South Carolina Football: Winners and Losers from Gamecocks' 2016 Spring

South Carolina wrapped up its annual Garnet and Black game on a beautiful Saturday at Williams-Brice Stadium. 

In head coach Will Muschamp’s first spring game in Columbia, the Black team, comprising the first-team offense and second-team defense, walloped the Garnet team, which was the first-team defense and second-team offense, by a score of 35-14. 

It was an overall positive day for Muschamp and the Gamecocks program, but there are still areas that need to be improved. Here is a look at the winners and losers from Saturday’s scrimmage.

Winner: Brandon McIlwain

This was the most obvious takeaway from Saturday afternoon and the entire spring, as quarterback Brandon McIlwain firmly established himself in South Carolina’s future. 

Only a true freshman, McIlwain, an early enrollee, has dynamic playmaking ability while making great decisions with the ball. The dual-threat quarterback finished the day 19-of-26 passing for 169 yards and two scores while also rushing for an 18-yard touchdown in the first half. 

According to David Caraviello of the Post and Courier, Muschamp used the word “command” this spring when assessing McIlwain, and you can see why. He showed great poise in the pocket while routinely finding open receivers. He also was supremely confident running the ball as he gashed the defense several times on the ground. 

Caraviello wrote that McIlwain entered the game as the favorite to win the starting quarterback job. After his performance in the spring game, it is hard to envision anybody else taking the snaps when the Gamecocks open their 2016 season Sept. 1 at Vanderbilt.

Losers: The Other Quarterbacks

Rainier Ehrhardt/Associated Press

Perry Orth and the rest of the South Carolina quarterbacks are in a tough spot thanks to McIlwain.

While none of the remaining quarterbacks on South Carolina's depth chart performed especially poor, the emergence of McIlwain made this spring tough on rest of the group.

Not including McIlwain, the rest of the quarterback competition includes senior Perry Orth, junior Connor Mitch and sophomores Lorenzo Nunez and Michael Scarnecchia. Mitch opened the 2015 season as South Carolina's starter, but was quickly benched due injuries and ineffectiveness. Orth started the majority of the Gamecocks' games, throwing for 12 touchdowns, and Nunez was also a significant contributor.

However, Orth broke his collarbone on March 26 and missed the rest of the spring. Nunez also suffered a knee injury late in spring practice and missed Saturday's game. This rendered the pair helpless as McIlwain received the bulk of the first team reps and continually impressed the coaching staff.

The senior is expected back by June 1, per The State’s David Cloninger, and he will definitely have a say in who earns the starting nod, but it became more difficult thanks McIlwain.

Mitch has mostly been getting second team reps, and it showed in the spring game as he took most of his snaps with the backups.

Making matters worse for this group is that South Carolina earned a commitment from 2017 quarterback Jake Bentley, one of the program’s highest-rated signal-caller ever, during the spring. This means there will be even more competition to overtake McIlwain atop the depth chart.

The quarterback competition may not be officially over, but McIlwain's play put a damper on the remaining quarterback group's spring as they all lost a slight grip on the starting job. 

Winners: The Receivers

Chuck Burton/Associated Press

Samuel was excellent this spring as he earned Offensive MVP honors.

A major challenge for South Carolina entering this season will be to replace superstar receiver Pharoh Cooper as he prepares for the NFL draft. The task became slightly easier after this spring. 

Sophomore Deebo Samuel was the only significant contributor returning from last season’s receiving group. It became obvious Saturday that he will be a focal point for the Gamecocks offense. 

He was all over the field as McIlwain and junior quarterback Connor Mitch targeted Samuel early and often. He finished the day with four catches for 31 yards, one carry for 33 yards while also completing a 28-yard throw on a receiver pass play. Samuel was showing shades of Cooper. Expect a breakout season from the South Carolina native. 

South Carolina named Samuel the offensive MVP of the spring following the game. 

Perhaps more significant was the emergence of Jamari Smith. The junior was listed as a cornerback last season and worked much of the spring as a running back, yet he played slot receiver Saturday and consistently made plays. He routinely found space in the middle of the field and showed some quick burst with the ball in his hands. He finished the day with a touchdown as well. 

If South Carolina wants to establish a strong passing attack, it will need its receivers to step up. The spring game showed the group is primed to do so.

Loser: The Secondary

Joe Robbins/Getty Images

South Carolina's secondary was much maligned this spring.

If the receivers had a good day, then that has to mean the secondary was burned. 

While the defense as a whole struggled Saturday, the secondary was the biggest culprit. The unit has been shaky all spring, and it showed as the receivers had plenty of space to work with, and the four passing scores it surrendered were to wide-open targets. 

The combination of poor technique and blown coverages led to McIlwain and Mitch combining for 28-of-42 throwing. Per Cloninger, senior safety Chris Moody acknowledged the unit’s poor play after the game and vowed to get the secondary turned around before the season opens up.

Muschamp has been on the group all spring and called the unit "lights years away" prior to the spring game, per Caraviello. 

Defensive coordinator Travaris Robinson specializes in coaching defensive backs, so expect him to improve the secondary by implementing more sound fundamentals and scheme into his unit.

Winner: Will Muschamp

Sean Rayford/Associated Press

Muschamp has to be happy with his spring.

Muschamp experienced a pretty friendly first spring at South Carolina. 

He seemed to energize the fanbase, as nearly 33,000 fans showed up for the spring game, according to GoGamecocks.com. His roster also seems to have a bright future with underclassmen like McIlwain and Samuel primed for important roles. Add in that South Carolina earned a commitment from Bentley and Muschamp has a solid foundation moving forward. 

Saturday was a culmination of Muschamp’s efforts. His offense looked revitalized, and he found a new way to connect with fans by allowing SEC Network analyst Mack Brown follow him around during the third quarter and talk at length about the program. 

The team had no turnovers outside a muffed punt in the first half, and it committed few penalties. A high-ankle sprain to receiver Christian Owens was also the only reported injury from the spring game, per Cloninger. 

Muschamp did lose Orth and sophomore quarterback Lorenzo Nunez to injury during the spring, and he needs to shore up his defense, so all is not perfect in Columbia. However, Muschamp definitely had a successful spring.

Losers: The Running Game

Eric Gay/Associated Press

David Williams is part of a South Carolina running game that needs to improve.

While South Carolina had no problems moving the ball through the air Saturday, the rushing attack was mostly stifled. 

Freshman A.J. Turner and junior David Williams, the top two candidates to replace Brandon Wilds as the team’s top running back, could not find any space. Junior Rod Talley was the team’s leading rusher Saturday with only 34 yards. The day’s longest run came from Samuel, a receiver. 

The offensive line created little push in the run game, which could be a major concern heading into 2016. 

Nobody seized the starting job in spring practice, so South Carolina will look for more consistency from its running backs when it returns for fall practice. The Gamecocks are going to need a solid running game to take pressure off of the quarterback, who could potentially be a true freshman, during the season.