Looking at who's returning on South Carolina's offense
South Carolina’s offense could be dangerous next season.
Some of the Gamecocks’ top weapons are running it back for another year instead of leaving for the transfer portal or NFL Draft.
Here’s a look at who’s returning for the Gamecocks next season.
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Quarterback
South Carolina received huge news when Spencer Rattler announced he will return for one more year. He made his decision via social media Tuesday night.
Rattler finished this past season with over 3,012 passing yards, 18 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
It seemed he would be a one-and-done and head to the NFL Draft after the season. However, he struggled to find consistency at times before hitting his stride in the final weeks of the year.
His performances against Tennessee, Clemson and Notre Dame were his best, throwing for just over 1,000 yards with 10 touchdowns and three interceptions. He completed 69.4 percent of his passes during that stretch.
He’ll now have an extra year to try and impress pro scouts while learning from new offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains. If everything works out, his stock could improve tremendously.
Backup quarterback Luke Doty also will be back for his senior year. It might come as a surprise to some that he chose to stick around and didn’t put his name into the portal.
In limited action, Doty completed 10-of-14 passes for 146 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Prior to last season, he made six starts, completing roughly 60 percent of his passes with a 9-8 touchdown-to-interception ratio.
Scholarship quarterbacks Tanner Bailey, Braden Davis and Colten Gauthier are on the roster and returning as well.
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Running back
The Gamecocks lost a lot of depth in the running back room ahead of next season. One guy who will be sticking around is Juju McDowell.
McDowell carried the ball 62 times for 219 yards and two touchdowns last year. When he was involved in the passing game, he caught 23 passes for 194 yards and one score, which came against Tennessee.
While he’s been fairly productive in his first two seasons, he’ll have big shoes to fill in 2023. He’ll enter his junior year fighting for first-team reps. Newberry transfer Mario Anderson Jr. should provide some competition, as he rushed for more than 1,500 yards last season.
Lovasea Carroll is the only other scholarship back set to return.
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Wide receiver
While Josh Vann won’t be back in 2023, a majority of the veteran receiving corps will be.
Even before his breakout bowl game, Xavier Legette made it clear that he still had some unfinished business to handle. He’ll be back for his fifth year of eligibility.
“I still want to come back, man. I just want to do more for me,” he said. “Feel like I haven’t done that. I showed a couple flashes and I had a couple drops, but I feel like I need to do more.”
Legette will be entering next year with higher expectations. After only catching 11 passes in the regular season, he had seven catches for 78 yards and two touchdowns in the Gator Bowl.
Ahmarean Brown and Dakereon Joyner also will be returning for South Carolina. Brown caught 23 passes for 188 yards and no touchdowns. He even made an impact on special teams, returning a blocked punt for a touchdown against Georgia State in week one.
Joyner has chosen to exercise his sixth and final year of eligibility to finish his long journey. Once a promising quarterback, he slowly transitioned into a serviceable receiver.
The former Duke’s Mayo Bowl MVP caught eight passes for 120 yards and a touchdown in 2022. He also got involved as a wildcat quarterback, completing 100 percent of his passes for 101 yards and one touchdown.
“Coach (Beamer) wants me here. Everybody wants me here from a leader standpoint and athletic standpoint, being able to do a bunch of different things,” Joyner said in a Garnet Trust interview. “(We) just talked about me being utilized more for sure next year. I’ve just got to do my part and stay healthy and make sure I’m available for my teammates.”
After weeks of waiting, Juice Wells announced he’d return for another season Monday night.
In his first year with the Gamecocks, Wells hauled in 68 passes for 928 yards and six touchdowns. He became the team’s leading receiver in a crowded offense with plenty of talent.
Wells finished with at least 110 yards in four games. He played his best in the month of November. Outside of a two-catch, 16-yard performance against Florida, he amassed 418 yards with four touchdowns.
There also will be some young receivers, such as Peyton Mangrum, O’Mega Blake and Landon Samson vying for reps when spring practice gets going.
Tight end
There are going to plenty of new faces lining up at tight end for the Gamecocks next year. In fact, it’ll be an entirely new cast with Jaheim Bell, Austin Stogner, Nate Adkins and Trae Kenion all leaving.
South Carolina stocked up on tight ends through the portal. Trey Knox from Arkansas, Nick Elksnis from Florida and Joshua Simon from Western Kentucky will join the team in the spring.
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Offensive line
South Carolina would inevitably see the day when a handful of its experienced offensive linemen would move on. Eric Douglas and Dylan Wonnum ran out of eligibility while Jovaughn Gwyn declared for the NFL Draft.
However, the Gamecocks will be receiving some help from other veterans who are returning.
Jaylen Nichols and Jakai Moore will likely be on the left side of the line at tackle and guard, respectively. Nichols has appeared in 37 career games and started in 18 of them. Moore has played in 32 games and started 19. He made eight of those starts last year.
Taking over Gwyn and Wonnum’s right guard and tackle spots are Vershon Lee and Tyshawn Wannamaker. Over three seasons, Lee has appeared in 28 games and made 17 starts. Meanwhile, Wannamaker didn’t see as much action after being a consistent starter in 2021. He only played in six games last season, starting four of them.
Cason Henry, a freshman tackle, will move up behind Wannamaker on the depth chart. He only appeared in two games last year, meaning he’ll be able to redshirt moving forward.
“Cason’s a guy, he’s really gotten better every single week in practice,” Beamer said. “You’re only allowed to take 70 players to every away game, and we traveled Cason to every away game this year, because he was that close to playing. Plus, we would spend extra time with him on road trips, get some extra meeting time and take advantage of that.”
“He’s a guy that I think will be a really good player for us, as he moves forward in his career. He’s a guy who’s really gotten better this year as well, and we’ve got a ton of confidence in him.”
