Dakereon Joyner offers high praise for Corey Rucker
South Carolina football’s wide receiver room has undergone quite a transformation this offseason and it appears that Corey Rucker, who arrived just before the start of the Gamecocks‘ summer workouts, has already impressed at least one of his new teammates.
The transfer from Arkansas State, who last week was one of 43 student-athletes on the Preseason Watch List for the Biletnikoff Award, given to the top receiver in the country, was the first name that popped to mind when Gamecock Central’s Kendall Smith asked veteran Dakereon Joyner at SEC Media Days who had impressed him in summer workouts.
“Corey Rucker, out of Arkansas State, he’s gonna be that guy, I’m telling you now,” Joyner said emphatically. “Corey Rucker is a guy that immediately stands out to me. He’s a guy that works tremendously hard, reminds me of myself in terms of on the field and just how he carries himself. He’s a really good guy. I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do this year.”
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Rucker earned Freshman All-America honors last season at Arkansas State when he caught 59 passes for 826 receiving yards and nine touchdowns, all for the team lead. As a true freshman in 2020 (which didn’t count due to COVID), Rucker collected 16 catches for 453 yards and five touchdowns.
“Excited about him and just trying to continue to add depth and competition to that receiver room,” South Carolina football coach Shane Beamer told Gamecock Central in late May. “He was a guy that had a really, really, really productive year last year at Arkansas State and excited about his production and what he’ll be able to bring to that receiver room also as we continue to build that up and add depth. And the thing that’s good about him is he’s not an older guy that has one year, I mean he’s still got three years to play which is fantastic as well.”
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Gamecock Central reported in a recent edition of Carolina Confidential that the transfer wide receiver has not only impressed in player-run practices but has also been a workout warrior who is much stronger than one might think for a wide receiver who was listed at 190 pounds previously (now at 220).
This time last year, South Carolina was entering the season wondering who its top receiver would be before it answered that question with the emergence of Josh Vann.
Now, the Gamecocks return Vann and Joyner, have seen Ahmarean Brown and Xavier Legette emerge, and have added Rucker, Antwane Wells Jr. and Landon Samson to the roster.
