Game Recaps App State, A&M, Clemson

Bryan Edwards not enough to carry injury-depleted offense By Jeff Owens | Executive Editor • Photos by Travis Bell and Jenny Dilworth MOST VALUABLE

Bryan Edwards had proven all year that he is one of South Carolina’s most valuable players during a record-setting senior season.

Never was that more evident than when the Gamecocks had to play without their best offensive player.

Edwards, South Carolina’s alltime leading receiver, missed part of the first half against Appalachian State with a strained knee. With starters Shi Smith and Josh Vann and tight end Nick Muse already out and Chavis Dawkins also going down with an injury, the loss of Edwards left South Carolina incredibly thin at wide receiver.

So thin that freshman walk-on Trey Adkins had a catch for 29 yards and former quarterback Jay Urich had his first catch of the season. But with Edwards out of the game, the Gamecocks struggled with just 148 yards in the first half. Though Edwards returned in the second half and finished the game with nine receptions for 90 yards and a touchdown, South Carolina struggled on offense in the 20-15 loss to the Mountaineers.

“You become very predictable, obviously, when you don’t have a vertical threat that people have seen,” head coach Will Muschamp said. “It certainly limits you as far as some of the run boxes you’re going to face aren’t going to be very favorable and we’ve got to be able to get people off of us.”

With only Edwards as a reliable receiving option, South Carolina could not run the ball, rushing for only 21 yards, and scored just one touchdown — a 23-yard TD reception by Edwards. With the running game struggling and the receiving corps decimated by injuries, Ryan Hilinski threw the ball 57 times for 325 yards but was plagued by dropped passes. His lone interception deflected off the hands of freshman Xavier Legette and was intercepted by Nicholas Ross, who returned it 20 yards for a touchdown.

The inability to run the ball doomed the Gamecocks against a hungry App State team.

“When we don’t have the ability to run the football we are going to struggle,” Muschamp said. “We weren’t efficient enough on offense. … We had run the ball well except in three ball games, and we lost all three games.”

With his running mates out, App State was able to focus on Edwards and limit his effectiveness while putting pressure on Hilinski. The freshman quarter

20 APP STATE RECAP back overthrew Edwards in the end zone on the final play of the game.

“We just need more bodies, man,” Edwards said. “It’s the end of the year, so everybody’s dealing with something. The more bodies you have, the more fresh everybody can be and the faster we can play.”

The senior receiver and fouryear starter continued to be the big story for South Carolina. With his fourth-quarter touchdown catch, he became the school’s all-time leader in receiving yards, surpassing Gamecock great Alshon Jeffery. Already the all-time leader in receptions, he also caught a pass in a record 48 straight games.

But as usual, the records meant little to Edwards. Not after a loss.

“We still lost,” he said. “I’ll appreciate it after the season.”

PLAYER OF THE GAME Ernest Jones

Jones led a defense that held App State to just 202 yards of total offense. The sophomore linebacker had 10 tackles, including a sack and two tackles for loss. He also had his second career interception to set up a third-quarter field goal.

NUMBERS THAT MATTER

1WR Trey Adkins had his first career reception and LB Sherrod Greene had his first career sack. 3-3 PK Parker White made all three of his fieldgoal attempts, including a career-long 50-yarder. 6 RB Rico Dowdle set a career-high for receptions and receiving yards with six catches for 56 yards. 3,045 With a 23-yard TD catch in the fourth quarter, Bryan Edwards became Carolina’s all-time leader in receiving yards, surpassing Alshon Jeffery.

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COACH’S CORNER

With school support, Muschamp vows, ‘I plan on taking this program where it has never been before’ By Jeff Owens | Executive Editor • Photos by SC Athletics

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — There was not much to say after South Carolina’s 30-6 loss at Texas A&M. Analysis of the game and what went wrong was brief. The numbers told the story.

The Gamecocks played poorly, generating just 260 yards of total offense, converting just 2 of 15 third-down plays and managing only a pair of Parker White field goals. With star wide receiver Bryan Edwards out with a knee injury, South Carolina struggled to run or pass. Carolina rushed for just 45 yards — 10 on a scramble by punter Joseph Charlton — and quarterback Ryan Hilinski completed just 16 of 41 passes for 175 yards.

