Antwane Wells's Return Helps Offset Offensive Losses
South Carolina's offensive starting lineup will look quite different in 2023, even more so than the Gamecocks may have initially planned for. While South Carolina expected to lose wide receivers Josh Vann and Jalen Brooks, several portal departures caught them off guard.
These roster changes made it imperative for the coaching staff to get wide receiver Antwane Wells back into the fold. Unlike this past season, there's no question about who the No. 1 target will be on offense in 2023. Outside of his importance in the offense, the return of Wells counterbalances South Carolina's exodus of offensive skill players to a massive extent.
While the program and the fanbase will miss Vann and Brooksthe program and the fanbase will miss Vann and Brooks, there's one big difference between these receivers and Wells.
Wells is a receiver who's shown up in multiple prime-time national-level games. Against two top 10 teams in Tennessee and Clemson at the end of the 2022 season, Wells collectively caught 20 passes for 308 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns, displaying why he was the Gamecocks' No. 1 receiving threat at this point.
While players like Jaheim Bell, MarShawn Lloyd, and others were unquestionably talented and played critical roles, the top two players you must have on offense are a star quarterback and an entrenched No. 1 receiver.
South Carolina now has one of those two pieces back in Wells. If quarterback Spencer Rattler decides to come back to Columbia for another year, the connection between Rattler and Juice could lead the Gamecocks to even more great moments this coming fall.
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