3 Bold Post-Spring Predictions For The 2024 Gamecocks

2024 Spring practices are in the books for the Gamecocks after Saturday's spring game put a bow on the month-long period of practices and scrimmages. Now begins the long off-season wait for August to get here, with news shifting to recruiting and the transfer portal before July's media days get things going again.

The best part about this period is that we can begin to wildly speculate and overanalyze the information we do have as we await the August 31st kickoff vs. Old Dominion which is still 4 months away. Today, I'll put my money where my mouth is and make 3 bold predictions following spring ball, and you can keep the receipts for me when fall rolls back around.

The Gamecocks have been a bit up and down on defense throughout the Shane Beamer era which began back in 2021. In 2023, the Gamecocks ranked #87 in total defense, giving up nearly 400 yards per game, though there was marked improvement down the stretch once they started working in more of their 3-3-5 scheme. There are a myriad of reasons we could point to for the Gamecocks' inconsistency on defense, but probably the easiest explanations are the ones right in front of your nose: talent and depth.

Those two reasons are exactly why South Carolina is set up to have their best overall defense since Beamer arrived in Columbia. While perhaps they don't have a ready-made 1st round corner, like former Gamecock Cam Smith, the secondary brings back two Junior safeties with a ton of games under their belt in Nick Emmanwori and DQ Smith, the latter of whom was named the Defensive Player of the Spring by the Gamecock coaches. You also probably feel pretty good about Jalon Kilgore at Nickel and 5th-year senior O'Donnell Fortune holding down one of the corner spots. As to the other corner, and overall depth, Emory Floyd, Judge Collier, and Vicari Swain are all capable talents, not to mention incoming blue-chipper Jalewis Solomon who will compete with that group this fall.

And that's arguably the weakest point of this Gamecock defense. The front 6 is deeper than ever for the Gamecocks who added depth in the portal along with 5-star Dylan Stewart who is already making his impact felt up front. Between Boogie Huntley, Tonka Hemingway, TJ Sanders, DeAndre Jules, Monkell Goodwine, and Nick Barrett, the interior is full of Juniors, Seniors, and Graduate players who have filled out their frames and are ready to wreak havoc on the inside. The EDGEs still have some question marks, but Stewart joins some experienced depth at the position including Seniors Gilber Edmond and Kyle Kennard along with Bryan Thomas Jr. who the staff believes has taken a big step forward this spring.

This isn't even mentioning the LB depth, which brings back the top 2 starters from last year in Debo Williams and Bam Martin-Scott and added some stable experience in Bangally Kamara and Demetrius Knight, both of whom flashed at times during the spring.

It remains to be seen exactly how exactly these pieces are all going to gel together, but for the first time since Beamer arrived, if the defense fails to produce this year, it won't be because they didn't have enough depth behind the starters to compete.

Perhaps this prediction isn't overly bold, but given the 5-7 record from 2023 which left the Gamecocks on the sidelines during bowl season, and a brutal 2024 schedule that includes back-to-back road trips to Alabama and Oklahoma, along with typically tough home matchups vs. LSU, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Missouri and the end of season trip to Death Valley against Clemson, it's certainly not a given that South Carolina will win 6 games in 2024, even if they are an improved team.

In fact, they'll need to hold serve against Old Dominion, Kentucky, Akron, Vandy, and Wofford just to get to 5 wins before knocking off at least one of the more elite matchups mentioned above to get to 6.

That said, there's a lot of turnover across the SEC, with LSU losing their entire offense to the first round of the NFL draft, Alabama losing their G.O.A.T. head coach, and A&M breaking in a completely new staff along with Oklahoma adjusting to life in the toughest conference in America.

It's hard to predict right now how exactly the Gamecocks will get to 6 or more wins, but given the upside of LaNorris Sellers on offense, and the aforementioned defensive depth, I'll go ahead and say they find a way to win 2 of the 7 of Bama, Oklahoma, LSU, Ole Miss, A&M, Missouri and Clemson, though even I'm not dumb enough to try to pick which 2.

Shane Beamer had some high praise for several players who should still be in their final semester of high school following the spring game. "Those players that are highly, highly recruited are highly recruited for a reason," Beamer said after Saturday's Spring Game, he then proceeded to mention Dylan Stewart, Josiah Thompson, and Mazeo Bennett as freshmen who had already flashed despite only arriving on campus in January.

Taking into account other freshmen yet to arrive who could immediately factor in at positions of need, like Jalewis Solomon or Blake Franks, along with the trio mentioned above, and I'll take the bold position that three members of the 2024 recruiting class end up on the All-SEC Freshman team at season's end. The easily most likely candidate is Stewart who Beamer said was "the most impressive guy up front" in the Saturday scrimmage two weeks ago, and arguably repeated that feat in the Spring Game.

Still, if Thompson, Bennett, Solomon, and Franks have strong summers, it's likely that several of them could be counted on as soon as week 1 of the 2024 season, or perhaps a name I haven't even mentioned here could join the mix.

Got your own bold predictions for the 2024 season? Join us on the Insider's Forum and tell us your hottest takes.