Dakereon Joyner emerges as go-to leader, versatile option for Gamecocks
Dakereon Joyner will play wherever he’s needed.
Wide receiver? Certainly. Kickoff returner? For sure. Quarterback? There’s a possibility.
At a point two weeks until South Carolina’s opener against Eastern Illinois, Joyner is emerging as a potential game-changer all over the field — and he’s willing to line up anywhere.
“I just do what I can,” Joyner said. “Gotta stay down until you come up, but I’m on the up right now.”
Don’t get it wrong: The vast majority of Joyner’s preseason work has been at receiver. Offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield deemed Joyner a standout at his primary position throughout preseason camp. Head coach Shane Beamer gushed about Joyner’s star quality in the Gamecocks’ first scrimmage.
“We talk a lot about explosive plays on offense,” Beamer said last Saturday. “We had some explosive plays on offense today with DK at receiver.”
Yet in a chaotic quarterback room dealing with an injury to starter Luke Doty, Joyner has also taken enough snaps under center to garner high praise from Satterfield there, too.
Satterfield spent the summer watching film from Joyner’s time as a starting quarterback at Fort Dorchester High School in North Charleston and his fill-in role for an injured Ryan Hilinski in USC’s upset victory over Georgia in 2019, where he went 6 of 12 passing for 39 yards.
As Joyner reps at quarterback throughout fall camp, Satterfield has grown impressed.
“He’s not just a receiver playing quarterback,” Satterfield said. “He can make throws. He can execute the offense. He stepped in the huddle the first day and called plays, and it was phenomenal. Just the demeanor, the presence, the control, everything.”
Joyner first joined the Gamecocks as a four-star dual-threat quarterback in 2018. He redshirted his first season and made his first move from third-string QB to wide receiver in 2019. Joyner then became a full-time quarterback after Jake Bentley’s injury in 2019, later continuing to move back-and-forth throughout the season when he wasn’t rehabbing a hamstring injury.
He didn’t record a pass attempt in 2020, and his official South Carolina bio lists Joyner is in his second year working “full-time” at receiver. Beamer estimated the 6-foot-1, 207-pound wideout takes 97% of his reps at receiver, with an occasional move to bolster depth in a small and inexperienced quarterback room.
“It’s not like he’s in the quarterback meeting,” Beamer said. “But he’s doing enough. ... At some point, injuries are a part of the game, and we’re probably going to need him, so I think we’d be pretty dumb as coaches if we weren’t just repping there a little bit.”
At South Carolina, his college passing stat line is a slim 17-of-30 for 169 yards. He’s never thrown a touchdown pass.
Yet aside from Doty, Joyner is the only quarterback currently on the roster who’s played under center for the Gamecocks.
Jason Brown recently transferred from FCS St. Francis (Pennsylvania); Connor Jordan is a redshirt sophomore with scout team experience; Colten Gauthier is a true freshman who enrolled in January; Jake Helfrich is a walk-on who recently underwent heart surgery; and Zeb Noland moved from a graduate assistant role to the quarterback position less than three weeks before the first game.
Joyner’s versatility has made an impression across the team and especially in the quarterback room, as he’s quickly emerged as one of the go-to leaders on the offense.
“DK is a playmaker,” Gauthier said. “Whether he’s playing receiver, whether he’s returning kickoffs, whether he’s playing quarterback, our goal is to get the ball in his hands.”
Frankly, Joyner doesn’t always know how much time he’ll spend working at quarterback in fall camp. After South Carolina dressed Noland in a green practice jersey to take snaps on Tuesday, Joyner wasn’t even sure how Noland’s addition would affect his number of reps.
“That’s a very good question,” Joyner told reporters after Tuesday’s practice. “I really don’t know. I’m just here. Like I said, I haven’t been taking a whole lot at quarterback, but I’m taking some.”
Satterfield confirmed that Joyner will continue to take his occasional reps at quarterback, even with the addition of Noland and after Doty returns from his injury.
Joyner maintains a belief that he can be most helpful to the Gamecocks as a receiver. Last season, he totaled 55 yards off seven receptions and earned his first and only collegiate touchdown.
Above all else, Joyner wants to take his redshirt junior season as an opportunity to make an impact. It matters little to him what he’s doing, as long as he has the ball.
“I’m on the field most of the time (in) any way possible,” Joyner said. “Coach is giving me an opportunity to make plays, giving me a chance to put the ball in my hands, and I’m doing so. I’m just continuing to earn the trust of my coaches (and) my teammates so I can get the ball.”
This story was originally published August 21, 2021 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Dakereon Joyner emerges as go-to leader, versatile option for Gamecocks."
