SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS FOOTBALL

Eric Wolford learned early on in his NFL coaching career how valuable being a Swiss Army knife in the offensive line room.

With 53-man rosters, most teams don’t carry more than seven or eight offensive linemen into a game, which means guys have to be versatile and able to play multiple positions.

It takes a certain type of lineman to be able to bounce around from tackle to guard to center, and if you’re looking for a prime example of what that guy looks like, it’s Eric Douglas.

“Ever since I came in as a freshman, they’ve been telling me my versatility helps me out at this level and the next level,” Douglas said. “It maximizes my potential at every position."

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Douglas is the putty guy on the Gamecocks’ line, and his name is scattered up and down the depth chart.

He’s likely the starter at right guard when the season starts but is the backup at right tackle and, if the Gamecocks are in a pinch, a viable candidate to play center.

Douglas fits well into Wolford’s mold of offensive linemen, with the Gamecocks’ third-year offensive line coach wanting to come into a game with his five starters, a backup center, backup tackle and a swing guy.

That’s where Douglas comes in to the fold.

“He’s obviously very smart and can play a lot of positions from that standpoint. Two, he can snap the ball and has complete understanding of the offense as far as what we’re looking for from a protection standpoint,” Wolford said. “He cares, he loves the game of football and those are all the traits you want.”

But for Douglas, he wasn’t always in the position he is right now entering his redshirt sophomore season.

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After missing all of his freshman year redshirting, he played in all but one game last season primarily on special teams but was still a little ways out of the rotation.

But, once spring practice kicked in, Douglas turned things on and shifted his game to another gear that led him right to the cusp of winning a starting job.

“We did some testing in January and I think he was embarrassed by some of his testing results,” Wolford said. “We saw a dramatic change in him and changing his body and doing the things he needed to do. We’re seeing the result of that. We’re seeing a guy that can get in there and compete and do some things.”

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He was always serious about his weight room activities, but his coaches saw someone now willing to do a little bit more to try and get ahead. Right now it’s working.

“He’s always done everything we asked, but he just went the extra step in the weight room and film room in really working and practicing his skill set of what he can do. He can play all five positions; he or Donell (Stanley) would be our backup center to Hank (Manos). He could backup and play both tackle position. He’s a very valuable member of our football team.”

The Gamecocks practiced Sunday before an off day Monday and then it’s the standard game week schedule.

They’ll practice Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday before a walk-thru Friday and then travel up to Charlotte, where they’ll take on North Carolina Saturday (3:30 p.m., ESPN).