Gamecocks will call Desmond Umeozulu's number a lot this spring
The South Carolina football staff has been adamant that there is no depth chart yet.
But there has to be some type of rotation to provide structure and order to the Gamecocks’ practices, and when what appeared to be the second group ran out there Tuesday during the first official practice of the spring, there was freshman early enrollee Desmond Umeozulu lining up with the EDGEs.
That shouldn’t be much of a surprise.
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South Carolina lost two starters from a season ago in Jordan Burch and Gilber Edmond, and projected starter Jordan Strachan is still rehabbing his knee.
That means lots of questions and little depth.
But for those available at the position, it also means lots of reps and plenty of opportunities for a freshman like the 6-foot-6, 240-pound Umeozulu to show what he can do.
“It’s really early, too early to tell right now,” South Carolina defensive coordinator Clayton White said Wednesday when asked if he can contribute early. “With our numbers in that room, we will definitely be calling his number to see what he can do to showcase his skillset. He’s a big, tall guy that can run and (is) long. He’ll make a lot of plays here, either batting balls down or forcing bad throws, as he gets stronger and more developed he’ll be a force in the run game as well.”
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Umeozulu was ranked by the On3 Consensus as the No. 168 prospect nationally regardless of position, in addition to the 22nd-best EDGE prospect nationally and the No. 3 prospect in the state of Maryland.
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Upperclassmen Terrell Dawkins and Tyreek Johnson were the first two up at the position Tuesday with Umeozulu and sophomore Bryan Thomas, Jr. next in line.
It seems likely that Umeozulu, one of the Gamecocks’ highest-ranked prospects in the 2023 class, will get a trial by fire this spring as the staff tries to figure out how much he can help them this year.
That means some growing pains, for sure, but at the same time plenty of chances for the Upper Marlboro (Maryland) Flowers four-star standout to prove he’s ready to help this season.
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