Dakereon Joyner making seamless transition into South Carolina's go-to running back ahead of week one
When South Carolina first began fall practice, it was unclear who would take the reins at running back. Then once the first day of camp began, it became clearer who that guy could be.
Dakereon Joyner, who had never played running back before this year, stepped in with the first-team offense on that day and never looked back.
“DK is obviously our starter, and we’re going to roll with him,” quarterback Spencer Rattler said.
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To say Joyner’s career has been easy would be a lie. A better way to describe it would be like riding a roller coaster. While they’re fun and thrilling, they also feature many unexpected loops and turns.
That’s just a simple way to explain what Joyner’s time has been like here. A wild roller coaster ride.
Once a promising young quarterback, the wide receiver will now take a stab at playing meaningful snaps at running back in his last season.
In his limited time running the football, Joyner has been fine. He’s ran 64 times for 325 yards and four touchdowns, with his longest carry going for 47 yards in 2020. So if there’s anyone that could make the switch, it would be him.
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Just over a week until the season opener, Joyner has fit in without much trouble at the position.
“Of course, coming from a different position and working into a running back is difficult for anybody. Learning the running back position period is difficult. But he’s embraced his role,” Juju McDowell said.
“There were some things that he needed to correct or finalize to become that overall SEC back, and he’s done that in pass pro, running the ball, catching the ball. He’s another guy that’s been dedicated to perfecting his craft.”
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Combine that with learning an entirely new offense and it becomes all the more impressive.
“He’s stepping in, being able to see him read shades and read threes and get the ball to the right spot and playing with an offensive line and doing those things. We know what type of football instinct he has, and I’ve been pretty pleased,” Dowell Loggains said.
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But just because Joyner earned the spot in camp doesn’t mean it’s his for good. With some great talent in the running backs room, it’ll be on him to keep the momentum he built going.
“Honestly, I expect all of us to get reps,” McDowell said. “The dynamic ability we have in the running back room is kind of hard to ignore. So we try to utilize each and every person to their strengths and attack the weaknesses, so we have an all-around balanced room.”