With its defense worn out from being on the field too long, Texas A&M broke open a 10-point game with a 17-point fourth-quarter, including a 75-yard touchdown run. After standing tall for three quarters, the Gamecock defense gave up 540 yards of total offense and the 6-3 Aggies held the ball for 41:39 of the 60-minute game.

The poor performance — the second straight for South Carolina — couldn’t have come at a worse time. The seventh loss of the season eliminated the Gamecocks from bowl eligibility and discouraged a fan base frustrated with the team’s struggles during a disappointing 2019 season.

As a result, Will Muschamp’s postgame press conference quickly turned to his future at South Carolina and the direction of the program.

A day before the game, Athletics Director Ray Tanner released a statement pledging support for Muschamp and the program.

“I want to make it clear that Will Muschamp is our football coach and will be our coach going forward,” Tanner said. “President [Bob] Caslen and I are fully supportive of his leadership and his development of student-athletes on and off the field.”

After the game, Muschamp said he has always had the support of Tanner and the university administration, and that has not wavered during a difficult season. “From day one, I have had wonderful communications with Coach Tanner and his administration and the president’s office, starting with President [Dr. Harris] Pastides and now with President Caslen, and the board,” he said. “Everybody has been unbelievably supportive. Publicly, I don’t know what all is out there, but I know that from my standpoint, everybody has been supportive and positive about where we’re headed and what we are doing.”

Muschamp then vowed to turn around the program and declared that he and his staff can lead South Carolina where it wants to go. “We have had a rough year. We also are a staff that won more games in three years than any other staff in South Carolina history, so we have done some good things here,” he said. “We have had a very rough year and that’s frustrating. It’s frustrating for us all. I’m a coach that has been a part of national championships and multiple conference championships and I plan on taking this program where it has never been before. I really do plan on doing that.”

Muschamp entered the season with a 22-17 record and had led the Gamecocks to three straight bowl games. But they lost five of six games after upsetting Georgia on Oct 12, finishing 3-5 in the SEC and knocking them from bowl eligibility for the first time since Steve Spurrier’s last season in 2015.

“It’s frustrating,” said junior tight end Kyle Markway, who led South Carolina with five receptions for 47 yards at Texas A&M. “I’ve been through it and 2015 was kinda similar. But this team is different. This team comes to work every day and it’s just frustrating that it is not paying off for us.”

“It shouldn’t happen, call it like it is,” said Muschamp, who said he has the resources and support to make South Carolina an SEC contender again.

“We are not as far off as people seem to think we are,” he said.

PLAYER OF THE GAME Jammie Robinson

Jammie Robinson led the Gamecocks with a

career-high 15 tackles, including 12 solo stops. The freshman DB also had a pass breakup in his best game of the season.

NUMBERS THAT MATTER

1.5 DE J.J. Enagbare had a career-high 1.5 sacks, sharing a sack with Javon Kinlaw. Enagbare also had four tackles and two quarterback hurries. 3 The Gamecocks had three players attempt passes in the game. Starting quarterback Ryan Hilinski was 16-of-41 for 175 yards, while backup Dakereon Joyner completed 3 of 4 passes for 40 yards. WR Shi Smith also attempted a pass after taking a lateral from Hilinski.

TE Kyle Markway led the Gamecocks with five receptions for 47 yards. 8 P Joseph Charlton had eight punts in the game, averaging 46 yards per kick with a long of 58 yards. Charlton also made the play of the game for South Carolina, avoiding a blocked punt attempt and rushing for 10 yards for a first down.

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‘WE WILL BE BETTER’

Muschamp moves quickly to fix offense after loss to Clemson By Jeff Owens | Executive Editor • Photos by Jenny Dilworth

Will Muschamp summed it succinctly as soon as he walked into the media room following South Carolina’s 38-3 loss to rival Clemson. “Frustrating end to a frustrating year,” he said.

The most frustrating part was South Carolina’s continuing struggles on offense. The Gamecocks gained just 174 yards to Clemson’s 527. They were just 5-of-15 on third down and trailed Clemson in time of possession by more than 10 minutes.

The poor performance continued a trend that saw the South Carolina offense get worse as the season progressed. The Gamecocks scored just 24 points in their final three games — all losses — and failed to score a touchdown in consecutive games for the first time since the 0-11 season in 1999.

