Inside the changes Trovon Baugh made this summer to improve for junior year

If South Carolina athletics director Jeremiah Donati ever wants an early copy of the Gamecocks’ depth chart, head coach Shane Beamer will have one for him.

“If he wants one, I’ll get one to him for sure — if there was a depth chart,” Beamer said, laughing during his July 31 press conference.

While Donati doesn’t have his own depth chart yet, one thing he does have is access to the team’s weight room, which he frequents in the evenings after busy days at work. Typically, when he’s been in there this summer, he’s found himself running into third-year offensive lineman Trovon Baugh.

“One night this summer, (Donati) texted me and was like, ‘Every time I come up here, Trovon is always in the weight room,'” Beamer said. “The guy works his butt off on his own. He’d be up there on the treadmill just trying to lose weight and change his body comp.”

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Throughout the summer, Baugh spent hours in the weight room, staying as late as 8 p.m. most nights. That may not sound too late, but he said he couldn’t stay that much longer into the night, knowing he’d have to be back the next day to do it all over again.

Baugh’s main goal was to slightly change his look, more specifically, his body fat percentage. When he originally came to college more than two years ago, his body fat was around 30 percent. Now, after focusing on lowering that number, he said he’s down to about 19-20 percent.

“I still feel great. My mood never changed on it,” Baugh said. “Me talking to Yimi (Rodriguez), me talking to Coach (Luke) Day, talking to Coach Chip (Morton), and everybody else from the strength staff, I knew it was gonna be a process, so I never really like stressed out about it.”

Going into this season, Baugh stands at 6-foot-3, 335 pounds, two pounds less than he was in his first two seasons. But a lot more of that weight is now muscle.

In addition to being in the weight room more often, Baugh also had to change his diet. This meant he couldn’t eat chicken wings or any fried foods that he loved. This also meant having to cut out mac and cheese, which he said was the toughest food to stop eating, as his mother would make it for him back home in Georgia.

“A lot more fruits and vegetables,” Baugh said of his new diet. “Cutting out the juices and stuff late at night and instead drinking protein milk and calling it a night.”

Baugh said it can be tough on weekends not to cheat and eat his favorite foods. But by now, he’s gotten more used to it and into a routine that he’s stuck to, leading to good results.

As he begins his third fall camp with the program, the former All-SEC Freshman will be competing to earn a starting spot on South Carolina’s offensive line. With the changes to his own life, he’s hoping they’ll pay off on the field.

“I feel like, honestly, it’s going to enhance everyone’s play, like you won’t get tired as quickly,” Baugh said about what he hopes these changes will do for him. “It really just helps everyone else out.”

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