Up and down the depth chart at tight end you will find different players with unique backgrounds and storylines.

There’s Jaheim Bell, who has played all over the field during his time with the Gamecocks and was tied for the team lead in touchdowns last season.

Austin Stogner, a big time target from Oklahoma joined the team in the transfer portal along with his old quarterback Spencer Rattler.

And there is Nate Adkins, who joins the team out of the transfer portal from the other end of the college football spectrum — FCS East Tennessee State. Adkins is adjusting to the bright lights of the SEC, saying he was “not used to this” during his first meeting with local media on Monday afternoon.

Together they form a group vital to South Carolina’s offensive potential in 2022, and make each other better in the process. That especially rings true for Stogner and Bell, the projected top two targets within the crowded room.

“It’s been fun working with Jaheim,” Stogner said. “He’s obviously uber-talented, and we bring different stuff to the table. Our play styles are different, but we complement each other well. I might not be as savvy, but getting him the ball in the open field is a really good thing. But I can also go across the middle and make plays there. It’s been good; we compliment each other. Coach Satt (offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield) has been putting us in some good positions so we can both be out there, that’s been fun.”

Along with his built-in chemistry with Rattler, Stogner brings big game experience and a fresh perspective to the room from his time in Norman. He was part of Oklahoma’s College Football Playoff team in 2019, even briefly appearing in the semifinal against LSU. He caught two touchdowns in Oklahoma’s 25-point comeback against Baylor that season to help propel the Sooners to the Big 12 title and then helped the team repeat the feat in 2020.

Stogner has “played a lot of winning football” as tight ends coach Jody Wright described it, and he is trying to translate those successes into the SEC.

“I feel like me and Stog, we just uplift both of our games to make us better,” Bell said. “Just competing every day at practice, going through the plays with Spencer and the rest of our teammates has just made us better at competing.”

The room improved even more when Adkins arrived, one of two players in the pass-catching corps who played at the FCS level last season alongside wide receiver Antwane Wells Jr. Adkins was a Coaches Second Team All-SoCon player last season helping East Tennessee State earn a bid in the FCS playoffs. After he graduated he had a fifth year of eligibility due to COVID, and entered the transfer portal.

Despite a “hectic” first two days in the portal, Adkins arrived at a decision he did not expect to make when he first stepped on campus at East Tennessee State.

“It was definitely a crazy time,” he said. “I never thought I would end up transferring, to be honest with you. But since this opportunity came up with my fifth year and the COVID year and everything I got an extra year, I just thought it was a cool opportunity for me and I just couldn’t pass it up.”

Adkins is not going to be one of the top two names on the depth chart, but like any team in the SEC, attrition is inevitable and he will be involved with the offense at some point. He has a stacked pair of players to learn from, including another transfer in Stogner in a similar position as him acclimating to Columbia.

Just like with Bell, it comes back to competition.

“The tight end room is full of different abilities,” Adkins said. “Jaheim is a very explosive player; he’s been able to teach me things. And Stogner as well, he’s kind of a do-it-all kind of guy. Everybody in there has helped me and helped each other get where we are now. And you know coach Wright is a great coach as well. Everyone just kind of chimes in and helps each other, and brings the best out of each other.”

As for Wright, the opportunity to lead a group like this is a rare one for a position coach. But it is not something Wright is totally unfamiliar with after spending three years as an NFL assistant, one with the Cleveland Browns and two with the New York Giants.

Like everybody else involved, Wright sees huge potential with the unit.

“They’re definitely a talented group, but they’re also a group that I think can also get a lot better and improve their play,” Wright said. “Like our whole team, they’ve embraced getting better every day, and they understand this is the SEC. The margin for error is very slim on Saturdays; it’s very comparable to the NFL.”