What Corey Rucker's return can bring to South Carolina's offense
After missing the first three weeks of the season with a foot injury, transfer wide receiver Corey Rucker returned to practice this week for South Carolina.
The Gamecocks are still trying to work through some early season growing pains. Easing Rucker back into things during this two-game non-conference stretch could help spark this offense before playing at Kentucky on Oct. 8.
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“I think he’s a guy with some athleticism and twitch,” said Shane Beamer after the Georgia game. “I’ll be honest with you, a lot of that I’m basing off what I saw at Arkansas State. He got banged up as we literally started practice… He gives us more depth at the position and was a very productive receiver at Arkansas State.”
While it’s unclear how much of Rucker we’ll see on Saturday against Charlotte one thing is for certain. USC believes Rucker is the type of player that can have multiple roles in this offense.
“Ruck’s cool because he knows every single position,” said offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield. “He’s like a savant, he can play anywhere and he has that size. He can play outside, inside, move around, and do certain things.”
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So how is it that a guy who has only been here for a couple weeks is so versatile with USC’s offense already? Easy, he says.
“The way coach (Butch) Jones made us learn the playbook, you just never knew where you could be on the field. So, we had to learn the whole concept at Arkansas State. They would make us get on the board and make us draw what (every position) had. There were no labels. Just having that instilled in me just really helped me learn the new concepts and be able to play everywhere.”
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In just 20 games at Arkansas State, Rucker found the end zone 15 times, including 14 receiving touchdowns. Last season he caught 59 passes for 826 yards and nine touchdowns.
“Corey Rucker, he’s gonna be that guy, I’m telling you now,” Dakereon Joyner said in July. “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.”