Fixing the offense was Muschamp’s top priority. A day after the regular season, word spread that he had dismissed strength and conditioning coach Jeff Dillman and quarterbacks coach Dan Werner. He was searching for a new offensive coordinator to replace Bryan McClendon, who was assigned a different role. “I don’t think we are far off, I think we have a good, young, talented roster,” he said. “I think we have some good players in our program, I am extremely frustrated for them. We have to make some changes moving forward … we need to get better. … We will be better moving forward.”

The Gamecocks averaged 22 points and 372 yards per game — numbers inflated by the 72- 10 win over Charleston Southern. They never scored more than 27 points after the Week 2 outburst and scored only 24, 20 and 24 in their other three wins.

South Carolina ranked 104th in the nation in scoring and 96th in total offense. They were 12th and 11th, respectively, in the SEC.

“We’re struggling in a lot of areas,” Muschamp said. “… I don’t have enough fingers to put in the dyke right now. Confidence is a major issue. We are having a hard time in a lot of areas. To sit here and blame one person, I’m not going to do that. At the end of the day, we need to be more productive, and that’s the bottom line.”

The Gamecocks hoped to be able to run the ball against Clemson, but managed just 69 yards rushing. And with wide receiver Bryan Edwards missing his second straight game with a knee injury, they could not throw the ball down the field. Quarterback Ryan Hilinski completed 16 of 27 passes for just 105 yards and one interception. With backup Dakereon Joyner also missing the game with a concussion, Jay Urich and running back Rico Dowdle also took turns at quarterback.

South Carolina’s longest play was a 30-yard pass to tight end Kyle Markway, its only points a 39-yard field goal by Parker White.

Muschamp continued to be baffled by the offensive struggles a year after his team avaraged 30 points and 425 yards per game under McClendon.

“There are a lot of different areas that are at fault and needs to get fixed, and that’s what I’m going to do,” he said. “Last year was more of what we need to be. … I can list some issues that I think that probably contirubted to that, but that’s called excuses and I’m not going to make excuses. Bottom line, we weren’t productive enough and we need to get better, and we will.”

PLAYER OF THE GAME Kyle Markway

In what could have been his last game at South Carolina, redshirt-junior tight end Kyle Markway had another solid game, catching three passes for 39 yards and setting up the Gamecocks’ only points. Markway’s career-long 30-yard reception in the second quarter led to Parker White’s 39-yard field goal.

NUMBERS THAT MATTER 4 QB Ryan Hilinski finished the season fourth in school history in pass attempts (406) in a single season and completions (236) in a single season. 9 S J.T. Ibe had a career-high nine tackles in his final game as a Gamecock.

LB T.J. Brunson had five tackles against Clemson, tying him for 10th all-time with 164 unassited tackles.

K Parker White booted his 18th field goal of the season, tying him for fifth all-time with Elliott Fry.

P Joseph Charlton set a school record, averaging 47.7 yards per punt this season. He also broke his own singlegame record, averaging 46.1 yards per punt vs. Clemson.

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6-11 senior Maik Kotsar leads the way for Martin’s Gamecocks BIG MAN ON CAMPUS

As South Carolina slogged toward its first loss of the season, Frank Martin didn’t like what he saw from his struggling team.

While Boston University was loud and enthusiastic as it closed out a 78-70 win in the first round of the Cancun Challenge, Martin’s Gamecocks were moping, pouting and quiet, way too quiet.

“If you can tell me what player on our team you heard, it’s one more than I heard,” Martin said after the game. “That’s a problem we have to address and fix.”

What Martin was looking for was a leader, an energetic Chris Silva-like personality who would give his team a boost on the floor and be a vocal leader off the court and in the game huddle.

“We have to figure all that out right now. I’m searching really hard,” Martin said.

A few hours later, Maik Kotsar, the only senior and most experienced player on Martin’s team, stepped up and took responsibility, vowing that he would be the team leader Martin was looking for.

“That’s mostly on me because I’m the senior, I’m supposed to help everyone else out,” Kotsar said. “I’ve been through it for three years so I should be there. It got a little quiet so I got to be more of a leader. … I’m trying to be more vocal and trying to fix the problem.” As a three-year starter who played a key role on Martin’s Final Four team in 2016-17, Kotsar was the most natural player to fill that role. The 6-11 forward had a great preseason, dunking the ball, blocking shots at the rim, knocking down 15-foot jumpers and playing solid defense.

