SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS FOOTBALL

Coming into preseason camp, Bryan Edwards is listed as the team’s starting punt returner, the entrenched starter after a solid season there last year.

But, that won’t stop the Gamecocks from trying out a few new guys at the position before the season starts and special teams coordinator Coleman Hutzler is putting a true freshman, Legette, back there in practice.

“Shoot, he was a dang quarterback and never caught a punt. Now he’s back there catching,” he said. “That tells you how good of an athlete there. It’s great competition to have multiple guys because a couple years ago we put a 250-pound tight end back there because we didn’t have anybody. It’s nice to have a couple names.”

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Legette was a later addition to the Gamecocks’ 2019 class, a speedy playmaking quarterback out of Mullins (S.C.) High School where he ran for over 1,800 yards and passed for 887 more while accounting for 33 total touchdowns either through the air or on the ground.

Now, he’s coming in hoping to chisel out some playing time and one way to do that could be on special teams as a freshman.

Legette is taking reps now at punt return behind Edwards, who’s listed as the team’s starter on the two-deep depth chart. Josh Vann and Shi Smith are also taking reps at punt return and Hutzler said both are catching the ball well.

But punt returner isn’t the only special teams spot up for grabs as the Gamecocks having to replace Deebo Samuel on the kick return side of things.

Right now, the listed starter is AJ Turner with Shi Smith as the backup but Hutzler said Vann, Edwards and Rico Dowdle are also taking reps there.

Turner has experience returning opposite Samuel, who racked up 1,219 return yards and four touchdowns on special teams over his career, and said at media day he thinks he’s the frontrunner for that position.

In three seasons, Turner’s returned 28 kicks for 592 yards, a 21.1 average, and hasn’t scored.

Also see: Full recap from Hutzler's fall media session

“AJ’s obviously been back there as an off returner for Deebo, but now he gets a chance to go back there and be the guy,” Hutzler said. “We haven’t named a guy yet but we’re excited.”

There really isn’t a timetable to officially name a starter at either spot, but as practice continues into the second week of camp, Hutzler said he’ll begin to start pairing down the lists of players taking reps there before naming the top guy.

“We do that in a lot of drills,” he said. “Those things get trimmed, same things with punt returner. It’s the same thing with the freshmen: who can return a ball, who can make good decisions and who can communicate.”