What South Carolina’s signing day receiving haul means for a room in transition
South Carolina football’s history, stretching back to the start of this millennium, has featured certain traits in the wide receiver room. There’s been a boatload of talented receivers, with some working as centerpiece acts and others as part of deeper groups.
At the moment, as the Gamecocks stare down an offseason with some roster building still to do, the wide receiver question will involve finding both that depth and maybe a star name to add to the mix.
“We needed to, and still do, continue to upgrade that receiver room — without a doubt, the depth in there,” Gamecocks coach Shane Beamer said. “Also, we’ve got some good young players that are currently on our team and can take another step.”
On the December signing day for the 2024 class, the Gamecocks added a few key faces officially.
Mazeo Bennett is a four-star talent and a sought-after player out of Greenville. Debron Gatling from Alpharetta, Georgia had been a Texas A&M commitment and had a strong list of offers. And Jared Brown brings on-field FBS success after a strong two seasons at Coastal Carolina.
That set of players gets them part of the way, but it’s a room that was probably too thin on reliable talent through the course of the 2023 season and saw a heavy exodus from the roster.
That set of departures included a player who delivered an all-time season (Xavier Legette), an All-SEC-caliber player who missed the whole year and then transferred away (Juice Wells), a useful speed guy when healthy (Ahmarean Brown) and a guy who started a lot of games (O’Mega Blake, now at ECU).
All told, that includes the three-most used receivers last season and probably the most talented of them in Wells.
As such, the staff’s mission was clear.
“The receiver room is a room that we had to attack between high school recruiting and portal recruiting,” Beamer said.
Mazeo Bennett
Bennett is the guy who stands out most from a talent standpoint. The one-time Tennessee commit put up 857 yards and 14 scores as a junior before being somewhat slowed by injury as a senior.
He’s not the biggest at 5-foot-11, but he plays with force and shows good speed. He’s tough enough with the ball in his hands that his high school didn’t mind using him like a running back.
“Just watching him in camp last summer ... just seeing him out there on the field and the competitive spirit that he has, it’s almost like, I don’t want to say he becomes a different person,” Beamer said. “But there’s like a different level that he reaches when competition starts, so I’m excited about adding that.”
It’s hard to project if a freshman can make an impact, but being a four-star guy can’t hurt those chances.
Debron Gatling
Gatling had a little less recruiting hype but still boasted offers from a host of top programs. He put up nearly 1,000 yards as the No. 2 receiver on a powerhouse state championship team at Milton High School. At 6-foot and 195 pounds, he’s a bit bigger than Bennett and may slot more on the outside, but the 2024 version of the Gamecocks likely will need more bodies there.
“(Gatling is) somebody that in the springtime we liked,” Beamer said. “Watched on tape, and then he committed to A&M and then opened things back up. Got him here on a visit, really enjoyed getting to know him.”
With listed offers like Alabama and Georgia, he plays like more of a big-bodied player, catching jump balls and getting deep.
Jared Brown
Brown adds something the Gamecocks are simply short on at the moment: experience. He put up more than 700 yards at Coastal each of the past two seasons, first in Jamey Chadwell’s diverse option attack and then under new coach Tim Beck.
Brown (6-0, 190) is fast and primarily plays the slot. He’s versatile enough that Chadwell liked to use him as a pitch man on option plays, where he could show off his speed.
“Jared is a guy that did some really productive things, caught a lot of balls at Coastal this season,” Beamer said. “Talking to the coaches at Coastal, (they) couldn’t say enough good things about him as a person.”
What’s next?
One complicating factor for the Gamecocks’ quest to add experience is the limbo situation for Vanderbilt transfer Jayden McGowan. The undersized product from Laurens is committed to South Carolina, but he didn’t sign amid reports he’d been swayed to Boston College. (He denied to one outlet that NIL money was a key factor there.)
McGowan held the promise of adding speed and versatility, as the Commodores liked him as a gadget player. And he had the track record of being able to play in the SEC, something the room is woefully short on.
At the moment, the top returning target is Nyck Harbor, a five-star freak athlete about to start only his second season at the position. Luke Doty, a former quarterback, got some work at WR last season, and freshman Tyshawn Russell got some snaps but battled drops.
Behind them, Elijah Caldwell, Kelton Henderson and CJ Adams were freshmen who redshirted, though Caldwell earned some praise before dealing with a shoulder injury.
Considering all that, there’s a serious lack of proven talent.
Beamer talked about depth in the room, and it seems likely they’d try to add at least one bigger guy on the outside and probably another proven player if McGowan goes elsewhere. (They reportedly pursued 6-foot-5 Indiana receiver Donaven McCulley before he chose to return to Bloomington.)
Outside a couple guys who seem destined for programs near the top of the national pecking order, the portal looks a bit thin at receiver for the moment. But there are a few guys in there, and it tends to reload through the offseason.
Someone will almost assuredly join up, but the freshmen who signed Wednesday will also have a chance. There will be no designs for waiting in the wings.
“We need them to be ready right now.” Beamer said. “We’ll get them here for spring practice and have a chance to get going.”
