Joyner will 'absolutely' play Saturday

SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS FOOTBALL

Will Muschamp has officially put to bed one of the biggest questions on the Gamecocks entering their season opener Saturday against North Carolina.

In his weekly press conference, Muschamp announced there is a play for Dakereon Joyner to see the field against the Tar Heels.

“Absolutely,” Muschamp said. “He’s going to play.”

Joyner was recently named the team’s No. 3 quarterback behind Jake Bentley and now backup Ryan Hilinski.

But, his coaches and teammates have all said he’s open to moving positions and changing roles to something other to quarterback.

Joyner could still play quarterback in special situations but also has the speed an elusiveness to play in the open field at either running back or wide receiver if he stayed on the offensive side of the ball.

Whatever the plan is for him, Muschamp is keeping that pretty close to the vest.

“You coming Saturday? Good,” he said on Joyner’s role. “You’ll find out Saturday.”

Joyner’s been adjusting well to his new role, Muschamp said, and handled losing the backup quarterback position with a good mindset.

The redshirt freshman was given the day off the day after the coaches decided to go with Hilinski but has been back since then and working just as hard as he had before the decision.

“He’s been great and had a very open attitude,” Muschamp said. “Nothing’s changed with him. That’s who he is as a person. He handles everything in a first-class manner.”

Joyner was a four-star quarterback coming out of Fort Dorchester where he accounted for more than 3,400 yards and 52 touchdowns as a senior and was the South Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year in 2016.

Coming to South Carolina, he struggled to see the field as a freshman behind Bentley and senior backup Michael Scarnecchia, playing in just one game with one passing yard and three rushes for 24 yards.