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Ryan Hilinski, Dakereon Joyner showing promise (Video QB coach Dan Werner included)

 

August 10, 2019

 

 

 

Dan Werner Media Availability — 8/9/19

 

We all know Jake Bentley will enter the 2019 college football season as the starter. Question lingers who will behind for the No. 2 spot will be either Hilinski or Joyner. Now that Werner has gotten a good look at both. Werner had no hints on whether or not someone has a lead in the competition, but he did speak about the steps each has taken since spring.

 

Werner talks  HIlinski: “He’s changed his body. Coming out of high school, probably didn’t lift a whole lot compared to what he’s doing here and so he’s lost weight and actually gained a lot of muscle mass. So that’s the first thing. Just football-wise, you can just tell he’s got a much better grasp obviously. I mean, he knows it inside and out just like the other guys do, and now it’s a matter of translating. Always for a younger guy — translate from the meeting room to the field, and like I said, I’ve been really pleased with how that’s happened.” Hilinski threw for more than 3,700 yards as a junior and then 2,700 as a senior, as injuries ruined his receiving group and offensive line. He was a top-75 national recruit and turned down a slew of power programs after committing to USC.

 

 Werner talks Joyner: “His throwing has gotten a lot better. I think his accuracy is something he’s worked really hard on. Again, after spring, we talked about all the different things that each guy had to do individually. And like I said, they all have done exactly what I’ve asked.” Joyner was one of the most prolific winners in South Carolina state history, leading a state title team as a sophomore and only losing three games as a starter. He ran for more than 1,000 yards three times and threw for nearly 10,000 yards.

 

The pair offer different skillsets, Joyner more of a mobile player, while Hilinski is mostly a pocket guy. Will Muschamp said the team plans to taper down the backup competition after the first scrimmage, set for early next week. Werner said the main thing he’s looking for from the scrimmage is protecting the ball. With the playmakers South Carolina has, he called that the top priority. The veteran coach liked what he’s seen from all three QBs, including Bentley, but with the backups duking it out, he’s seen a little something. “Obviously those guys are the ones sort of competing for a job,” Werner said, “but both of them played really hard. And they’re protecting the football and doing everything we ask.”

 

1987 Clemson at South Carolina

 #12 South Carolina 20 #8 Clemson 7. 

November 21, 1987 - #12 South Carolina 20 #8 Clemson 7. This game features the highest ever combined rankings of the Gamecocks and Tigers coming into rivalry week, and was televised nationally on ESPN.

 

1984 South Carolina vs. Clemson 

At the end of one of the greatest seasons in school history, South Carolina beat Clemson, 22-21, in Death Valley to finish the 1984 regular season at 10-1. ... Under head coach Danny Ford, the Tigers had gone 12-0 to win the 1981 national championship.

Long Center: Gamecock Weight Room

January 16, 2019

The Long Family Football Operations Center is open for business in Columbia.

South Carolina’s long-awaited football center opened recently and the production arm of the Gamecock program is eager to show off the Ken & Cheryl Wheat Weight Room found in the Long Family Football Ops building.

If this is your first time hearing about South Carolina’s new football ops building it is located next to Williams-Brice Stadium and is 110,000 square feet of impressive architecture. The new football operations center will host South Carolina’s recruiting center, locker room, weight room, athletic training room, coaches’ offices, meeting rooms, dining room, equipment room and player lounges.