South Carolina Football Spring Game 2017: 5 things to watch for
By John Buhler
The South Carolina Gamecocks will play their annual Garnet and Black Game on Saturday, Apr. 1. Here are the five things to watch in this SEC spring game.
We’re less than a week away from the opening weekend of all the annual college football spring games. Spring semester is well underway across the Power 5 and it’s time for college football teams to put in the necessary work to get ready for the 2017 season.
These annual spring games are more about the fans than anything, but it does give the football programs an opportunity to see where their teams are at before heading into training camp this summer.
One of the first teams to take to the gridiron this spring were the South Carolina Gamecocks. They will have their annual Garnet and Black game at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia on Saturday, Apr. 1 at 2:00 p.m. ET. The SEC Network will have the telecast. Here are the five storylines to pay attention to during South Carolina’s spring game on Saturday afternoon.
5. Eric Wolford’s impact on the offensive line
While South Carolina had a better season than expected in 2016, the offensive line was a liability for the team for most of the season. With the amount of great pass rushers playing in the SEC, this was a position group South Carolina needed to address.
In the offseason, the University of South Carolina brought back a familiar face to oversee the continued growth of the offensive line. The Gamecocks hired former Youngstown State Penguins head coach and San Francisco 49ers offensive line coach Eric Wolford.
Before taking over the Penguins in 2010, Wolford spent a year in Columbia as Steve Spurrier’s offensive line coach. One could argue that Wolford played a big part in one of the better seasons in South Carolina history in 2009. Getting him back on campus is a huge boost up front for the Gamecocks.
Given that South Carolina can usually get after the passer like the rest of their SEC brethren, how this front five of Wolford’s holds up in the Garnet and Black Game might indicate how South Carolina will do in protection concepts all season. An improved offensive line makes South Carolina a dark horse to contend in the weak SEC East in 2017.