The second largest class on the South Carolina football team are sophomores. There are 24 sophomores on scholarship with 29 days remaining until the spring camp begins on March 20. Some high profile 2020 class members are part of the group, headed by the quarterback Luke Doty in attack and five star pass rusher Jordan Burch in defense.
More on spring list: 27 senior citizens on scholarships | 13 juniors with bag
The group of 24 sophomores has 12 in attack, 10 in defense and two specialists. Each second year scholarship student listed below is separated by the side of the ball on which it appears. The 12 redshirts have (R) next to their names. Its uniform number and position precedes its name.
OFFENSE (12)
No. 4, QB Luke Doty
No. 12, TE Traevon Kenion (R)
No. 23, TE Jaheim Bell
No. 35, TE Eric Shaw
No. 55, OL Jakai Moore (R)
No. 57, OL Will Rogers (R)
No. 58, OL Mark Fox (R)
No. 74, OL Vincent Murphy (R)
No. 77, OL Vershon Lee
No. 80, TE Keveon Mullins (R)
No. 84, WR Rico Powers
No. 89, WR Ger-Carl Caldwell
Doty tops sophomores due to his role on the team at the end of last season and the way the head coach Shane Beamer has been talking about him since he came to Columbia. Doty will be in the middle of the quarterback battle this spring. If he can postpone the transfer Jason Brown and freshman Colten Gauthier he will win his third consecutive match at the opening of the 2021 season.
Four closed ends are in this group. Mullins showed that it could be a promising weapon last year, his first in the tight end after serving as a receiver in 2019. He had more than 100 yards in two receptions against LSU before an ankle sprain cost him the rest of the season. 2020. Bell had a long reception in the middle of the field against Ole Miss, it is the only catch of the year after he returned from knee rehabilitation due to an injury in high school. Shaw represented on both sides of the ball last year, but the 2020 Class four star athlete is back Erik Kimreytight end room. Kenion has been a player on special teams for his first two seasons on campus. With Keshawn Toney on the transfer portal, these four names will be the only ones to support the tight end of the fifth year Nick Muse.
On the offensive line, Moore is most likely to compete for early reps as a tackle. He started six games last year, dividing his time on the left and right tackle. Fox returns to the team after opting for the 2020 preseason. Lee, a real freshman last year, started a game on the right last year and played in three.
Receivers, Powers and Caldwell, combined three 24-yard receptions in 15 combined games played last year as real freshmen.
DEFENSE (10)
No. 3, EDGE Jordan Burch
No. 8, LB Jahmar Brown (R)
No. 9, DB Cam Smith (R)
No. 16, EDGE Rodricus Fitten (R)
No. 18, DB Dominick hill
No. 24, DB Marcellas Dial (R)
No. 29, DB David Spaulding (R)
No. 32, LB Mohamed Kaba
No. 91, EDGE Tonka Hemingway
No. 92, EDGE Tyreek Johnson (R)
With so much friction in the secondary due to NFL declarations and departures from the transfer portal, Smith is in as good a position as any player who returns to defense to play an important role. He started the last three games of the year in the corner and drew at the head of the team with two interceptions. Dial, from Georgia Military College, and Spaulding, from Georgia Southern, bring some experience to high school and will be in the running for representatives in the corner along with Smith.
Burch and Hemingway were the first freshmen on the defensive line last year. They combined for 3.5 loss tackles, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and two pass separations. They will be in the mix in that talented EDGE position, also played by seniors Kingsley Enagbare and Aaron Sterling well as leader of the 2020 bag Jordan Strachan, which was transferred from the state of Georgia.
Brown was a hot name in the 2020 preseason, but a knee sprain he suffered in the middle cost him the first month of the season and he appeared just one game. Physical and fast, he is listed in the linebacker, but he can also be a candidate for safety in the box in the 4-2-5 scheme of Clayton White.
Kaba was selected for the coaches’ SEC All-Freshman team after starting three of nine games with 13 tackles and half tackle for defeat. He will be in the mix to start reps on the linebacker.
SPECIAL TEAMS (2)
No. 39, P Kai Kroeger
No. 98, PK Mitch Jeter
Kroeger returns as the Gamecocks as a starting bettor after a season of SEC freshmen in 2020. He has recovered from early season fights to an average of 43.3 yards at 39 punts. He had seven punts of 50 yards or more.
Jeter struggled to stay in Carolina’s starting role. He had 41 kickoffs, an average of 58.2 with 22 touchbacks and four off shots. He will have a chance to win that role in 2021, but he’s unlikely to attempt any field goal attempts with Parker White returning to his fifth year as a starter.