South Carolina Football Spotlight: The O-Line

Will Muschamp said in a radio interview earlier this month he believes the offensive line is one do the deepest he's seen during his tenure.

With a little over the week until the South Carolina football team hits the field for the first time since the shutdown, Gamecock fans have a lot to be excited about.

The freshmen class was finding their footing during spring practice, with running back MarShawn Lloyd drawing comparisons to D’andre Swift.

Many are excited to see the jump quarterback Ryan Hilinski will make should he win out the starting job and head coach Will Muschamp said there will be a very solid line protecting them.

Earlier this month Muschamp made an appearance on SportsTalk Radio and said he liked what he feels there’s a lot of depth at the position. Muschamp added that there are a number of players that can become key contributors.

“We felt very good about our offensive line through five practices,” he said. “Jazston Turnetine came in at left tackle position and was really playing extremely well and progressing. We moved [Sadarius Hutcherson] back inside to his more natural position at guard. And obviously the snaps that Jaylen Nichols and Jakai Moore got as true freshmen, certainly they’re going to benefit from that moving forward.”

As for who they will be protecting, Muschamp said he and offensive coordinator Mike Bobo liked what he was seeing so far from the quarterback position. 

“We got through five practices and Mike felt very good about the quarterback room,” he said. “Ryan had five good practices. Collin Hill’s a guy that obviously started for Mike at Colorado State. Luke Doty’s a really young guy that we’re excited about. Jay Urich is somebody that brings something different to the table. So he’s really excited about that room.”

The key this season, he said, will be to put their quarterback in a position to succeed.

 “We want to be balance with what we do offensively because I don’t think you can be too one-dimensional,” he said. “We didn’t have a good recipe for our offense last year. We through the ball 38 more times than anybody in our league after 12 games in the season and that wasn’t the formula for a true freshman quarterback. We didn’t do enough as a staff. I don’t blame anybody, it’s my fault.”

Muschamp's interview starts at the 32:00 mark.