During the 2024 season, South Carolina tight end Josh Simon was a stud for the Gamecocks. He set the program record for tight end touchdown receptions (seven) and led the Carolina offense in receptions, yards, and scores. Now that No. 6 is in the NFL, new faces must step up to fill the void.
The Gamecocks return redshirt senior Brady Hunt, junior Maurice Brown, and sophomore Michael Smith and brought in transfer portal senior Jordan Dingle (Kentucky) and true freshman Mike Tyler as scholarship players in the tight end room.
Smith isn’t hiding from the fact that following Simon is a difficult task. “Josh left some size 17 shoes to fill,” he said to the media this week. “So, we’ve got to all compete to live up to that production.”
Smith was the third tight end on the depth chart last season. However, he earned the second-most snaps at the position on the team and flashed some impressive ability as a receiver. He projects as a likely starter this fall, with Hunt, Dingle, and Brown in the mix for major roles, too. The group is all more experienced than Tyler, but Smith says they are helping the freshman transition to college ball.
Tyler, a summer enrollee from Columbia, is a little “wide-eyed,” according to Smith, but the projected South Carolina starter has come alongside his first-year teammate to help him out along the way. “[Tyler] is in the exact same position I was in last year,” he said. “I feel like I can be on that road with him and be a leader for him…we’re competing, and we’re having fun. But we’re trying to help each other because we want what’s best for each other.”
Smith’s biggest offseason improvement has come in his efforts to become a better blocker. Smith said he was “ready to take on that challenge” because it helps the team win. Last season, Simon and Hunt were called on to block often, and Brown would enter in some short-yardage situations. However, Smith wants to be a good enough blocker that he can be asked to lead the way, too. “With Coach Elliott, you have to block,” he said. “It’s really a mindset thing. You’re going in there with your technique, trying to move that man against his will…[I’ve] been getting little tips from the O-line.”
Though none of the current tight ends played more than 251 total snaps for the Gamecocks last season (in contrast, Simon played 703 despite missing a game), Smith believes he and his peers can handle the grind of long games and a longer season. He credited Luke Day and the Gamecock strength and conditioning staff for getting the position room ready to play. “The strength staff…they put us through everything. When the fourth quarter hits, it ain’t nothing to us. We’re ready for it.”
In their media availabilities, both Smith and transfer portal addition Jordan Dingle spoke glowingly about veteran teammate Brady Hunt. “Brady’s a dawg,” Smith said. “He was a dawg last year. Brady is the ‘lunch box.’ He knows everything, and he comes ready to work. Everyone comes ready to work, but he takes it to the next level. We all feed off Brady’s energy.” Dingle added, “I love Brady.” The two elder statesmen in the tight end room have helped each other refine their games. “He’s a very smart guy,” Dingle said, “and I’ve picked up a lot of things from him.”
Dingle brings a lot of experience to the South Carolina tight end room, but there has still been an adjustment after joining a new program. Dingle shared that the transition has been made easier because of his position coach, Shawn Elliott. “I love that guy. I know he has a very intense coaching style, but that’s what it’s about. He gets on you. But at the same time, he loves on you and makes sure you execute what you need to execute.”
When asked specifically about how USC will replace Josh Simon this fall, like Smith, Dingle pointed to the depth and competition in the tight end room. “We’re all coming together. We’re all sharpening each other, making each other better,” he said. “I feel like the competition is making us all better, honestly. It’s not necessarily just looking to fill a spot. We’re just doing what we’ve got to do.”
To adequately replace the production lost from losing a well-rounded tight end like Simon, who can impact the game as a receiver or as a blocker, the Gamecock tight ends will have to do “the little things” well. According to Dingle, the new wall art in the Jerri and Steve Spurrier Indoor Practice Facility that includes statements like “play smart football” and “win the fourth quarter battle” represents some things the Gamecocks are emphasizing this preseason. He said, “We’ve got to finish the game strong. Locking into the details, that’s our goal in the long run…coming together, making sure we are all of one accord, playing as one, instead of playing as individuals.”
The unique role of a tight end isn’t an easy one to fill. The position requires the strength and toughness to block defensive linemen but the athleticism and skill to impact the passing game. Dingle believes that he and the other Gamecock tight ends have put in the work necessary to do it all well. “I really feel like we’re a group of hard-nosed guys,” he said. “We put our heads down and work. We grind. We’ve got to get dirty as tight ends, so that’s all part of it. We’re willing to do that for the team.”
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South Carolina tight ends coach Shawn Elliott has expressed optimism this offseason about his position room.
Elliott has raved about the natural talent and offseason improvement in Smith. He’s also revealed that Smith is 100% healthy after missing spring practice with a shoulder injury. Now, Elliott wants to see him move from being a “special athlete” in the receiving game to a well-rounded contributor. He told the media earlier this offseason that Smith can “do it out there in the perimeter and also in the inline blocking.”
Brown, Hunt, and Dingle have all been on the receiving end of some Elliott praise for their hard-working approaches to football. “[Dingle] is a guy who wants to please with every rep. Great effort, very intelligent young man,” Elliott told the media this spring. He also described Hunt as a player who improved his body this offseason, complimenting what he called “top of the charts” football IQ and “silent leadership.” The Gamecock tight end coach called Brown “a bull” who can use his strength and athleticism to help the team as a blocker or as a YAC-threat with the ball in his hands.
While replacing a record-breaker like Simon might not be completely possible, Elliott isn’t worried. “Going out and finding another Josh Simon, I don’t think you can do that,” he said this spring. “But we’ve got the players in the tight end room that I think are gonna step up and take that slack within the offense.”
