Offensive Players To Watch
Sophomore quarterback Jake Bentley: A year younger than the average sophomore in college, Bentley just completed his first full season as the starter, after taking over midway through last season. This season, Bentley has completed 62.4 percent of his passes for 2,555 yards, 16 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He's also rushed for six scores and 86 yards. He has the ability to scramble to make plays, but is not necessarily a dual-threat quarterback. The passing attack is the strong suit of the offense, which overall has struggled this season (No. 108 in the country in total offense).
Junior tight end Hayden Hurst: Hurst might be the most talented player on the Gamecocks, making the best players on each team named Hurst. He’s a big, strong and fast tight end that is athletic enough he’s been used for jet sweeps and screens. He will attack the middle of Michigan’s defense. This season, the 6-foot-5, 250-pounder, has caught 41 passes for 518 yards and one touchdown. He also has 36 yards rushing and a score.
Sophomore wide receiver Bryan Edwards: Bentley’s top receiving target, Edwards has filled a chunk of the void left by junior wide receiver Deebo Samuel, who is injured. Edwards stands at 6-foot-3 and is 215 pounds. He’s caught 59 passed for 705 yards and three touchdowns. He can win 50-50 battles for balls in the air and will be a good challenge for Michigan’s secondary.
Defensive Players To Watch
Fifth-year senior linebacker Skai Moore: Moore is the heart and soul of the Gamecocks defense. He leads the team with 88 tackles and is the team leader in interceptions, with three. He holds the South Carolina school record for career interceptions (14), tied with Bo Davies. Moore missed last season with an injury but is back full force this year and will be playing in his final college game. He also has eight tackles for loss and two sacks on the year.
Sophomore buck linebacker D.J. Wonnum: A buck is South Carolina’s version of the viper position — a hybrid linebacker/safety position. Wonnum has excelled this season at this spot, and has racked up an impressive stat line. He has 52 tackles, 13 tackles for loss and six sacks. He will be the key player to watch in terms of pressuring Michigan’s quarterback, redshirt freshman Brandon Peters.
Junior cornerback Rashad Fenton: South Carolina has an impressive duo at cornerback, and Fenton is considered the top guy by GamecockCentral.com’s Chris Clark. He had defended eight passes this season, has 48 tackles and an interception. Senior cornerback JaMarcus King has 12 pass defenses as the other starting corner.
Special Teams Player To Watch
Redshirt freshman kicker Parker White: White took over as the team’s starting kicker in the team’s third game against Kentucky, but hasn’t been consistent this year. He’s made 12-of-22 field goal attempts, and has a long of 47 yards. He’s made all 24 of his extra points. He’s 9-of-10 on field goals 39 yards or less, but 3-of-12 from 40 yards or longer.
---
• Talk about this article inside The Fort
• Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes
• Learn more about our print and digital publication, The Wolverine
• Follow us on Twitter: @TheWolverineMag, @BSB_Wolverine, @JB_ Wolverine, @AustinFox42, @AndrewVcourt and @Balas_Wolverine
• Like us on Facebook
