Tennessee football: Q and A with South Carolina expert on Vols opponent

Garnet and Cocky’s Jacob Elsey discusses the Gamecocks against the Tennessee football Volunteers.

It’s pretty clear that Tennessee football has a huge matchup on Saturday with its opponent. Both teams are competing for as high as third place in the SEC East, and some people may have even higher expectations.

Jeremy Pruitt and Will Muschamp are former Nick Saban defensive coordinators, and that makes this even more interesting. To discuss this matchup, we caught up with fellow FanSider Jacob Elsey, who covers the South Carolina Gamecocks for the website Garnet and Cocky.

We also spoke about the Vols to Garnet and Cocky, and there is a story on that posted here if you want to read it. Here’s a look at what Elsey said when discussing Tennessee football’s opponent to open the season.

1. Where should South Carolina see the biggest improvement? What about the biggest drop-off

"Biggest improvement: DB – The secondary should be the greatest strength on the team. All four starters from last season return, including preseason All-SEC corners Jaycee Horn and Israel Mukuamu. Those two played stellar for the majority of last year (excluding that offensive explosion from the Vols).Mukuamu in particular showed that he can take a game over, going back to his three-pick performance against Georgia. Also back are freshman all-conference performer Jammie Robinson and two-year starter RJ Roderick at safety.The group should be deep, too, with John Dixon, Cam Smith, and Shilo Sanders (son of Deion) providing depth in reserve roles. With both depth and experience, Will Muschamp should be able to move Mukuamu, who stands 6-foot-5, around the defensive backfield to create a little confusion and provide new looks to opposing offenses.Biggest drop-off: WR – South Carolina is thin at wideout. Shi Smith returns for his senior year. He’s been a reliable target for three seasons. But Bryan Edwards, the Gamecocks’ all-time leading receiver is off to the NFL. He made the catch of the year in Neyland Stadium last season. South Carolina has seen contributors Randrecous Davis and Tre Smith opt out of the season due to Coronavirus concerns.Projected starter Jalen Brooks’ transfer waiver was denied by the NCAA earlier this week, so he’s out, too. In the week one depth chart release, the Gamecocks listed three true freshmen and two sophomores. Two of those players, Dakereon Joyner and Luke Doty, are former quarterbacks. Things could get a little dicey, here."

2. Who are the potential standout players for South Carolina this year?

"Sadarius Hutcherson and Nick Muse are the potential standouts on offense. Hutcherson is the most experienced player on the team with 29 starts under his belt. He’s been on Bruce Feldman’s list of college football ‘freaks’ each of the last two years. Barring injury, Hutcherson should go on to a long professional career after 2020.Nick Muse is more of a surprise candidate. He’s returning from an ACL tear that forced him to miss the final four games of the year, but his role on the offense had been growing with each week prior to going down. When healthy, he’s a huge mismatch for opposing LBs and DBs. I’m expecting an all-conference type of season from Muse, who may end up being the Gamecocks biggest threat in the passing game.Jaycee Horn, Ernest Jones, and Israel Mukuamu should lead a stout Carolina defense. Horn and Mukuamu both have first-round potential, and both could forego their senior years with big seasons. Mukuamu led the team in interceptions last year, while Horn is the best corner the Gamecocks have in press coverage.Horn’s still looking for his first career pick (had one slip through his fingers against UNC, one called back against UF last year), but I’d expect that to come sooner rather than later this season. Jones is the defensive leader at linebacker. He finished last year with 97 tackles, averaging 8.1 takedowns a game. That number was good for fourth-most in the SEC."

3. What are the expectations for Collin Hill as the starting QB?

"Game management (no turnovers), open playbook, efficiency. I honestly haven’t seen much of Hill thus far. He spent three seasons at Colorado State with Mike Bobo, the Gamecocks’ new offensive coordinator. He was productive when healthy, but he just had his third major knee surgery this offseason. What coaches have been most impressed with so far is arm strength.Hill also knows the playbook having played with Bobo, which should allow the Gamecocks to open up the offense a little more than they could with Ryan Hilinski. Knowledge of the playbook played a big part in Hill’s winning the starting job.For game one, I expect to see efficiency and a little bit of game management. If he gets around the 200-yard mark with no turnovers, he should be able to keep South Carolina in the game. If the Gamecocks are throwing 50+ times like they did vs. the Vols last year, they’re probably in trouble."

4. How hot is Will Muschamp’s seat? Given the new pandemic-adjusted schedule, does he still need a winning record this year?

"Sportsbetting.ag just released the odds for the first SEC coach to be fired. Muschamp topped the list with 2:1 odds. I personally don’t think he needs a winning record to keep his job, but he’s got to show progress on offense and avoid a complete collapse like the end of last year. After upsetting Georgia, the Gamecocks lost five of their final six games.The offense scored one touchdown over its final three games. Now those last six matchups included contests against Florida, Tennessee, A&M, and Clemson, no slouches, but the offense is going to have to step up big time.I’d put Muschamp’s seat heat probably around level 6 for this season, especially with the pandemic throwing a wrench into the offseason, and with Carolina having to face five teams that currently sit in the top 10 of the AP poll.If the Gamecocks can stay competitive for most of the year, and churn out 3 to 4 wins, I expect to see Muschamp back on the sidelines in 2021, but a losing record this year will definitely crank up the heat moving forward."

5. What is your prediction for the game?

"With the tough all-SEC scheduling, this seems more and more like a must-win, for both sides really. And if the Gamecocks lose this one, they could be staring at a 1-5 start (SC plays Florida, LSU, Auburn, and A&M over its next five games).They need to get off to a positive start. After last season, most are going with the Vols here, but remember SC did win the three meetings prior. These schools are typically close in talent, which is why the series has been highly competitive (6 of the last 8 meetings decided by 3 points or less).I’m expecting a low scoring, defensive battle with the Gamecocks being able to lock down a questionable WR unit and focus on stopping the Tennessee football run game. Collin Hill will do just enough to keep the offense moving. The home field advantage may not favor the Gamecocks as much this year, but I still think they leave Williams-Brice Stadium with a win.Gamecocks 21-20."

With a 21-20 score, Elsey is going with the slight upset as Tennessee football is the favorite. That’s also a significantly more low-scoring game than last year, when the Vols won 41-21, although there were two special teams touchdowns in that game. We should also note that the over/under is at 43.5, meaning a low-scoring game clearly is predicted.

For more coverage on South Carolina throughout the year, never hesitate to visit Garnet and Cocky’s main page, which you can see by clicking here. Given the pandemic, there will be as much interesting coverage for them this year as there will be for Tennessee football.