Austin Stogner believes he can fit in well with Gamecock offense
When South Carolina football began spring practice in March, Austin Stogner stayed behind to finish his degree at Oklahoma. Stogner realized what his decision meant as he had to wait to get accustomed to his new home.
Following the spring semester, Stogner arrived in Columbia and began to train to get up to speed. While he’s had to work hard to become in sync with his teammates, it’s been worth it for him.
“When I was (at Oklahoma), I just missed being a part of the team. So when I got here that was the biggest thing,” Stogner said. “I didn’t really care how hard the work was, I’m glad I’m with the guys, I can do anything. So that’s been good and I’ve got a lot of friends on the team.”
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One of those friends on the Gamecocks will be his longtime quarterback, Spencer Rattler. The pair played together at Oklahoma for three seasons before transferring and committing to South Carolina on the same day.
Stogner said having played with Rattler in the past made his transition easier heading into the season.
“I was going to go here and then Spencer’s coming on. So that was really good to know somebody, and especially your quarterback that you’ve known since like 10th grade,” Stogner said. “I have a good comfortability with him on the field and he knows where I’m at, and so that’s been good.”
In addition to that familiarity, Stogner has been able to see all of the good and bad throughout Rattler’s career.
“It’s been cool to see the journey, as we coming up from high school, we committed together and then we got there and seeing him work. And then we both did really well in the 2020 season and being able to have that and then whatever happened in 2021, but he’s handled it really well,” Stogner said.
“He just continues to work and continues to learn the game. So that’s been good to see his resilience, the same resilience he had when he got there at Oklahoma and continue to work, so that’s been good.”
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As he comes into a new system, Stogner thinks he can succeed with the Gamecocks under offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield.
“I like coach Satt’s offense and what I think I can be,” Stogner said. “I think I can do well here, and I saw myself in that offense.”
Although he didn’t get to work with Stogner in the spring, Satterfield has shown praise for his new tight end.
“Stogner’s got an unbelievable catch radius, he’s a very good route runner, great length obviously,” Satterfield said. “He’s very smart, works at it up in the office all the time. I think he has a great grasp of what we’re doing in the passing game.”
However, as Stogner knows, he will have to earn his spot on the field. Throughout preseason camp, he’ll work in a tight end room that features Jaheim Bell, Nate Atkins and Traevon Kenion. Though, Stogner believes his abilities could be the difference maker in starting for the Gamecocks.
“I think I can do it all as a tight end, I can run the routes down the seam, run the hard routes, make contested catches as well as block, do some pass protection,” Stogner said. “So I’m really excited that the ability to come here and to be here and be able to show those off.”
