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Checking out the comp: South Carolina

Missouri finished spring football a little over a week ago and is moving onto the next portion of its offseason, and until the transfer portal opens May 1-15 things may enter a bit of a quiet period around the program. So, while we give the Tigers a break for a little while there's nothing stopping us from checking out what their 2023 Power 5 opponents' rosters are looking like.

We've already covered Mizzou's first four Power 5 opponents in Kansas State, Vanderbilt, LSU and Kentucky.

Currently, South Carolina is about 10 days out from its spring game, but the Gamecocks have some significant roster departures and they're hoping they've found requisite depth to fill in the holes in their roster.

Last season's record: 8-5

Key departures: DE Jordan Burch, RB Marshawn Lloyd, DL Gilber Edmond, TE Jaheim Bell, TE Austin Stogner

Key additions: LB Jaron Willis, TE Trey Knox, WR Eddie Lewis, OL Nick Gargiulo, TE Joshua Simon, TE Nick Elksnis, OL Sidney Fugar, WR DeAngelo Gibbs

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Key departures

The Gamecocks lost four top 40 overall transfers, according to Rivals.com, in defensive end Jordan Burch, running back Marshawn Lloyd, defensive lineman Gilber Edmond and tight end Jaheim Bell. But the biggest loss is that of cornerback Cam Smith, a projected first-round pick.

Smith had 27 tackles, a tackle for loss, five pass deflections and an interception. He allowed 18 receptions on 38 targets for 211 yards and just two touchdowns, according to PFF College.

Burch, who was ranked as the fifth-best available transfer, was third on the team in tackles with 60 to go along with 7.5 tackles, 3.5 sacks, three bat downs and a fumble recovery in 13 games. He decided to take his talents to Eugene, Oregon and join the Oregon Ducks. Burch was the No. 17 recruit coming out of Hammond (SC) in 2020.

Edmond, who has transferred to Florida State, recorded 39 tackles, a team-high nine tackles for loss and a pair of sacks. He was ranked the No. 34 available transfer.

The loss of Burch and Edmond hurt an already pedestrian 89th-ranked total defense from a season ago.

Lloyd only played nine games in 2022, but he rushed for 573 yards and nine touchdowns on 111 carries (5.2 yards per carry). He also had 18 receptions for 176 yards and two touchdowns. Lloyd, who was a former five-star recruit coming out of DeMatha (MD) in 2020, was ranked as the No. 11 available transfer and decided to join Heisman winner Caleb Williams and Lincoln Riley at Southern California.

Bell, who was ranked as the 38th available transfer, was actually the team's second-leading rusher with 261 yards and three touchdowns on 73 carries in 12 games despite being listed as a tight end. He also had 25 receptions for 231 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He joins Edmond in Tallahassee with the Seminoles.

The Gamecocks lost another tight end in Austin Stogner, who played in all 12 games and recorded 20 receptions for 210 yards and a touchdown last season. Stogner was the No. 608 available transfer and transferred to Oklahoma.

Key additions

Jaron Willis redshirted last season at Ole Miss, but he joins a linebacker group that just lost its two starting linebackers in Sherodd Greene and Brad Johnson. So, the former four-star recruit, who was also ranked a four-star transfer and the No. 78 overall available transfer, likely will be a regular member of the rotation.

To replace Bell and Stogner in the tight end room the Gamecocks brought in Trey Knox and Nick Elksnis. Knox came over from Arkansas after recording 26 passes for 296 yards and five touchdowns in 2022. He did a lot of blocking at Arkansas due to the run-heavy scheme the Razorbacks run, but Gamecock Scoop reports that Knox expects a bigger role in South Carolina.

“I think I will catch a lot more balls here,” Knox said. “I was a big blocker at Arkansas, which I don’t mind. Blocking is part of the game and it helped me for the long run, so I ended up appreciating that. I think I will be used in an actual tight end role catching more passes, blocking downfield [and] blocking on the premier, but also getting involved in the pass game a lot.”

Elksnis, who was ranked as the No. 683 overall transfer, transferred from Florida after appearing in five games (all last season) in two years in Gainesville. He was limited by an upper-body injury last season, but he's expected to fit the mold of more of a pass-catching tight end for the Gamecocks.

Eddie Lewis will provide some depth in the wide receiver room after being Memphis' leading wide receiver last season with 42 catches, 615 yards and tied for a team-high seven touchdown receptions. He was ranked as the No. 242 overall transfer.

Joining Lewis in the wide receiver room is former Tennessee Volunteer DeAngelo Gibbs, who was ranked as the No. 871 available transfer. However, Gibbs' story is a unique one. He hasn't played since 2018 when he was a defensive back for Georgia. He had to sit out the 2019 campaign after transferring to Tennessee, sat out in 2020 to focus on school and he just hasn't seen the field the last two seasons.

South Carolina brought in Nick Gargiulo and Sidney Fugar to help an offensive line that ranked two spots higher than Mizzou at 119th in the FBS in tackles for loss allowed at 7.62.

Gargiulo, who was ranked as the No. 309 available transfer, transferred from Yale and had a pass-blocking grade of 74.4 and a run-blocking grade of 71.0, according to PFF College. Fugar, who was ranked as the 793rd-best transfer available, transferred from Western Illinois and had a pass-blocking grade of 57.7 and a run-blocking grade of 55.8.

The Gamecocks lost Jovaughn Gwyn, Dylan Wonnum, and Eric Douglas who represent their starting center, right guard and right tackle leaving opportunities for Gargiulo and Fugar to crack the rotation.

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