“He’s in great spirits, he’s aggressive,” Martin said during preseason. “Maik’s in a good place. I have been tremendously pleased with him.”

Then the season started and Kotsar disappeared. Plagued by inconsistency his whole By Jeff Owens | Executive Editor • Photos by Jenny Dilworth

career, the big man from Estonia got off to a terrible start. Slowed by a cold that swept through the South Carolina locker room, he was in foul trouble in the first two games and played just 36 minutes in the two games combined. He scored a total of eight points and had more fouls (seven) than rebounds (5).

Kotsar worked with a sports psychologist during the offseason and was more confident, he said, entering the season than he had been in his first three years. But after the miserable start, Martin quipped, “I’m the one who is going to need to see a sports psychologist.” But with his young team searching for leadership, Kotsar quickly got healthy and finally showed signs of being the player South Carolina desperately needs. In a 90-63 win over Cleveland State, Kotsar scored just five points but hauled down a season-high 12 rebounds, had two steals and played with the energy his team needed on defense.

In the next game, against Boston U, the offense arrived as Kotsar hit seven of 10 shots and scored 14 points to go along with seven rebounds and two blocks.

That started a streak of five straight doublefigure games, a career-high for Kotsar. He had 12 points in both games in Cancun, Mexico, making the Cancun Challenge All-Tournament team. When the team returned home, he led the Gamecocks with a season-high 17 points and nine rebounds in a win over George Washington. At UMass later that week, he scored just nine points but had nine rebounds, five assists and three steals.

“He’s growing. He’s battling,” Martin said. “Maik’s starting to change his demeanor from within, which is allowing him to be more aggressive, which is what we need him to do.” Though Kotsar played solid defense last season, he didn’t have the confidence to score consistently, and when he missed shots, his confidence waned and he would disappear.

“There were moments last year that I didn’t know how to help him. He was great defensively but he would shrink on offense. He would not allow himself to succeed offensively,” Martin said.

“The way I’m seeing him play right now … I couldn’t be happier for him. I want him to stay aggressive and not worry about missing shots. … I’m really happy for Maik, and we need him. We need him to keep doing what he’s doing.”

Kotsar says his confidence has soared with his increased leadership responsibilities.

“As a senior, I feel like I need to

be there for the team every night,” he said. “I feel confident, and the guys are helping me out with that.

His teammates have seen a change in the senior big man. He’s not only been a force during games, but off the court as well.

“He’s talking a lot during timeouts and during the game, just trying to encouraging us more and just doing what seniors do, just being a leader,” leading scorer AJ Lawson said.

“We look to Maik as our leader on and off the court and in practice, so when he is playing well it sets the tone for the team,” point guard Jair Bolden said.

Kotsar, who has averaged seven points and five rebounds the past two seasons, may be South Carolina’s most important player this season. While the Gamecocks have a star in Lawson and plenty of depth in the back court, Kotsar is the only experienced frontcourt player. He must rebound, score in the paint and defend the low post. More importantly, he has to provide leadership to young forwards Alanzo Frink, Jalyn McCreary and Wildens Leveque.

Through nine games, Kotsar was averaging 10 points and six rebounds, while leading the team with 11 blocked shots and 13 steals. “He doesn’t impress you with stats, but he’s a stabilizer defensively,” Martin said. A three-year starter, Kotsar is trying to pattern his game after Silva, a two-time AllSEC player and the SEC Defensive Player of the Year in 2017-18. While Silva was a force on the boards and in the low post, he also developed into the team’s emotional and inspirational leader. His energy and effort are big reasons he made the roster of the NBA’s Miami Heat. “He leads by example, which I am trying to do,” Kotsar said. “A lot of times he comes on the court and gives it his all and brings energy every day on the court and off, plus he just overall is really vocal. Chris really matured over the time he was here and really got to be a better leader over time. That’s what I am trying to do.”

After shaking his early-season struggles, Kotsar is showing he just might be the player and leader South Carolina needs. Martin learned early in the season how valuable his big man can be.

For this team to be as good as it can be, we need him to be the guy we saw [early in the season].

– FRANK MARTIN

“I don’t need him to go AWOL on me,” he said. “For this team to be as good as it can be, we need Maik to be the guy we saw [early in the season].

“He’s playing with confidence but he’s also playing with a desire on offense that’s fun to watch. … I think he is starting to figure it out.”