Tight ends will play ‘major part’ in South Carolina’s offense, Erik Kimrey says

It’s a recurring theme for a South Carolina head football coach at his weekly radio call-in show: Fans inevitably ask about the possibility of using the tight end position more often.

In 2021, perhaps Shane Beamer won’t have to respond as often to that line of questioning.

“We’re utilizing a lot of different schemes, whether it be in the run game or the passing game,” Gamecock tight ends coach Erik Kimrey said Friday. “But knowing (offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield) and how many former tight end coaches are on this staff, I can tell you that they’re going to be utilized, and particularly when you have a group of guys that offer so many different skill sets. I’m excited to see all the different ways we can use the combinations of these guys in the future, but I feel confident saying the tight ends are gonna be a major part of this offense.”

As Kimrey noted, he’s not the only coach on the roster with experience overseeing tight ends. Beamer himself was a tight ends coach at Georgia and Oklahoma before returning to USC, while Satterfield coached tight ends as recently as 2019 at Baylor. So there’s an evident appreciation for the position.

The Gamecocks might have to rely on their tight ends a lot in 2021 as they search for options at wide receiver, where there are precious few returning options.

In contrast, Kimrey is coaching a group with plenty of depth. Some of it is unproven, but the unit is also led by the most productive pass-catching veteran on the roster in senior Nick Muse.

Muse had 30 receptions for 425 yards in 2020, trailing only Shi Smith, now gone for the NFL Draft, and more than the next three top receivers combined. And it helps that the 6-foot-4, 250-pounder seemed to have a rapport with freshman QB Luke Doty.

“Nick Muse has been outstanding this spring. He’s an absolute professional in everything that he does,” Kimrey said. “He’s the first guy in the building. He knows pretty much everybody’s positions in this offense probably better than I do. And he does all the little things right. It’s everything you want in a guy that you coach — Nick does that and he sets the example for the entire room.”

Behind Muse, the Gamecocks don’t have a ton of players with extensive SEC experience. But they do have guys who have flashed major potential.

Redshirt sophomore Keveon Mullins had just three catches in five games last year, but two of them went for more than 40 yards against LSU. As a converted wide receiver, he’s a potential downfield threat.

“Key Mullins brings a kind of speed factor on the perimeter,” Kimrey said. “He’s still got to get a little more confidence in blocking but it’s something that he’s working on and improving.”

Like Mullins, sophomore Jaheim Bell didn’t get much of a chance to prove himself last year while dealing with injuries, catching just one pass for 29 yards. But he is also a versatile athletic threat — recruited as an athlete out of high school, he is capable of making an impact in the ground game, Kimrey said.

“He’s a guy you can move around so much with a variety of motions, that you can hand the ball here and there,” Kimrey said. “So, again, he’s a very strong individual, making squats close to 600 pounds or something insane like that. And he’s a very good athlete on the perimeter, can run routes, can block, can carry the ball, and so he’s a guy that we can see having the potential of utilizing a lot this coming fall.”

Another “hybrid” type player under Kimrey at the moment is transfer E.J. Jenkins. While Jenkins was a wide receiver at FCS Saint Francis, he has been working with the tight ends this spring. At 6-foot-7, he possesses a size that makes him a unique matchup. But with the tight end position comes some adjustments.

“He is just absorbing as much knowledge as possible right now, not just as a tight end and blocking and C gap areas, but also getting with (wide receivers coach Justin) Stepp sometimes and myself and route running and some of the tricks and crafts that Justin does such a good job of teaching out there,” Kimrey said. “He’s really trying to understand and embrace all that at one time, and he has improved dramatically within four or five practices, and I see as a guy that I’m looking forward to watching in the fall. He’s certainly a matchup issue for guys because of his length.”

Kimrey also praised the progress of redshirt sophomore Traevon Kenion, who has no career statistics but has had a “fantastic” spring.