Antwane Wells showing impact in South Carolina offense early
After what felt like an under-the-radar start for Antwane “Juice” Wells in South Carolina’s opening game, he wasted no time showing how vital he can be offensively.
Wells—who came close to breaking a few big gains in a seven-catch, 55-yard performance against Georgia State—exploded for eight catches for a career-best 185 yards and a score in a loss to Arkansas.
Rattler summed up Wells’ performance best after the game: “Dude’s a playmaker.”
“He makes big-time catches,” Rattler said. “He’s a big-time player and we need to get the ball to him more so I’m gonna keep throwing him the rock and he’s gonna keep making plays.”
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Coming into the matchup Arkansas was down two starters in the secondary, leading Shane Beamer to have confidence in downfield shots to guys like Wells.
“We felt like we could certainly take our shots downfield, which is what we did,” Beamer said. “We liked our matchups in the passing game,” Beamer said.
That presented opportunities for Wells, who had three catches and runs of at least 30 yards, including a 62-yard touchdown catch where he evaded the entire Razorbacks secondary.
Of Wells’s 185 receiving yards, 156 came on explosive plays. Wells currently leads the SEC in receiving yards and is best on South Carolina’s team in terms of targets (18), yards after catch (130) and missed tackles forced (5).
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Beamer praised Wells, along with others in the receivers and tight ends room, for their performances on Saturday and for showing just exactly what “they can do when the ball is in their hands.”
“We’ve got some receivers and we’ve got some tight ends that can make plays and we’ve got to continue to find ways to get them the ball and capitalize on those,” Beamer said.
Through two weeks, Wells already has the most catches of any Gamecocks and he’s ranked nationally in the top 25 of several receiving categories.
His 224 receiving yards are the most in the SEC and are top in the program.
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Jalen Brooks and MarShawn Lloyd are the only Gamecocks who have eclipsed the triple-digit mark, though both are still over 100 yards behind Wells.
Nationally, Wells is No. 9 in receiving yards per game and his 15 catches so far have him tied for No. 20.
With an impending matchup set with No. 1 Georgia this week, Wells will likely be a key factor for a South Carolina team that may have trouble navigating one of the best college football defenses in the country.
“It felt good. I definitely wanted to come out with a win,” Wells said. “It hurts very bad to go out there and lose to a team you felt like you were so close to winning. But it’s on to the next now and looking to Georgia.”
