivers though and could give us the best TE tandem we have had ever. Owens and Rainey are kinda going to develop into the do it all TE's. They will be asked to block, make catches etc. Both of whom, if they develop completely will become very good TE's. Rainey red shirted this year and Owens has just recently gotten healthy.
OT: Stadnik, Shell, Park, Zandi and Vonashek are the future of the OT position at SC. If they are we are in good hands. Brandon Shell has the talent to develop into an All American and I believe he will. All of that will come with time. Stadnik and Park will be battling for RT I believe. Both are solid at run blocking now and need to develop on pass blocking and footwork but I believe Elliot will be able to mold these two into great players. Mason Zandi and Vonshek are projects at this point but they could develop into good ones as well.
OG/OC: Clayton Stadnik, Cody Waldrop, Bryce King, Allan Knott are the guys as of now for the future. King is an All American in HS and I believe he will develop into an All SEC player. Wadrop is going to be a mauler in a few years, the coaches and others around the program are very excited about him and his development. To tell you the truth, I do not know much about Standik or Knott but I believe they will develop as well. Afterall they both had other offers from big time programs.
I do not believe many people are worried about the Defense but here is a very quick write up on them.
On the Defensive Line the future is bright especially in the middle. Between Dukes, Dixon Jr, Green, and Kelsey Griffin and possibly Keith Bryant our depth is there for the future. That isn't counting tweeners such as David Johnson or Gerald Turner. In speaking of them two, the DE position could get better but I believe it will be solid, I do not think we will have a duo like Clowney or Taylor many people don't but I believe we can be very productive. Darius English and Devin Washington are the only true DE's at this point and between those two I believe we will pretty good. Washington can develop into an All SEC player and English could become a pass rush specialist. Looking at tweeners such as Dixon, Turner and Johnson we are deep if they all stay at end. Turner and Johsnon could develop into good strongside DE's while also giving us the ability to get after the QB, both are pretty good pass rushers now. Gerald Dixon might be a DT by the spring but I believe he could turn into a guy who we move to DT in passing situations and put him in against the run. Our LB's will be young but talent. Potentially 3 all americans (Bryant, Rolin, and Ngakoue) along with Cooper, Lewis and Holloman. Those six will allow us to have a very talented, relatively in-experienced LB core but give those kids a year or two and that will be the strength of our Defense. The future at Spur is Diggs until further notice. The DB's will be solid. Chaz Elder, Rico McWilliams, T.J Gurley, Kyle Fleetwood, Chris Moody are going to be a big part in this position group. McWilliams and Gurley both impressed the coaching staff alot and McWilliams would probably be our 3rd-4th corner at this point if he hadn't got hurt. Chaz Elder, Kyle Fleetwood and Chris Moody need a little bit more work in the weightroom and playbook but physically they look the part. I am very high on Chaz Elder and I believe he will be our best DB in two years. Branden Langley, Pharoh Cooper, and Ali Groves are the three new guys and I expect all of them to RS but all of whom develop into great players for us.
I believe there is a point where every program must win mostly of off coaching and talent and next year will be that point. If we win next year, and I mean make it to the SEC Championship game we will have arrived. Even if we do not win, it shows the foundation is in place for us to go on to bigger and better things.
1) We lost to better teams.
We knew that the stretch of UGA, @LSU, and @UF would dictate a good part of our season, as far as conference play. We beat UGA, who was overrated at the begging of the season and we knew we could stand toe to toe with them, and with everyone for that matter. We showed what we are truly made out of against UGA and where we were as a program. That was a great win. We then had to travel @LSU and that was where things went down hill. I believe that game was a combination of things. I think part of it was, we let success get to our heads. We now know, anyone can beat anyone on any given day. Probably the biggest reason was, we obviously weren't very effective in moving the ball on Offense. Granted, that was the best Defense we faced and will face all season IMHO. Look back at where LSU had been, where they are now and where they are headed. LSU is still LSU. They are a football juggernaut and every year, they have the talent to win the national championship. The Florida game was awful on many levels. We spotted the Gators 21 points in the first half, by fumbling 3 times. Simply, you can't do that against many teams, if any and we did. At that point at half time, Florida knew what we were going have to do to win. Throw. We put in Dylan Thompson since he has the best arm on the team and at that point our Offense became one dimensional and Florida knew it. Same case with LSU though. Florida is a powerhouse and they are only going to get better under Muschamp and Driskel. We could have done things differently in those games but we didn't, we lost too two top ten teams. One of whom will play in the SEC Championship and one however has a decent chance to beat Alabama. We aren't at that point yet, that simple.
Now onto the future. Reasons we should be and need to be optimistic for this season.
1) The schedule.
