Dakereon Joyner discusses his role for South Carolina after injury to Jake Bentley
By Jake Rill
Published:
Dakereon Joyner has gone from quarterback to wide receiver and back to quarterback all in the span of a few weeks. But that hasn’t bothered the South Carolina redshirt freshman.
After recording two receptions for four yards in the Gamecocks’ season-opening 24-20 loss to North Carolina last Saturday, Joyner soon found out he would be needed again at quarterback. Jake Bentley is out indefinitely with a foot injury, so South Carolina needs Joyner to serve as the backup to Ryan Hilinski.
Anything the team needs, Joyner is just fine with.
“I just want to be the best teammate possible,” Joyner said, according to Jeff Owens of Spurs & Feathers. “I’m a very positive guy. I feel like everything happens for a reason. I’m just here to be the best teammate possible and I’m here to play the best role. Whatever my coach wants me to do, that’s what I’m going to do. If that’s me being versatile, I just want to help the team.”
It’s beneficial for the Gamecocks to have a player with Joyner’s versatility, as it allows them to utilize him in various different roles depending on their needs.
Although Joyner redshirted his first year at South Carolina, he got a bit of game experience at quarterback as he completed one of two pass attempts for one yard and rushed three times for 24 yards in a game against Chattanooga.
But Joyner is now one play away from being the Gamecocks’ quarterback, because if anything happens to Hilinski, Joyner will take over their offense.
South Carolina is set to host Charleston Southern in its home opener on Saturday at noon ET on SEC Network.
Jake Rill contributes to news coverage for Saturday Down South. He has covered the SEC since 2016.
