Grading South Carolina football in 2021
While there is a bowl game left, I don't put much stock into how bowl games go.
So, let's pull our best Montessori school impersonation and arbitrarily grade this season.
LINK: Beamer's first year cause for optimism
Special Teams
The most overlooked phase of the game was about as good as one could as for. Kai Kroeger averaged 43 yards per punt, pinned nearly 40 percent inside the 20 and boomed 13 50 yards or more. Mitch Jeter booted half of his kickoffs for touchbacks while Parker White capped his career going 13-of-14 on field goals and was perfect on extra points.
The return game didn't yield points, but it was actively destructive to the cause either.
Fans should feel confident heading into next year with both Kroeger and Jeter set to return. Jeter is the early heir to kick field goals with graduation of White.
Give this side of the ball an B for the year. Nothing damaging, but there is room to improve in the return game and with the Beamer name, blocked punts.
Defense
Defensive coordinator Clayton White led the Gamecock defense to a turnaround in year one, taking a defense that ranked 108th the previous season to being in the top 50. Notably, the team finish tied for eighth in the country in turnovers gained. That is up from 95th the previous season.
The other major improvement was on the scoreboard, cutting points allowed per game from 36 to 23.7. Cutting roughly two touchdowns a game was a big reason for the four-game swing.
Moving forward, there are big questions for fans. White is potentially losing a large chunk of his defense, including the top five tacklers, top pass rusher in JJ Enagbare, interception leader Jaylan Foster, all but one defensive line starter, both linebackers and both safeties. Although that could all change with the unknown eligibility left with players due to Covid.
We will operate under the assumption if they are seniors, they are likely gone.
There is talent slotted to slide into those positions, but quality of depth will be the question moving into 2022. Look for Zacch Pickens, Sherrod Greene (who does have another year), Darius Rush, Cam Smith and Jordan Burch to be looked to as leaders emotionally and statistically next season.
Defense gets an A for the year. There are questions moving forward, and the unit may take a step back next year just with all the losses statistically.
Offense
Whoa boy is this one difficult to grade. Let's get this out of the way. Coordinators get all the credit and all the blame when it comes to their play calling and performance. There is a symbiotic relationship between play calling, personnel talent and execution. Yes, it is a coach's job to find what works best, see what the talent can actually do, and then do it. It is also up to that talent to perform.
Which brings us first to the offense line.
Yikes.
Last year the unit wasn't great and had a lot of its problems masked by a Herculean effort by tailback Kevin Harris. This year the group lost its best player in Sadarius Hutcherson to the NFL, but man did this group fall off a cliff.
At times throughout the year, the line couldn't block edge rushers and struggled to get a consistent run game going. That severely hampers what plays can be called.
There were also head scratching calls and certifiably inept performances, including just bad showings against Texas A&M and Tennessee, and frustrating outings against Missouri and Kentucky.
But there was also a sterling outing against Florida and a gritty effort against Auburn.
Statistically, Satterfield's offense was virtually the same as Bobo's the prior year, averaging 21.3 points and 320.3 yards per game compared to 23.5 points and 355 yards per game.
The rushing game saw a near 40-yard per game average dip while the passing game saw a 13-yard per game average improvement. As a team, the cumulative rushing effort was virtually the same yardage but had a minus-14 dip in touchdown production.
The passing game was 400 yards and 12 touchdowns better though than the 2020 unit.
Since numerically the offense didn't really change you give this unit a C-.
This was a solid C before getting shutout 30-0 by Clemson; a game where they managed barely 100 yards of offense through three quarters and looked entirely outmatched and outschemed all game.
Looking ahead
Moving forward, fans should still be most concerned with this side of the ball in 2022.
Both quarterbacks Jason Brown and Luke Doty showed promise, so expect open competition next spring, along with the addition of redshirt freshman Colten Gauthier and freshman Braden Davis.
Running back talent looks loaded, with the chance of Kevin Harris returning, along with MarShawn Lloyd and Juju McDowell returning.
Talent at tight end also looks promising with Jaheim Bell, Traevon Kenion and Keveon Mullins all back, but just need consistency.
The problem areas will again be receiver and offensive line. Top receiver Josh Vann is gone, so for the second year in a row Carolina goes into a seaons with no true No. 1 reception option.
And offensive line, gone is center Eric Douglas and tackles Dylan Wonnum and Jazston Turnetine.
I do think guards Vershon Lee and Jovaugh Gwyn gives Carolina a good interior, but tackles will have a spotlight shone on them again, as well as who will play center.
With how the season ended, I'd give Brown the edge at quarterback, while Harris, Bell, Gwyn and Lee will likely be looked to lead.
Overall grade and outlook for 2022
Overall, this was a C-plus year. The defense and special teams were solid, but the poor offensive showing likely cost this team two wins. But from where things were, an instant upgrade.
This was a great start for Beamer. Unfortunately, next year is likely a "win more than you lose" expectation. With all the losses on defense and all the questions on offense, it is hard to logically pick a double-digit win year.
Looking at the schedule paired with the uncertainty of other program's coaching situations, you could see as low as four wins or as many as eight.
• 9/3 vs. Georgia State
• 9/10 at Arkansas
• 9/17 vs. Georgia
• 9/24 vs. Charlotte
• 10/1 vs. South Carolina State
• 10/8 at Kentucky
• 10/22 vs. Texas A&M
• 10/29 vs. Missouri
• 11/5 at Vanderbilt
• 10/12 at Florida
• 10/19 vs. Tennessee
• 10/26 at Clemson
Both Georgia and Texas A&M remain athletically superior and I don't see a year making a major difference.
Carolina should be favored against Georiga State, Charlotte, SC State and Vanderbilt.
Outside of that, I'd say Kentucky, Tennessee and Clemson would be slight favorites while Arkansas, Missouri and Florida would be coin tosses.
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