Could Gamecocks lean on special teams?

With major questions that have yet to be answered on offense and defense, could South Carolina's special teams be a steady guiding force for the 2016 squad?

That could be the case if GridironNow.com's ranking of the SEC's special teams units proves to be correct.

ALSO SEE: Mitchell- August 8 Practice Insider | Clark - More practice insight

As the article points out, South Carolina features one of the best kicker-punter duos in the country which is part of the reason for the Gamecocks No. 2 ranking among the conference's special teams units.

The South Carolina section of the article reads:

The Gamecocks’ roster is lacking in talent, but in K Elliott Fry and P Sean Kelly, Will Muschamp has two specialists he can count on. Fry has a good leg and nailed a 52-yarder last season. Kelly averaged an impressive 44.3 yards per punt and dropped almost half of his attempts (25 of 55) inside the 20, with four touchbacks. Both coverage units were good, and CB Rashad Fenton was a dangerous kick returner last season. The Gamecocks are looking for a new punt returner.

The irony is not lost that South Carolina often underachieved on special teams through the Steve Spurrier era, not so much in the kicking game but in the return games and coverage units.

But there were also flashes of very strong special teams play including the brilliance of Ace Sanders as a punt returner and an overall special teams group in 2015 that was probably quietly the strength of the team.

Spurrier and special teams coordinator Joe Robinson may have left Muschamp and new special teams coordinator Coleman Hutzler the makings of a unit that can help flip field position and change games, which is a priority for Carolina's new head coach.

“It’s one-third of the game. It’s our chance to control the vertical field position of the game,” Muschamp said recently. “We don’t have enough team speed for our best players to not play there. The best players play. It gives us the chance to change the momentum of the game.”

With Fry and Kelly holding down their respective spots again, Muschamp hopes to upgrade the kickoff specialist spot (and keep additional stress off Fry's leg) with big-legged redshirt freshman Joseph Charlton.

Senior Drew Williams also returns as the long-snapper for the fourth straight season and also handled snaps for kickoffs last season too.

As Chris Clark recently pointed out, South Carolina also returns many of the players who participated in its return and coverage units last season.

“If you’re not a quarterback and not an offensive linemen and you won’t play special teams, you’re a selfish player,” Muschamp said. “We just had a team meeting that selfish players will not be tolerated in our organization. They’re going to play special teams.”

And, hey, they're pretty good at creating epic, lip-synced Five for Fighting music videos too.

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