REACTION: Mason Love Is The Clear Heir Apparent To Kai Kroeger

South Carolina's Football team landed one of the top punters in the 2024 class in Mason Love on Monday, and he looks to be the future at the punter position.

Beamer Ball 2.0, or Lembo Ball as some in Columbia like to call it, isn't just a tiny cog in the system for South Carolina's Football program; it encompasses everything that Shane Beamer wants his program to represent: competitive toughness, a team-oriented mentality and an absence of complacency. So far, this brand of football has helped put South Carolina back on the national map in college football and has given high school prospects more reason to give the Gamecocks a closer look, including specialists like 2024 punter Mason Love.

Love's recruitment and eventual commitment to South Carolina occurred quickly, as he officially visited Columbia, received an offer from the staff, and pledged to the Gamecocks in just four days. Love was also a rare exception regarding the opportunity the coaches offered him, as Pete Lembo and Shane Beamer extended a scholarship to the Missouri native, a rarity for even the best specialists in high school football.

When looking at Mason's Hudl highlights from his junior season, eight punts were included, and when compiling the data from each of those punts, this was the final stat line for Love:

Avg. Yards Per Punt: 46.6

Punts downed inside the 20: 3

Fair Catches Forced: 5

Touchbacks: 1

Mason showcased his ability to drive the ball deep down the field and displayed the skill to alter his punts depending on the situation, whether he was punting on the opponent's side of the field or the opposing team sent the house trying to block Love's kick.

Love is also held in high regard by Kohl's Kicking Rankings system, the gold standard when it comes to ranking Football specialists at the high school level. Mason is rated a 5-star by Kohl's and the No. 4 punter for his class, and was noted for his performance at Kohl's National Underclassman Challenge back in 2022, where he consistently posted a hang-time of 4.5 seconds or longer, which is considered to be elite for a punter at any level.

With preseason All-American punter Kai Kroeger potentially heading onto the NFL after the 2023 season, it's good that South Carolina has a contingency plan for whenever the greatest punter in school history moves onto the next stage of his football journey.

You Might Also Like:

• Ranking South Carolina's Top 3 Portal Additions From This Offseason
• Former South Carolina Commit Mike Williams Commits to Florida
• Gamecock Target Fred Johnson Announces Commitment Date

Join the community:

• Follow Andrew Lyon on Twitter: @ALyon_SC
• Follow Arvon Bacon on Twitter: @baconnetworkllc
• Follow Christian Dart on Twitter: @ChristianJDart
• Follow Fisher Brewer on Twitter: @USCTalk
• Follow Matt Bishop on Twitter: @ThatsABishop
• Follow Locked On Gamecocks on Youtube or wherever you get your podcasts

You can follow us for future coverage by clicking "Follow" on the top right-hand corner of the page. Also, be sure to like us on Facebook @GamecocksDigest & follow us on Twitter at @GamecocksDigest.