Grading the Gamecocks: Old Dominion

South Carolina’s first game of the season has come and gone, with the Gamecocks earning a 23-19 win over Old Dominion on Saturday.

They’ll move to 1-0 on the year with a trip to Kentucky looming this weekend. But before we flip the page to the next game, let’s grade each position group and break down how they performed in the opener.

Quarterback: C-

I’m going to give LaNorris Sellers as much benefit of the doubt as I can. This was his first start of his college football career after barely playing last year. So unsurprisingly, there were moments where he looked like a freshman out there.

But you also have to look at the fact that this is a two-way street and his wide receivers weren’t doing much to help him. And we’ll get into them shortly, but Sellers also could’ve done a better job with his throwing accuracy. I believe it’ll come over time this season.

For the game, he finished 10-for-23 passing with 114 yards. On the ground, he ran the ball 22 times for 68 yards and the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter. So it wasn’t a great day for him, and you’d like to see him rely less on his legs in games. But for what it’s worth, he just has a lot of room for improvement, which isn’t a bad thing.

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Running back: B

If this were just for Rocket Sanders alone, maybe this grade would be higher. But on the whole, he did a lot of good things, but the run game was up and down. Now, you might be thinking, “Jack, 174 rushing yards is great. What are you talking about?” I’m not saying that number isn’t good — it’s solid — but the Gamecocks averaged 3.1 yards per carry. They need to be better. They had some nice, extended runs. But there were times where they went for maybe a yard or two.

I’d also like to see some of the other running backs get more involved. Sanders and Sellers handled the bulk of the carries, while Oscar Adaway III only touched the ball four times. Juju McDowell only had two carries. Sanders and Sellers should always be first when it comes to carries, but it’s not a bad idea to use the depth in the running back room to their advantage.

Wide receiver: D+

I’m going to put more of the blame on the wide receivers for the offensive struggles compared to Sellers. He might not have been the most accurate with his passes, but there were a lot more issues with the receivers.

For starters, Shane Beamer was adamant about how bad the perimeter blocking was. He said the receivers and tight ends need to be able to block if they want to play at South Carolina. And I totally agree. On top of that, I felt like they weren’t creating a lot of separation and getting open. When they did, Sellers hit on some passes but also misfired.

On the best throw of the night from Sellers, Jared Brown managed to drop what would’ve been a touchdown right in his hands. It’s not crazy to see why Dowell Loggains said no one had separated themselves during fall camp. I totally believe it after the first game.

While there was a lot of bad out there, I’d say Vandrevius Jacobs had a nice game, though. He had two catches for 59 yards, averaging 29.5 yards per catch. As a whole, the rapport and communication needs to be better between Sellers and the receivers. They have to be able to get on the same page.

[Win two tickets to the South Carolina-LSU football game]

Tight end: D+

It’s a lot of the same points I made about the receivers that apply to the tight ends, as well. They didn’t do a whole lot in the game. Michael Smith had two catches for four yards, and Josh Simon had one catch for 10 yards.

I do expect the tight ends to be a lot better and more reliable in the passing game over time. But they need to be able block well for Sellers up front, too.

Offensive line: C-

That’s right. I didn’t give the offensive line a D or F grade for their performance on Saturday. Say what you will, I didn’t think they were great, but I don’t think they were as bad as many have made them out to be. The perimeter blocking needs to be much better. And giving up four sacks isn’t good. But let’s not act like they didn’t create lanes for Sellers and others to run through at times. They definitely did.

And also, the run game wouldn’t be as good if it weren’t for the blocking up front. It all starts up there anyway. So yes, there’s a lot to work on and fix. I would even like to see some changes made on the line if possible. But they weren’t the main issue on Saturday. It was a collective effort on offense that was the problem.

Defensive line: B+

If I graded the EDGE room alone, Kyle Kennard and Dylan Stewart would warrant an A+ rating. But on the whole, I think a B+ is fair for the defensive line. Again, they did a lot of great things on Saturday. They forced four fumbles and recovered two of them. And they racked up five sacks. It was just a great performance for the most part.

Linebacker: B

I liked the way Debo Williams and Demetrius Knight Jr. played in the game. Williams recovered the fumble on the opening possession that led to the Gamecocks scoring a few plays later. Knight had good energy and made some plays in space. There were some blown plays on the whole, but outside of that, this position group looked good.

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Secondary: B-

Yeah, DQ Smith allowed a 72-yard touchdown pass out at safety. But besides that, I thought the secondary performed pretty well. Can we just talk about how instinctive and smart of a play OD Fortune made on the interception in the end zone. He basically waited like a hawk lurking on the outside, then when the quarterback threw to the corner of the end zone, Fortune swooped in and picked off the pass. Probably one of the best plays of the night.

Later in the game, Jalon Kilgore came up with a massive interception, the fourth turnover of the game forced by the defense. It came off a pass that got broken up. The ball went off the receivers’ hands and Judge Collier laid down a big hit to force the ball loose. Kilgore just so happened to be in the right place at the right time to make the play.

So overall, a very good job by this group to come up with some big takeaways. There’s much to build on here.

Special teams: B

Maybe if the fake field goal touchdown didn’t get called back on a penalty, this grade might reach A-territory. But since it didn’t, a B rating feels fitting. Alex Herrera looked good on his field goal tries, only missing from 48. As a whole, he went 3-for-4 with a long of 46 yards.

Kai Kroeger looked fine with five punts for an average of 41.2 yards. His longest punt was 46 yards and he had one kick land inside the 20-yard line.

But let’s not forget the blocked extra point South Carolina came up with late in the game. If the Gamecocks don’t make that play, they’d only be up by three points when ODU had to drive down the field in the final minutes.

It was nice to see a good game from special teams. Joe DeCamillis has that unit looking good early on.

Coaching: D-

The only thing holding this back from being an F are Clayton White and Joe DeCamillis. Other than that, what a struggle it was for this coaching staff.

A lot of the issues did come down to player execution, but it’s on the coaches for not doing a better job in preparation. I wasn’t a fan of Dowell Loggains’ play calling. Whether it’s because he was saving better plays for this week or he just wasn’t doing his job, it was lackluster to say the least. I’d like to see him do more with this offense because what we saw on Saturday can’t keep happening.

At the forefront of everything, Beamer also needs to do better. I’m glad he was open and honest during his postgame press conference. It was much different than what we’re using to seeing because he’s a very nice guy. There needs to be more accountability when things go wrong. And it was good to see he knows there are issues and they are going to work to fix them.

But overall, the coaches need to do better. It’s as much on them as it is the players. Plain and simple.

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