SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS FOOTBALL

When the Gamecocks start preseason practice Friday morning, they’ll begin with a handful of freshmen they didn’t have on campus in the spring and two more seasoned veterans starting their careers in Columbia.

Friday’s practice will be the South Carolina debut for two transfers in tight end Nick Muse and long snapper Matt Oliveira.

“Nick was a guy we were very impressed with when we found him in the transfer portal. We watched the tape at William and Mary and he had great competitive edge,” Will Muschamp said. “He came to camp and had a fabulous workout. His testing was off the charts as far as his numbers were concerned.”

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Muse was the more recent of the two to commit to South Carolina, announcing his decision in late June after his standout visit at a team camp on campus.

He comes to South Carolina after two seasons at William & Mary where he played in 13 games over two years with 34 receptions for 508 yards.

His sophomore season saw career highs in both receptions (30) and receiving yards (453) and he also averaged 15.1 yards per catch.

Because of transfer rules, Muse will have to sit out a year but Muschamp and the Gamecocks are appealing for Muse to be immediately eligible. Right now, there’s no update on whether he will be or not and Muschamp didn’t indicate a timetable for when a decision would be handed down by the NCAA.

Regardless of when he’s eligible, the Gamecocks are getting an incredibly competitive player in practice and whenever he’s able to take the field.

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“His biggest attribute is his competitive edge. This guy competes; he likes ball,” Muschamp said. “He was an easy fit for us when he came to camp but to see his workout catching the football was a really good fit for us and how we use our tight ends.”

Oliveira committed to South Carolina a few weeks before Muse did, as part of a weekend where the Gamecocks landed five commitments over a three-day span.

While it doesn’t seem like an eye-popping pick up, Oliveira brings an experienced hand to a very vital position on special teams at long snapper.

It was a position the Gamecocks were thin at after losing Ben Asbury last season and needed an immediate impact there, which is what Oliveira brings to the table.

He started 36 straight games at Maryland as the Terps' long snapper, playing in all 37 of the team’s games his final three years on campus.

He’ll come to Columbia as a graduate transfer with one year of eligibility left to play and will, as the coaches are hoping, a steadying force on the Gamecocks’ special teams.

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“Matt is a guy that was at Maryland last year who has experience snapping on a big stage on Saturday and we did not have that on the roster,” Muschamp said. “That was a critical get for us. We’re excited about Matt coming and he’s going to be in our business school at the University of South Carolina.”