Alex Huntley makes presence felt on both sides of football in victory over Vanderbilt

A common thread in South Carolina’s two most recent victories is defensive players making an impact on offense.

Last week against Jacksonville State, it was Tonka Hemingway that filled that utility role for the Gamecocks. The senior defensive tackle not only ran for a two-yard touchdown, but he also recovered a fumble that led to an important score late in the game.

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Alex Huntley nearly mirrored Hemingway’s performance in a resounding 47-6 win over Vanderbilt on Saturday afternoon. In the process, Huntley demonstrated leadership and a degree of selflessness that Shane Beamer said will help the team as it fights for bowl eligibility.

“We need our older players, our best players, to play well down the stretch,” Beamer said. “And he’s doing that offensively and on defense, and being a great job being a leader.”

Huntley’s major contribution on offense came midway through the first quarter. With the game still scoreless, South Carolina faced a first-and-goal situation from Vanderbilt’s 1-yard line.

Huntley lined up on the right side of the offensive line and rushed forward as soon as the ball was snapped. No Vanderbilt defender trailed behind him, and he found himself wide open in the end zone. Spencer Rattler quickly threw the ball in his direction, and just like that, the Gamecocks had an early 6-0 lead.

“He actually ran a really good route. (He) got a good release off the line and has done a good job,” Beamer said. “That’s the same play we called against A&M – that’s the touchdown that we threw to (Josh) Simon, I think.”

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Huntley described the 1-yard touchdown pass as a “movie moment” for him.

“I came on a little corner, and I saw how open it was. And I knew Spencer was going to throw it to me, so my eyes got big. I knew this was the big moment,” Huntley said. “It was great. It was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing.”

That touchdown would not be the only big play Huntley made in the game, though. Early in the fourth quarter, Vanderbilt quarterback Walter Taylor dropped a snap, picked the ball up, and fumbled it again shortly afterward. Huntley was the first player to claim the loose ball, thus handing it back to South Carolina’s offense.

The Gamecocks had a commanding 34-6 lead at the time, but Huntley’s recovery eventually led to 26-yard passing touchdown to O’Mega Blake that put the game even further out of the Commodores’ reach.

And he was able to do it all after suffering an injury during practice earlier in the week. The injury was severe enough that Beamer said it nearly affected his status for Saturday’s game.

“He got rolled up on Tuesday, finished (practice), but then after the press conference and when he came in on Wednesday, he did not look good,” Beamer said. “He was actually rolling around our building on a scooter yesterday.”

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Beamer said Huntley was partially motivated to play, despite his injury, because of the possibility of scoring a touchdown.

“We went out there at practice on Thursday. We weren’t even sure if he was going to be able to practice, and then we practiced that offensive play,” Beamer said. “I’d already told him, ‘Hey, let’s get T.J. (Sanders) or somebody else in there.’ I look out there, and Boogie’s running the rep full speed. I’m like, ‘Well, I guess he’s okay.’”

Huntley, however, said that at the end of the day, the real reason he suited up for the game was because he wanted to show up on the field on the field for his teammates.

“It was one of those things that I chose the team and myself. I put them first, so I know a lot of these guys, they’d do the same thing for me,” Huntley said. “So I just knew I had to do it for them.”

Huntley went even further to say that the trust and confidence Beamer and his teammates had in him provided an additional boost of motivation as well.

“He puts trust in his players. He trusted me that I could go out there and run a play, go out there and play defense. Thank you to him, and just thank you to all the guys next to me,” Huntley said. “They helped me out. They always check on me, so whatever I needed, they always have my back.”

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