Georgia's Schedule Preview: South Carolina Provides First SEC Look

South Carolina has exceeded expectations under Shane Beamer, but are the Gamecocks ready to push Georgia in 2023?

As is often the case, Georgia will open conference play against South Carolina as the Gamecocks visit Athens for a week three SEC Eastern division showdown. The Bulldogs have traditionally owned the series against the Gamecocks with a 54-19-2 overall edge and have enjoyed tremendous recent success against their border rivals, winning seven of the last eight contests between the two divisional foes. However, the hire of Shane Beamer following the 2020 season has paid immediate dividends and has energized the South Carolina fanbase to a degree unseen since the height of the Steve Spurrier years in Columbia. While Beamer has yet to blow the lid off of the Gamecock program, back-to-back wins over top-10 ranked opponents to close out the 2022 regular season has sent expectations both within and outside of the South Carolina fan base skyrocketing entering the 2023 season. Beamer will lead the Gamecocks into Athens on September 16 with designs to knock off the two-time defending national champion in its own backyard and in the process send a message to the nation that South Carolina is ready to take the next step and contend for championships.

OFFENSE

Whether South Carolina will be able to take the steps as a program it hopes to this season will largely depend on the continued development and play of quarterback Spencer Rattler. The redshirt senior arrived at Oklahoma back in 2019 with outsized expectations, but has yet to deliver on the promise of his 5-star ranking. His career, both at Oklahoma and South Carolina, has been marked by wild inconsistency. Given the importance of the quarterback position in modern college football, South Carolina largely went as Rattler went last year. When Rattler was at his best - as he was against Tennessee and Clemson - South Carolina managed to pull off two shocking upsets against College Football Playoff contenders, but when he was at his worst - as he was against the likes of Georgia and Florida - the Gamecocks got run off of the field. In South Carolina’s two top-10 victories over Tennessee and Clemson, Rattler averaged 399 yards passing and threw for 8 touchdowns to only 2 interceptions. However, in his other 7 regular season games against Power 5 opponents, the Arizona native only managed to average 193 yards passing with 5 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. Whether South Carolina is able to meet the generous expectations many have for the program entering the 2023 season will come down to what version of Spencer Rattler we see more of this season. If the Gamecocks expect to roll into Athens and beat Georgia between the hedges, it will almost certainly require the best version of Rattler.

South Carolina Gamecocks quarterback Spencer Rattler (7) runs the ball against the Texas A&M Aggies in the first quarter at Williams-Brice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-USA TODAY

Complicating matters for the South Carolina offense, however, is the relative dearth of playmakers surrounding Rattler. The obvious exception is Antwane “Juice” Wells who arrived in Columbia as a transfer from James Madison last season and promptly led the team in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns. Wells finished second in the SEC in receptions last season and enters the 2023 season as one of the league’s premier wideouts.

Yet, as good as Wells is, the complimentary pieces are uninspiring at best. The prospect of fifth-year senior Xavier Legette starting opposite of Wells, a player who has only managed to post a paltry 423 total yards receiving through his first four college seasons, should be a serious red flag for those betting on the Gamecock offense to take a giant leap forward this year. After losing their top two tight ends from 2022 to transfer, the Gamecocks hit the portal themselves to bring in Arkansas transfer Trey Knox. As a converted wide receiver, Knox brings athleticism to the position and did post a career year last season, but he still only has 507 yards receiving from the tight end position over the past three seasons. The most intriguing prospect on the South Carolina offense in 2023 might be transfer receiver Eddie Lewis who previously spent time at Rutgers and Memphis. At Memphis in 2022, Lewis hauled in 41 passes for 603 yards. At 5-foot-11, 190-pounds, Lewis projects as a slot receiver and could be the complimentary option to Wells the Gamecocks so desperately need.

Losing three of their top four rushers from a year ago, the Gamecocks also enter the 2023 season without an obvious answer at running back. Junior JuJu McDowell is projected to open the season as the starter, but to this point, he has shown little to suggest that he is a big-time SEC running back. To throw more cold water on their running back situation, the two players pushing McDowell for playing time are a converted quarterback in Dakereon Joyner and Mario Anderson, a transfer from D-II Newberry College.

The questionable running back situation could be mitigated by a great offensive line, but that is not a luxury the Gamecocks enjoy. Coming into spring practice, South Carolina already knew they would have to replace their top three linemen by snap count from a year ago, but the situation got considerably uglier for the Gamecocks when their projected starter at left tackle Jalen Nichols went down with what Beamer described as a “significant knee injury” and will likely miss extended time during the 2023 season.

DEFENSE

A strong defense would go a long way towards compensating for the myriad questions that South Carolina has on offense enter the coming season, but the Gamecock defense is short on answers itself. South Carolina arguably lost its best players at each level of the defense from a year ago and only returns four starters from a unit that finished 11th in the SEC in yards per play last season. According to ESPN College Football Writer Bill Connelly, the Gamecocks only return 48% of their production from a year ago, ranking them 113th nationally in that category.

After being granted a seventh-year of collegiate eligibility defensive end Jordan Strachan – who led the FBS in sacks back in 2020 when he played for Georgia State – will likely be South Carolina’s most impactful defender and gives the Gamecocks a true pass rush threat off of the edge. Outside of Strachan, though, questions abound along the South Carolina defensive front. Former 5-star Jordan Burch who was arguably the most physically gifted player on the Gamecock defense and Gilber Edmond who led the team in tackles for a year ago have transferred to Oregon and Florida State respectively, leaving the Gamecocks thin on talent along the defensive line. DL Alex Huntley has flashed playmaking ability at times during his career but has struggled with consistency. 

North Carolina Tar Heels quarterback Sam Howell (7) is sacked by South Carolina Gamecocks defensive lineman Zacch Pickens (6) and defensive end Jordan Strachan (7) during the second quarter at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

In the secondary, South Carolina must replace its best defensive player from 2022 in cornerback Cam Smith who was selected in the second-round of April's NFL draft. However, redshirt senior Marcellus Dial returns to give the Gamecocks a veteran presence at one corner position and redshirt junior O'Donnell Fortune has some experience starting games in the SEC. Still, the depth behind the two projected starters at corner leaves much to be desired. At safety, the Gamecocks return two talented sophomores in Nick Emmanwori and DQ Smith who both started multiple games as freshmen. Emmanwori and Smith showed flashes of high-level play last season and could both reasonably take significant steps forward in the coming season, but that still remains to be seen. 

Shane Beamer has infused desperately needed energy into a moribund South Carolina program and after two impressive upset wins to close out the 2022 regular season, has quickly elevated expectations in Columbia. However, as impressive as the twin top-10 wins over Tennessee and Clemson were a year ago, Georgia is currently operating at a level above that of any other team in college football and legitimate questions remain as to whether the Gamecocks have yet amassed the type of high-end talent and depth required to pull off a victory of that magnitude.

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