There’s a ton of hype building this offseason in Columbia following South Carolina’s surprise bowl trip in Will Muschamp’s first season as the team’s head coach. Factor in the budding star talent of true sophomores quarterback Jake Bentley and running back Rico Dowdle combined with junior receiver Deebo Samuel and Carolina has the makings of an elite offense.

While those three players help lay the foundation for a potential offensive explosion next season, Samuel, in particular, has shown the capability to bust big plays on offense. Much of that has to do with his ability to make tacklers miss in the open field.

In fact, Samuel has been so effective in that role, that according to Pro Football Focus, he led the nation among all returning receivers in missed tackles forced after Week 6 of the season — which just so happens to coincide with Bentley’s promotion as the team’s starting quarterback:

Samuel had only eight catches after the first six weeks of his career, but he quickly emerged as Bentley’s favorite receiver following Carolina’s bye week. In each of the first three games Bentley started, Samuel had at least eight catches in every game and capped his freshman season by catching 14 passes for a whopping 190 yards and a touchdown in the bowl game against South Florida.

If Samuel continues to show this level of aptitude for making defenders miss, South Carolina would be wise to continue to feed him the ball. Doing so could prove to be the key to living up to the lofty expectations placed on the unit heading into 2017.

South Carolina’s stats back up PFF’s numbers, courtesy of South Carolina Offensive GA Matthew Symmes: