The quarterback controversy for South Carolina still is not quelled and the special team’s issues remain unresolved, but with the many questions that continue to persist surrounding the play of Coach Will Muschamp’s team, the versatility and importance of sophomore tight end Hayden Hurst only continue to become clearer and more apparent with each game.
“He’s a guy that I felt like, going into the year, was going to be a difference-maker for us," Muschamp said after the game. "He certainly has been, especially with the absence of some of our other playmakers.”
His ability to be a difference-maker was put on full display against Texas A&M. Hurst was the leading receiver for the Gamecocks, pulling in five receptions for 90 yards, while also adding nine yards passing on a trick play that went for a first down. His presence appears to alleviate a lot of the pressure for the struggling McIlwain, who seemed comfortable throwing the ball to his big-framed tight end.
With the Carolina offense sputtering and facing a fourth down on their own side of the field, Muschamp decided to dial up a risky trick play, which called for punter Sean Kelly to fake a rugby-style punt, taking a few steps to his right in order to allow Hurst time to slip past the defenders and into open space. Kelly then lofted the ball to Hurst, who did the rest of the work, rumbling for extra yards and gaining 36 yards on the play.
Yet the most promising thing about Hurst is the potential he has to get even better. Through five games, he has shown steady improvement. In all but one game, he bettered the receiving yards he had of the game prior, and on the season he has the most receptions (19) of any South Carolina player. His importance in the passing game has steadily grown after pulling in just two receptions for 17 yards in the first game of the season against Vanderbilt to now being the leading receiver two straight weeks.
After citing Hurst’s success in recent weeks, Muschamp made sure to point out his still relative inexperience, saying, “This is really his first year playing a bunch and playing where we are playing, which there’s a lot of nuances at the position that he’s learning.”
He then went to list some of these areas for growth, listing angles for blocking and just improving catching the ball.
As other receiving targets get injured around him, limiting many of the other options for the quarterbacks, expect to see Hurst’s production only increase and his role become even bigger in the offense in the latter part of this season.
Hurst’s ultimate ceiling is tantalizing for Gamecock fans, especially if he were to continue improving at the rate he has through the first five games this season.