Freshmen O-Linemen Keep Progressing, But Starting Group Remains Unsolidified

South Carolina lost a lot of talent and experience from their 2022 squad, and the majority of the storylines surrounded their losses at the skill positions, with players like MarShawn Lloyd and Jaheim Bell transferring elsewhere, while others like Nate Adkins, Jalen Brooks and Josh Vann exhausted their eligibility. This focus on the skill positions led to the Gamecocks' losses in the trenches flying under the radar. South Carolina lost center Eric Douglas, right guard Jovaughn Gwyn, and right tackle Dylan Wonnum, three guys who combined for 124 starts in their college careers.

This exodus led to Shane Beamer and his coaching staff signing four offensive linemen from the high school level and adding four more from the transfer portal. Having the numbers from a bodies standpoint, offensive line coach Lonnie Teasley and the offensive staff have rotated many players during Fall camp. However, some guys are still working their way back from offseason surgeries.

"We've got a few guys like Cason Henry [and] Jaxon Hughes, guys that are coming off of offseason surgeries that are just now getting back. Jaxon actually practiced [on Friday] and did a nice job, [and] Cason will be back on Monday. We'll certainly give those guys an opportunity to get into the mix," Beamer explained.

The additions that have gotten the most attention in the offseason have been South Carolina's 2023 o-line signees, headlined by in-state blue-chip talent Markee Anderson, who enrolled back in January. Anderson has since been joined by Summer enrollees "Big Tree" Babalade, Trovon Baugh, and Jatavius Shivers. Shane Beamer has hinted plenty of times this offseason that an abundance of freshmen will see playing time this Fall, including the aforementioned offensive linemen. The only issue that the third-year head man and his staff must now solve is which eight offensive linemen will play and, more importantly, which five offensive linemen will start for the Gamecocks.

"Who are our starting five right now, I couldn't sit there and tell you definitively who it is, but I really like our freshmen offensive line group. Those guys are going to play for us, a handful of them, and now we just need to figure who those top seven [to] eight guys are going into game one." "Got a better idea, but we're not there yet."

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