What To Know…

South Carolina returns 10 of 11 starters on the offensive side of the ball, including a combined 98 starts on the offensive line. The Gamecocks were the only team in FBS last season to have a freshman QB (Bentley) and freshman RB (Dowdle) to lead them in both passing and rushing, respectively.

In the first half of the 2016 campaign, South Carolina’s offense was down right…offensive. The Gamecocks averaged 14 PPG in the first six games, citing their struggles at QB and an inability to get the ball downfield. Insert: Jake Bentley.

The young freshman shined, leading the Gamecocks to a 4-2 finish over the last six games and leading them to the Birmingham Bowl. South Carolina averaged 26.6 PPG over the last half of the season and Bentley showed great leadership skills and overall talent as well.

The Gamecocks return a plethora of skill players such as RB Rico Dowdle, TE Hayden Hurst, WR Deebo Samuel, WR Bryan Edwards, and TE KC Crosby. The Gamecocks also get the addition of UNC transfer RB Ty’Son Williams, who sat out last season due to transfer rules. As before mentioned, the offensive line also returns four of five starters and 98 combined starts, making them one of the most experienced units on the field.

Depth Chart…

Why They’ll Be Better…

Experience. The Gamecocks return their top rusher and passer from last season, both of which were true freshman. Jake Bentley, who was supposed to be a HS Sr. last season, came in the second half of 2016 and turned the South Carolina offense around. Having 15 bowl practices, an entire spring practice, spring game, summer workouts, and fall practice under your belt should help this offense tremendously. Also, the Gamecocks return one of their veteran leaders at the WR in Deebo Samuel. Look for the Gamecocks to show a lot of chemistry on the offensive side of the ball. They should be clicking early and often in 2017.

Why They’ll Be Worse…

The Offensive Line. While this unit returns four of five starters, this is a group that gave up 41 sacks a season ago and only averaged 3.7 YPC. If you take away the 422 rushing yard performance against Western Carolina, the Gamecocks only averaged 3.2 YPC against FBS teams. Zack Bailey will need to play a big role this season as he will be the leader on this offensive line unit. Malik Young will need to play a big role as well, as he fills in the LT position and will be protecting Bentley’s blind side. Opening holes for the slew of RB’s and keeping Jake Bentley upright will be priority #1. If the Gamecocks struggle like they did last season, it could throw a lot of things out of whack for this offense.

Prediction For 2017…

Points. Lots of points. Look for this unit to shine. The Gamecocks should come out firing on all cylinders from week 1 and establish themselves as one of the best units in the SEC. Jake Bentley is only going to get better and should be helped by a much-improved offensive line and a stalwart of RB’s in the backfield. Mix that with a pass catching group that WR coach Bryan McClendon has flipped to be one of the best units on this offense, and this should easily be an offense that puts up over 30 PPG. Don’t be surprised if Bentley is receiving all types of accolades come end of 2017. Also, we could see South Carolina have their first 1,000 yard rusher since 2013.

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