Gamecock Football Opener Preview

Gamecock Football Preview:

It’s that time of year again Gamecock fans. South Carolina football is back and you can feel the hype on campus. There are high hopes for the Gamecocks this year with the return of Heisman Trophy candidate, Deebo Samuel, and the debut of Bryan McClendon’s fast-paced offense. Coming into Saturday’s matchup with the Chanticleers of Coastal Carolina, USC is a 29-point favorite and hoping to improve to 17-1 in their last 18 home openers at Willy B. 

Meanwhile, Coastal Carolina is looking for improvement on their 10th place finish in the Sun Belt Conference last year. The Chanticleers will inherit their head coach, Joe Moglia, who is returning to the sidelines this year after missing the entire 2017 season due to a fungal infection in his lungs. 2018 will be Coastal’s third year in the FBS and after the departure of their defensive coordinator, Mickey Matthews, Moglia will be challenged with transforming a young defense that finished 107th in defensive efficiency last season. 

 

Gamecock Impact Players:

Deebo Samuel: This one is pretty self-explanatory. Between his duties as the number one receiver and his role as kick returner on special teams, expect Samuel to give the Chanticleers fits all over the field on Saturday. I also recommend getting into the stadium well before kickoff because this Heisman hopeful can take it to the house on command. 

Jake Bentley: Coming off an impressive sophomore campaign and a monster performance against Michigan in the Outback Bowl, all eyes will be on Bentley as he rolls out the high-octane offense implemented by new offensive coordinator, Bryan McClendon, this offseason. Expect a lot of big plays from Bentley in this one and throughout the year.

Rashad Fenton/Israel Mukuamu: Fenton is a Senior corner who appeared in all 13 games last season and started 11. Mukuamu is a huge cover corner, standing at 6’4, and the Gamecocks have high hopes that Mukuamu will be a turnover machine this year. These two corners will be faced with the challenge of putting a cap on the big play potential of Coastal’s offense which is led by the Chanticleer’s star receiver, Malcolm Williams.  

    

Chanticleer Impact Players:

Malcolm Williams: Expect to hear Williams’ name often on Saturday because he makes this Chanticleer offense tick. This 5’10 receiver is coming off an impressive sophomore season in which he tallied 43 catches for 810 yards and 7 touchdowns.  

Trey Carter: With an extremely young offensive line, Coastal will lean on their 300-pound red-shirt sophomore RG to be their anchor in the trenches and open up big-play opportunities for sophomore RB Alex James. If Carter struggles early, it could be a long day for Coastal’s offense against the Gamecocks’ loaded front 7. 

Kilton Anderson: After running through 13 QB’s in the last 2 years, Coastal is hoping that Anderson can provide the stability they are looking for. A graduate transfer from Fresno State and New Mexico Military Institute, Anderson appeared in 6 games for the Chanticleers last season in which he completed 49 passes for 743 yards, 7TD’s and 3 INT’s. Anderson will have to protect the ball against this Gamecock defense or things could get really ugly. 

 

Summary:

With an abysmal defense that lost their defensive coordinator and three key members of their front 7, Coastal will have to rely heavily on their offense. Although they’re experienced in the secondary, the Chanticleers have also recruited much better recently and are experienced offensively. All in all, you can expect a lot of fireworks and sandstorms this Saturday afternoon. WOO!