One defender out, Joyner’s new look: South Carolina football practice observations
South Carolina football opened spring practice Wednesday, taking the field for the first of 15 times.
A few details, notes and observations from the three periods made open to the media:
▪ The open portion of practice was heavy on base fundamentals and some special teams. So there was just about no team work and only some pure position work.
▪ Sophomore linebacker Jahmar Brown was not out at the main practice, but instead working inside the practice facility, indicating some kind of injury. Since Muschamp didn’t mention him as being hurt, so it’s likely not too serious. Despite working at wide receiver, former quarterback Dakereon Joyner is still wearing a yellow non-contact jersey.
Muschamp explained Tuesday that Joyner had committed to that new position in August, but life, or injuries, simply got in the way through the season.
▪We didn’t get to see much in the way of drills that would show a depth chart, but the first defensive line that came out included Aaron Sterling at end, Jabari Ellis at tackle and walk-on Donovan Wirt at Buck. Needless to say, that’s probably something that won’t hold.
▪ On the topic of the defensive line, got the first look at Tracy Rocker at work. He was getting real hands-on, getting down in a stance and popping up into a blocking sled. He was leading a drill with the main group of defensive tackles (the ones not on the special teams that were working on the other side of the field), and Zacch Pickens and M.J. Webb were the first two players taking snaps.
▪ There was a solid contingent of young players’ family members on hand. That included quarterback Ryan Hilinski’s father, freshman wide receiver Mike Wyman’s mother, family members of freshman safety O’Donnell Fortune and family of redshirt sophomore defensive back Darius Rush.
▪ On the quarterback front, it was mostly early practice-type work, just throwing to one another with different footwork. At the end, they were working on taking snaps from under center.
▪ For a true freshman, running back MarShawn Lloyd certainly looked built. It was apparent center Hank Manos has added some weight and defensive lineman Joseph Anderson looked like he slimmed down a bit.
▪ There was one drill where defenders had to get over bags and then scoop up fumbles, while on the other side of the field, defenders were working on ball security. Will Muschamp hammered the idea his team needed to improve on the turnover front this coming season.
▪ Next: The Gamecocks will practice Friday and Saturday, with Muschamp speaking to the media after Saturday’s practice.
This story was originally published February 26, 2020 at 9:56 AM with the headline "One defender out, Joyner’s new look: South Carolina football practice observations."
