Have the Gamecocks found their bell-cow running back?
Kevin Harris moved the ball at will on Saturday, bursting through holes, breaking tackles, even catching passes. And he did it all on the road against the No. 3 team in the country.
After South Carolina employed a tailback-by-committee approach in Week 1, the sophomore Harris seemingly secured a bell-cow role in Week 2, leading the Gamecocks with 100 yards on a team-high 22 carries and adding 27 receiving yards on four catches. He scored a touchdown on the ground and through the air.
It was a breakout performance for Harris, who missed a large chunk of his freshman season due to a groin injury. In one game, he received more carries (22) than he did all of last season (21).
Yet there was little joy in the eyes of Harris after the 38-24 loss to Florida. He didn’t have much to say.
“It felt good,” Harris told reporters. “But I’m just trying to win the game.”
Positivity is hard to come by on a team that has opened the season winless, losing contests to Tennessee and Florida that both — at least at some point — seemed within reach. But the evolution of Harris and the South Carolina running game offers a sliver of optimism as the Gamecocks push forward with a grueling conference-only schedule.
Establishing a ground attack was one of the buzziest training camp topics this fall as the Gamecocks installed coordinator Mike Bobo’s new offense. USC ranked 10th in the Southeastern Conference with 149.7 rushing yards per game last season. Through two games in 2020, Harris is the SEC’s fourth-highest rusher.
“I think we’re doing a really good job as far as getting in and out of different runs,” head coach Will Muschamp said. “We didn’t run the ball as well in the first ball game that we needed to, but against a good Florida front, I thought we had some really good run concepts that kept them off balance. I thought our backs ran hard, but I think that Mike was very creative in the run game as far as the things we’re doing.”
That creativity is exactly what Muschamp and the Gamecocks hoped for when they brought in Bobo to run the offense, and it was on full display against the Gators. USC ran the ball from a variety of schemes and formations and incorporated some pre-snap misdirection in the form of motion, shifts and the occasional wide receiver jet sweep. That “window dressing,” as Muschamp called it, did just enough to bait the defense and open up running lanes.
Even more, Bobo has shown a willingness to utilize his running backs in the passing game, designing plays to get his backs open in space. Behind leading receiver Shi Smith, South Carolina’s top two passing targets against Florida were Harris and fellow running back Deshaun Fenwick, who added five catches to Harris’ four.
“I enjoy it personally because I tell the guys in the room all the time: ‘I think I got the best hands in the running back room,’” Fenwick said. “And it’s good to see coach Bobo get us out in space just to show that we’re all-around backs and we can do everything from blocking to catching the ball out of the backfield and running between the tackles. That’s exciting, and I’m sure people like watching that.”
Fenwick, a redshirt sophomore, acted as Harris’ clear top backup against Florida, carrying the ball six times for 32 yards and seeing much of his action on passing downs.
Though Muschamp said after the loss that he likes and expects to use all of his backs, Harris has drawn the start in both games and looked especially comfortable in his expanded role Saturday. At 5-foot-11, 225-pounds, Harris offers workhorse-back size while also displaying the nimbleness and soft hands needed to make defenders miss and factor in as a pass-catcher. Veteran defensive lineman Keir Thomas said Harris’ thick frame and low center of gravity make him difficult to bring down in practice, saying, “you’re gonna feel him every time you go against him.”
While other backs, like Fenwick, should continue to get touches, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Gamecocks ride Harris’ hot hand.
“Man, being in the same running back room as Kevin has been amazing,” Fenwick said. “Just seeing what he’s doing. The Florida game, I came up to him, and I was like, ‘Bro, you’re running that.’
“And I just love to see his progress, especially him coming off his injury and stuff like that. Just to see him get back and being healthy and just running the football.”
This story was originally published October 7, 2020 at 6:10 PM with the headline "Have the Gamecocks found their bell-cow running back?."
