Trey Knox details first impressions of playing in Williams-Brice Stadium

Tight end Trey Knox played in some high-profile SEC venues during his time at Arkansas, but he came away surprisingly impressed by his home debut at South Carolina after transferring in this spring.

The Gamecocks had some 51,000 fans in attendance to watch the unofficial start of the program’s third season under the direction of head coach Shane Beamer, and it’s clear there’s some serious excitement in the air.

The start of the spring game felt a little like a rock concert.

“First things first, those lights are the real deal,” Knox said. “I just wanted that injected into my veins. Then hearing Sandstorm in here for the first time, it just did something to me.”

South Carolina will certainly be hoping the juice from the fans can inspire guys like Knox this season.

The former Arkansas tight end was a big addition out of the NCAA transfer portal this offseason, serving to help fill the void left by Jaheim Bell‘s departure for Florida State.

Over the last two years for the Gamecocks, Bell recorded 55 catches for 728 yards and five touchdowns, while also rushing 80 times for 301 yards and three scores.

Trey Knox won’t provide quite the same level of productivity as a runner, but he has put together a nice track record as a pass-catcher in college. In four years with the Hogs he racked up 81 catches for 892 yards and nine touchdowns.

His first experience in Williams-Brice Stadium was a blast, and now he can’t wait to get back in there for the real thing.

“I’m very excited to be in here come September,” Knox said. “The fans are rowdy. I mean they showed up and showed out for a spring game, and you don’t see that a lot of places. So I’m just glad that I’m a part of a fanbase that cares and wants to see the Gamecocks win.”

Trey Knox confident in Spencer Rattler

One of the things outside of the fan support that Trey Knox came away impressed by was quarterback Spencer Rattler. The former Oklahoma transfer seemed to settle in this spring after a bit of an up-and-down first year at South Carolina.

Knox thinks the Gamecocks offense can be pretty potent.

“We’re very deep and we have a lot of guys that can play,” Knox said. “We can just plug and play guys. We have a lot of talent. Spencer, he’s a great quarterback, man. He’s very smart, strong arm and he’s very intentional.”

If South Carolina is to go as its quarterback play goes this fall, the former Arkansas man thinks the team will be in good shape with Rattler.

“He knows what he’s doing, he knows who to look at, what to read, where to place the ball, what shoulder,” Knox explained. “If I’m coming out of a stick route, what shoulder to put it on so that I can avoid the defender. He thinks about all those things. He’s very cerebral, and you just love playing with guys like that that are on the same page as you are. It makes the game fun.”