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New faces in tight ends room fitting in well with South Carolina offense

imageby:Jack Veltri•08/08/23•

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Joshua Simon (Collyn Taylor and CJ Driggers/GamecockCentral)

Any doubts about new faces fitting in at South Carolina are starting to become less and less common as fall camp gets going.

At the tail end of a 1-on-1 drill on Monday, transfer tight end Joshua Simon lined up against freshman cornerback Jalon Kilgore.

Spencer Rattler took the snap and dropped back, knowing exactly where he wanted to place the ball. Simon, who stands at 6-foot-4, was able to jump high enough to catch a back shoulder pass for the score. Seconds later, his teammates poured around him and slapped his helmet to show their excitement for the play that just transpired.

And the whole tight ends room is feeling that excitement. It hasn’t taken long for the almost entirely new group to connect.

“Just the personalities in the room from anywhere from myself to Reid Mikeska cracking jokes in the meeting room, having everybody dying,” Trey Knox said. “Coach (Jody) Wright eggs it on as well. He’s a great guy and just very down to earth. He allows you to have fun, and that’s the biggest thing cause playing this game without fun, you’re just out there and stressed all the time. And this is the game we loved to play when we were little and had fun playing. So bringing that joy and fun makes everything easier.”

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Knox, who played four seasons at Arkansas, was one of three tight ends to transfer to South Carolina. He caught 81 passes for 892 yards and nine touchdowns in 45 games with the Razorbacks. And so far, he’s making his presence felt.

“The thing I love about Trey is he’s a really good blocker in the short, intermediate or vertical pass game. He’s got a lot of a lot of good things where he can stress defenses in all those phases. And he’s come in and bought into coach (Shane) Beamer’s culture and vision, and I really think he’s helping a lot of the younger guys in the room as well,” Wright said.

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In addition, Simon was the other big name to join the group at South Carolina. A Dalzell, S.C., native, he caught 86 passes for 1,146 yards with 16 touchdowns at Western Kentucky. For many reasons, Wright is excited to be able to coach him this year.

“We sure are glad that he came back home, but really excited when I watched his Western Kentucky tape. I think he’s a really good athlete. Jumped in and worked really hard this summer. Had a good spring but a really good summer,” he said.

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With camp still in the early stages, the offense is still figuring itself out. But there have been some NFL-type concepts in the conversations Wright has had with Beamer and offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains about how the tight ends will be used.

“Tight ends are not your traditional more hand in the ground, big neck roadblock the C gap. That’s what I love about having Josh and Trey, guys that can put their hand on the ground,” Wright said.

“Whether it’s Nick Elksnis or Connor Cox or Reid, they’re all big enough to put their hand in the ground and hold their own and hopefully block an SEC defensive end but also can get open hopefully against those SEC linebackers, safeties in the pass game as well.”

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