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I’ll touch on this some. I think Carolina is a wild card this year. One person in the program who was recently with Oklahoma said Carolina is more talented than last year’s 10 win Oklahoma team, but less disciplined. There are a ton of “ifs” with this team, so I’m not too sure what to think. I will say this, QB LaNorris Sellers could be an up and coming star. He’s bigger than most linebackers at 6’3 240lbs, has a canon for an arm, and can run. He also has a demeanor about him most young QBs lack. At RB, Rocket Sanders transferred in from Arkansas and IF healthy would be a major upgrade. There are a few solid backs behind him that would be adequate. There is a ton of speed at WR, including former 5 star Nyck Harbor who may qualify for the Olympics at 6’5” 242lbs. I still think Harbor would be an eventual 1st round pick at DE, but that’s not what he wants to do. Former Miami (OH) Gage Larvadain will probably be the most targeted WR. The guy just knows how to get open and catches everything. Josh Simon is a name to know at TE. He will be heavily utilized in the red zone especially with Carolina lacking a true aerial threat after Xavier Legette was drafted in the 1st round. The offensive line was a mess before the season even started last year as both starting LT and RT went down. Gamecocks were forced to play several freshmen on the OL, which will be beneficial this year. One of those players ended up becoming a Freshman All-American. The starting OL should be solid, but depth will be an issue if injuries pile up again. 3 true freshman (2 of them could have gone almost anywhere) will likely be on the two deep by the time 2024 kicks off. The defense will be a strength. Defensive tackle TJ Sanders will likely be drafted anywhere from rounds 1-3 after the season concludes. Someone else in the program said Sanders can absolutely wreck a practice when he wants to. The defensive line is deep and experienced. The starting LBs are explosive - led by 1st team All-SEC Debo Williams. Carolina shuttled out their 2 MIKE LBs and upgraded with speed from the portal. They typically run a 4-2-5, but ran a high amount of 3-3-5 down the stretch last season. They plan to run both schemes this year. The starting secondary is excellent in run support, but have struggled in pass coverage at times. Lack of pass rush, inexperience, and injuries played a part in that last year. Safety Nick Emmanwori will be in the NFL probably sooner than later. Nickleback Jalon Kilgore was a Freshman All-American and may already be the most well rounded DB in the secondary. Senior O’Donnell Fortune has everything NFL teams look for in a CB and will likely hear his name called in next year’s draft. The only question mark is at the opposite CB spot (no lack of raw talent) and experienced depth behind the starters. Special Teams used to be some of the best in the nation under Lembo. Beamer will always place an emphasis there, so I wouldn’t think there would be too much of a drop off even with Lembo moving on to Buffalo. I could see this Carolina team winning as few as 4 games and as many as 8. Like I mentioned above, the talent definitely isn’t lacking anymore. It’s actually creeping towards the top tier of SEC at this point. Unfortunately for Carolina, talent alone doesn’t win ballgames.

I’ve read the same. It appears he had several visits with them early on his HS timeline. He was a star in Oklahoma and first team all state with impressive numbers through out his career so makes sense if so. Wish it had worked out here, but best of luck to him. Still a fan of Wasel.

https://oklahoma.rivals.com/news/former-akron-qb-and-oklahoma-native-steele-wasel-joining-sooners-as-a-pwo Steele Wasel transferring to Oklahoma U as a walk-on after not getting any playing time with us. Anyone else have that on their bingo card?

I've spoken to a couple of MAC head coaches and these games are recruiting tools for MAC level athletes. It's a thrill for a player to compete in the Horseshoe, at Tennessee, Penn State, etc. And every once in awhile, the underdog pulls one out. I'm sure Appalachian State fans aren't sorry they played Michigan at the Big House. Or Ohio fans for the game at Penn State several years back.

If they won't let you on the field even in the garbage-season there's no point in staying. I respect his decision.

I don't have a clue as to everything that went into his decision to hit the portal, but I'll offer this. If he was going to sit behind other QB's he might as well go to Oklahoma and sit in a place that is close to home. He loses a scholarship but maybe he's happier being close to home while having the chance to win a scholly if he does well. Akron is a long way from home just to sit on the bench.

He’ll probably start out 3rd on the depth chart there too, behind another 2024 Ohio native QB we offered - Brendan Zurbrugg.

Catdaddyp, your analysis as usual is superb. Yet your comment that SC has a ton of if's applies even more so to us. With QB, OL, WR, DB and special teams I feel we have much to work on to compete with them. Obviously QB and OL are the key to us making a leap forward. Against this schedule I don't see that coming. I can't see us winning more than 4 games this season. Thank you for your thoughtful contributions.

JL Bourg signed Xavier Castañeda.

Special teams took some hits. Perez is a solid kicker and the snapper hit the portal, too. They’re left with great players in Wiley, Castle and Jackson, but the chemistry between them may be thrown a bit. Did we sign a new punter, even though we have Jackson and Castle?