South Carolina finished up spring practice Saturday with the annual Garnet and Black spring game, and as the Gamecocks inch closer to the start of the 2015 season, they still have several questions to answer.
One concern is the depth at the wide receiver position. Outside of all-SEC junior wideout Pharoh Cooper, South Carolina lacks experience at the position, so head coach Steve Spurrier will need several young players to step up in order for the Gamecocks to perform at a high level on offense.
One guy who could potentially rise to the occasion and become a talented complement to Cooper is redshirt freshman Deebo Samuel.
Samuel played well throughout the spring, according to the South Carolina coaching staff. The Inman, South Carolina native turned in an impressive performance on Saturday, finishing with three receptions for 94 yards.
While there’s a lot of uncertainty at wide receiver for South Carolina, Samuel has proven himself as a legitimate threat on offense over the past few weeks.
“I think Deebo at times shows big play potential,” Spurrier said. “We know he’s going to play and Pharoh Cooper is going to play.”
Because of his "big play potential" as Spurrier puts it, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Samuel was the one offensive player to earn the “Big Plays” award from the South Carolina coaching staff for the job he did throughout spring practice. All three of Samuel’s receptions on Saturday went for 20-plus yards with Samuel’s longest catch of the day was a 38-yarder, coming on a pass from redshirt sophomore Connor Mitch.
South Carolina redshirt junior quarterback Perry Orth is a big fan of Samuel and said he’s going to play a big role in the Gamecock offense this upcoming fall.
“We knew coming into the spring that Deebo would have some pretty good talent,” Orth said. “He’s taken ownership of the position they’ve put him at, and he hasn’t looked back since day one. He’s a pretty talented receiver and he’s going to help us this season, for sure.”
Having redshirted during his first season at the college level, Samuel had an opportunity to take in the game from the sideline last year, which was very beneficial for him.
“I have learned a lot,” Samuel said. “The redshirt gave me a chance to get better, a chance to learn. I got to see and watch other people and learn from them. It was a great chance for me to learn by redshirting.”
Obviously, much more is expected out of Samuel this upcoming season. Outside of Cooper, redshirt senior Shamier Jeffery is the only returning South Carolina wide receiver to have recorded a reception in 2014.
For that reason, Samuel has been working harder than ever before in order to become game-ready come September 3 when the Gamecocks kick off the 2015 season in Charlotte against North Carolina.
“Ever since the winter, I have been working hard trying to get into better shape,” Samuel said. “I’ve been working the weight room, on the field, off the field, catching extra balls after workouts, meeting with coach every chance I get."