Spring Practice Notes and Observations

Joseph Griffin | Mar 28, 2024

Sep 9, 2023; Columbia, South Carolina, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks quarterback LaNorris Sellers / Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports

South Carolina's fifth spring practice was Thursday morning, and the media was invited to watch the first couple of minutes. The sign of the day carried the word "compete" on it, so we at Gamecocks Digest had a chance to make some observations during the open period.

Andrew Observations:

At one point in the open portion of practice, head coach Shane Beamer grabbed a microphone and called for a third-down competition, giving us a look at the first-team unit for both the offensive and defensive side of the ball on the first rep:

Offense

QB: LaNorris Sellers

RB: Oscar Adaway III

WR: Jared Brown, Mazeo Bennett and Gage Larvadain

TE: Joshua Simon

OL (left to right): Jakai Moore, Kamaar Bell, Vershon Lee, Trovon Baugh, Cason Henry

Defense

DL: Tonka Hemingway, TJ Sanders, Elijah Davis

LB: Demetrius Knight Jr., Debo Williams, Bam Martin-Scott

DB: O’Donnell Fortune, Nick Emmanwori, DQ Smith, King-Demenian Ford, (we werent able to get a good look at the other DB)

Fisher Observations:

During practice today, while snapping pictures, a couple of things caught my attention. Firstly, the senior leadership, particularly from ATH Luke Doty, stood out. He finally has a deep understanding of what this team needs from him. Watching him work with both the QBs and WRs, he was the most vocal in both groups, ensuring everyone was where they needed to be and getting them excited. He also took responsibility, along with LB transfer Demetrius Knight Jr., who led the team in up-and-down drills and looked like a true leader.

Another notable aspect was Gamecocks' speed and size on the ball's defensive side. Monkell Goodwine from Alabama and DeAndre Jules from Pitt stood out to me in size, as they looked different from the other interior linemen. True freshman Dylan Stewart and Georgia Tech EDGE transfer Kyle Kennard impressed with both size and speed on the EDGE. Additionally, the LB room has gotten significantly more prominent, with guys like Demetrius Knight and Wendell Gregory standing out.

Joseph Observations:

The first thing that stuck out like a sore thumb was the size and depth on the defensive side of the ball. The addition of freshmen and transfers with the return of key players was notable in the short time frame we saw. Secondly, with only four reps of third-down drills, the defense looked better than the offense and should have this early, winning all of the reps. On one of the reps, I did see Nick Emmanwori lineup up at linebacker, which I love, and I also noticed that the wideouts still struggled with getting open. However, again, it's early, and the defense should have the upper hand while on top of the chemistry that still needs to be built with the wideouts and Lanorris Sellers.

You Might Also Like:

• Shane Beamer Talks Offseason Changes: 'There Was A Lot Of Soul Searching'
• BREAKING: Senior RB To Miss Rest Of Spring Practice With Upper Body Injury
• LaNorris Sellers Talks Expectations For Himself, Comfort Level In Second Offseason With South Carolina

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