It’s 2019 and Americans all over the country are making resolutions about losing weight, eating healthier, and exercising more. So in the spirit of making New Year’s resolutions, here are mine that can help the South Carolina football program.
Better Quarterback Play
Whether that be Jake Bentley improving and playing consistently well, or Ryan Hilinski taking the starting job, this team needs better play from the most important position on the field in 2019.
The inconsistency seen above is the biggest problem. While South Carolina did have some drop problems throughout the season, that level of up and down play from the quarterback position is inexcusable. Having one of the most difficult schedules in the country next season makes fixing this issue paramount.
Converting in the Red Zone
According to teamrankings.com, Carolina finished 106th in the country in red zone scoring at 77.55%. While that percentage is bad in and of itself, it also includes field goals. In 56 red zone attempts, they only scored 32 touchdowns. This has to improve for the Gamecocks next season. If they want to compete with good teams, they have to avoid settling for three in the red area.
Get Jamyest Williams the ball on offense
The former 4-star defensive back has been decent on defense so far but hasn’t lived up to the hype he received coming out of high school. Maybe the spark he needs is to see some time on the offensive side of the ball. Williams had over 1200 yards rushing and 23 touchdowns his junior year of high school. He has zero touches in his college career. With the lack of explosiveness the offense has shown at some points, I don’t see why the coaches don’t give him a shot.
Fix the Defense
The Gamecocks ranked 78th in the country allowing 4.6 yards per carry and 99th in rushing yards allowed per game with over 207. Those numbers need to be bettered and the main thing that needs to be change is tackling. Too many times this season, two-yard runs turned into 8 yard runs because of missed tackles. The passing defense wasn’t much better which could be improved with more of a pass rush. 1.8 sacks per game (95th in the country) isn’t doing the rest of the defense any favors. Injuries were prevalent in all three levels of the defense this year and exposed the lack of depth on this roster. One more recruiting cycle and a healthier 2019 will hopefully improve these numbers.
Beat Kentucky for the first time since 2013
Please. They’re a basketball school.