Veteran tight end pair leading way for South Carolina
South Carolina landed two veteran tight ends out of the transfer portal this offseason. Trey Knox and Joshua Simon were instantly a match made in heaven for this offense and now it’s all coming together.
Entering 2023, Shane Beamer had to make some renovations in the tight end room. In the Gator Bowl against Notre Dame, the Gamecocks had to use a fullback in Nate Adkins to play tight end because of opt-outs and transfers.
So Beamer went to the portal looking for his tight ends. What he found were two veteran leaders with Knox out of Arkansas and Simon out of Western Kentucky.
“They’ve really been good. We knew when we brought those guys in that both would be big additions to our team,” Beamer said. “One because they’re really good players and two they’ve played a lot of football.”
The pair has combined for 57 catches for 503 yards and two touchdowns. Similar players who do different things is what makes them special.
Simon made the jump to big-time football in the SEC and it’s paying off. It seems as though the game has really been slowing down for him.
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“Man, it feels good to have the trust in the coaches, the trust in the players, and the trust in Spencer to throw me the ball so I can use my natural talents to do what I do with it,” Simon said.
Simon has come into his own in his past two games. He tallied 13 receptions for 129 yards against Vanderbilt and Jacksonville State.
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Meanwhile, Knox has had a very up-and-down year yet has remained a consistent presence within the program. Luckily for USC, he makes his return to action Saturday against Kentucky.
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Simon’s production on the field has certainly gone up while Knox has been injured, but the pair keeps working together. They will finally be back together, full strength on Saturday night for the Gamecocks.
“He helps me a lot man. Trey still will be on my back. There was a route I ran last week he got on my back for, but that’s my guy,” Simon said. “Honestly he keeps everybody going, that’s a football guy. He has a football mind. He helps everybody honestly because he’s got the brain for it he’s got the wits to do it.”
For Beamer, he couldn’t be more excited to get the dynamic duo back together.
“We were getting experienced guys in that room to go along with a bunch of freshmen,” Beamer said. “They’ve been fantastic from that standpoint and really complement each other well.”
The pair came in to fill a need and to also bring up the next generation. The Gamecocks have five freshman tight ends on the roster and one sophomore who also transferred from Florida this offseason.
“Those guys are key parts of our offense and they’ve worked to improve as players this year as well as great leaders,” Beamer said.
