South Carolina spring game: Black beats Garnet 35-24

The South Carolina Gamecocks saw the emergence of a potential new star at running back the starting offense led the Black team to a 35-24 victory over the Garnet team.

Ty’son Williams, a transfer from North Carolina, made a quick name for himself Saturday afternoon with a handful of big runs while working with the first team offense. Williams finished with 83 yards on 11 carries and a touchdown in the second half.

Williams had three runs of ten-plus yards, including a long of 18 in the first quarter. After a stellar freshman year it seemed Rico Dowdle, who only had three carries for 30 yards Saturday, might be fighting for time with the former four-star prospect from Sumter.

What wasn’t a surprise was the performance of Jake Bentley, who came out firing early and often. His second pass of the game was a perfectly placed vertical to Bryan Edwards who caught it and ran in for the games first score. The two would connect for two long touchdown passes, and Edwards would finish with four catches for 111 yards and the pair of TDs.

Bentley would play for all of the first half and a couple of drives in the third quarter. He completed 19 of his 31 attempts for 301 yards and three touchdowns. He did throw one ill-advised interception in the endzone to Rashad Fenton while trying to find Kevin Crosby on a vertical route, but outside of that Bentley looked as solid as we expected.

Crosby joined the likes of Jacob August and Keil Pollard as the tight ends really put on a show Saturday. Pollard specifically, who had ten catches for 107 yards between the two teams, stood out as a potential hybrid receiver that Kurt Roper should look at come fall camp.

August caught four passes for 54 yards and a score, while Crosby finished with two catches for 65 yards. Kyle Markaway is another name to watch out for who made an appearance, so combine those names with Hayden Hurst — who did not play Saturday — and SC has a lot to play with in the passing game.

Here are some other points to takeaway from the spring game:

• Left tackle secured?: Zack Bailey, who has mostly played the interior of the offensive line in his career, started the game at right tackle while Malik Young played left. That should be a battle to watch as we head to fall.
• Early enrollees shine: Ortre Smith and Jaylin Dickerson each had bright spots Saturday. Smith caught a touchdown on the final play of the game while Dickerson had an interception with a handful of tackles.
• King injured: Early in the game on a big collision between DJ Smith and Edwards, Jamarcus King injured his arm and the training staff had to immobilize it with an inflatable cast. There are no further updates on the extent of the injury.
• Front seven depth: Dante Sawyer and DJ Wonnum got the start at defensive end, while for the first time in over a year fans saw Skai Moore take the field in limited reps. TJ Brunson filled out the other LB position alongside Brison Allen-Williams.
• The celebrity pass catcher was: Elliot Fry! South Carolina all-time leader in points came out and caught a two-point conversion, continuing the tradition SC had held throughout their spring games.