There are no more college football powerhouses on the schedule anymore. UT, Arkansas, Wofford, @Clemson. We can beat all of those teams. None of those teams have good defenses. That will allow our Offense to build confidence and show what they got. UT and Clemson have high powered Offenses but our Defense is elite. As long as we do not turn the ball over numerous times and we play our game. We will win out.
I doubt many people are doubting the future of our program. For those who are however lets look at the young talent on our team.
On Offense:
QB: Spurrier has seemed to find his QB of the future in Connor Mitch. He is a gun slinger, not the dual threat QB's we have been landing since Spurrier has gotten here.
HB: Mike Davis, Brandon Wilds, Kendric Salley, and most likely David Williams will provide us with 4 RB's on next years roster who are under classmen. I do not know the status of Carson but I believe he qualifies for a 6th year. 5 young RB's on this team, all of whom are talented and bring something different to the table.
WR: Roland, Fuller, and Smith are the future at this position I believe. Roland is a little bit of everything at the WR position, add that to his natural athleticism and speed and he could develop into one of the best we have had. Fuller is the typical slot, go over the middle and take the hit. He will do that and then some. He is a wrecking ball and bounces off of several tacklers. Smith is possibly the closest thing to Alshon we have at this point. A big 6'4, 200lb kid who runs a solid, but not great 40 time. His frame with his natural athleticism is going to allow him to become our redzone threat.
TE: Jerrell Adams, Rory Anderson, Drew Owens and Kelvin Rainey. All of them bring the complete package to the table but tend to do it in different ways or are better then others at some. Adams and Anderson are two TE's who could give us the best TE tandem we have had at this university. Anderson is a great blocker and Adams is developing at that. Both are great receivers though and could give us the best TE tandem we have had ever. Owens and Rainey are kinda going to develop into the do it all TE's. They will be asked to block, make catches etc. Both of whom, if they develop completely will become very good TE's. Rainey red shirted this year and Owens has just recently gotten healthy.
OT: Stadnik, Shell, Park, Zandi and Vonashek are the future of the OT position at SC. If they are we are in good hands. Brandon Shell has the talent to develop into an All American and I believe he will. All of that will come with time. Stadnik and Park will be battling for RT I believe. Both are solid at run blocking now and need to develop on pass blocking and footwork but I believe Elliot will be able to mold these two into great players. Mason Zandi and Vonshek are projects at this point but they could develop into good ones as well.
OG/OC: Clayton Stadnik, Cody Waldrop, Bryce King, Allan Knott are the guys as of now for the future. King is an All American in HS and I believe he will develop into an All SEC player. Wadrop is going to be a mauler in a few years, the coaches and others around the program are very excited about him and his development. To tell you the truth, I do not know much about Standik or Knott but I believe they will develop as well. Afterall they both had other offers from big time programs.
I do not believe many people are worried about the Defense but here is a very quick write up on them.
On the Defensive Line the future is bright especially in the middle. Between Dukes, Dixon Jr, Green, and Kelsey Griffin and possibly Keith Bryant our depth is there for the future. That isn't counting tweeners such as David Johnson or Gerald Turner. In speaking of them two, the DE position could get better but I believe it will be solid, I do not think we will have a duo like Clowney or Taylor many people don't but I believe we can be very productive. Darius English and Devin Washington are the only true DE's at this point and between those two I believe we will pretty good. Washington can develop into an All SEC player and English could become a pass rush specialist. Looking at tweeners such as Dixon, Turner and Johnson we are deep if they all stay at end. Turner and Johsnon could develop into good strongside DE's while also giving us the ability to get after the QB, both are pretty good pass rushers now. Gerald Dixon might be a DT by the spring but I believe he could turn into a guy who we move to DT in passing situations and put him in against the run. Our LB's will be young but talent. Potentially 3 all americans (Bryant, Rolin, and Ngakoue) along with Cooper, Lewis and Holloman. Those six will allow us to have a very talented, relatively in-experienced LB core but give those kids a year or two and that will be the strength of our Defense. The future at Spur is Diggs until further notice. The DB's will be solid. Chaz Elder, Rico McWilliams, T.J Gurley, Kyle Fleetwood, Chris Moody are going to be a big part in this position group. McWilliams and Gurley both impressed the coaching staff alot and McWilliams would probably be our 3rd-4th corner at this point if he hadn't got hurt. Chaz Elder, Kyle Fleetwood and Chris Moody need a little bit more work in the weightroom and playbook but physically they look the part. I am very high on Chaz Elder and I believe he will be our best DB in two years. Branden Langley, Pharoh Cooper, and Ali Groves are the three new guys and I expect all of them to RS but all of whom develop into great players for us.
I believe there is a point where every program must win mostly of off coaching and talent and next year will be that point. If we win next year, and I mean make it to the SEC Championship game we will have arrived. Even if we do not win, it shows the foundation is in place for us to go on to bigger and better things.
