ATLANTA — There are some big changes occurring in Columbia this offseason. First and foremost, the South Carolina Gamecocks have a new offensive coordinator in Bryan McClendon.

McClendon will likely open things up a bit, and that’s good news for talented QB Jake Bentley and the offense, which has been stagnant at times under previous coordinators since Steve Spurrier’s resignation. The Gamecocks averaged 24.2 points per game last season, their most since 2014. Spurrier’s best teams frequently topped 30 points per game.

During SEC Media Days on Thursday, coach Will Muschamp said he expects things to be a bit quicker when the offense has the ball this fall.

“Offensively, you’ll see a remarkable difference in the tempo of the game and being able to dictate the tempo of the game offensively,” he said. “I was excited with how that went in the spring.”

Fortunately for McClendon, he’ll have one of the best weapons in the SEC back on the field in WR Deebo Samuel, who suffered a broken leg during South Carolina’s Week 3 loss to Kentucky last season. By that point, Samuel already had 250 receiving yards, 3 receiving touchdowns, 2 kickoff return touchdowns and a rushing touchdown.

Samuel is often mentioned alongside Ole Miss’s AJ Brown as the best receivers in the SEC. Samuel said he sees a lot of similarities in their games and added that he and Brown stay in touch during the season.

“He’s a big, physical guy,” Samuel said. “I kind of feel like we have the same type of game. We communicate here and there through social media, ask each other how we’re doing.”

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Samuel doesn’t get into the whole “who’s better?” debate, and neither does Bentley, but the quarterback said he’s thrilled to have one of his top weapons back.

"Having him out there does so much for our offense. He’s a guy, you throw a screen pass to him and he takes it for a touchdown. Having him back is great."
-- Jake Bentley on Deebo Samuel

“He’s very talented,” Bentley said of Samuel. “I’m obviously going to say my receiver is the best. I think our receiving corps is the best. It’s just, that’s the type of attitude you have to have as a quarterback and receivers. If you don’t think that, why are you out there?

“Having him out there does so much for our offense. He’s a guy, you throw a screen pass to him and he takes it for a touchdown. Having him back is great.”

It’s clear Samuel hasn’t lost any confidence after missing so many games. When asked about the new kickoff rule that allows returners to fair catch a ball inside the 25-yard line and have it moved out to the 25 to start the series, he simply smiled and shrugged it off.

“We didn’t really pay that much attention,” he said. “I don’t think we’re going to be fair-catching any kick returns.”

The Gamecocks will need more than 2 1/2 games of Samuel this fall if they’re going to get over the hump in the SEC East, but there are no plans to limit his workload. Muschamp said opponents can expect a heavy does of the senior receiver (and runner and kick returner) early and often.

“Deebo for 11 quarters last year was probably the most explosive player in college football,” Muschamp said. “We’re looking forward to getting him the ball a bunch and having him have a healthy senior season.”