The question of whether Dakereon Joyner could help the South Carolina football team at a position other than quarterback is a simple one.
The question of whether the Gamecocks' redshirt freshman actually will play another position this season is yet to be answered.
"There is no question," Joyner could be ready in time to help the Gamecocks at another position this season, South Carolina offensive coordinator Bryan McClendon said Tuesday.
"There's different scenarios where we could use him, for sure," McClendon said. "But the bottom line is, you want to make sure that your best guys are out there. So, if he's one of the best guys, we're going to make sure that he's out there in some way, shape or form."
What way, shape or form that might be is not yet clear.
Joyner, a four-star quarterback out of Fort Dorchester High, battled with Ryan Hilinski all offseason for the backup quarterback role before learning on Monday that he would start the season as the team's No. 3 quarterback.
"When you approach not just him but anybody with that news that they do a good job digesting it and understanding it," McClendon said. "It has to be clearly communicated and I think we did a good job of that."
Joyner, with the blessing of the Carolina staff, took Monday's practice off to digest the news, but was right back out there with his teammates on Tuesday.
"You want to make sure, especially with a guy in his position, he wants to take on any other role he might take; whether that’s backing up, third string [quarterback] or something else," McClendon said. "You want guys that want to do it. Regardless of the skill set or what the situation might be, you want guys that want to do it. Right now, he wants to be here and he’s working hard. He's working hard to do a good job at whatever we ask him to do.”
Regardless of what additional roles Joyner may take on this season, he'll still be on the Gamecocks' depth chart as a quarterback and took snaps at the position in Tuesday's practice.
But as one of the best athletes on the team, particularly with his explosive short-distance burst and ability to make people miss with the ball in his hands, the concept of using a package of plays to get Joyner on the field has been a popular topic of discussion among the fan base.
"He's a very explosive athlete and he's able to make guys miss, so I definitely think so," starting quarterback Jake Bentley said when asked if Joyner was capable of helping the team at another position. "He's definitely very explosive with the ball in his hands."
Using Joyner at another position on top of his reserve quarterback duties didn't seem likely before.
He made it clear in the spring that he came to Columbia to play quarterback and expressed confidence in his ability to play the position this fall. Quarterbacks coach Dan Werner said repeatedly this month that he sees Joyner as a quarterback.
But the possibility of Joyner helping the Gamecocks in multiple ways this season all of a sudden seems to be a real possibility.
"He's indicated that he just wants to help the team in whatever way," McClendon said. "That's what the conversation was and then wherever that role takes him, that's something that we want to make sure that we're exploring and discussing."
