New haircut, new outlook: Dakereon Joyner reflects on time as a Gamecock, what’s ahead

Dakereon Joyner knew the question was coming.

The former South Carolina football player took part in a 40-minute Q&A session at The State’s inaugural Gamecock Kickoff event at Seawell’s in Columbia on Tuesday. The very last question had to do with the new hairstyle Joyner was sporting.

Joyner cut off the dreads that he had since high school at Fort Dorchester and during his college career with the Gamecocks from 2017 to 2023.

“I was ready for somebody to ask that question,” Joyner said with a smile. “For me, it was just new beginnings and a fresh start. I wanted a more mature, clean look. That was the reason behind it. I think it looks better.”

The new look is symbolic with the next chapter in Joyner’s life, one that might not include playing football. He worked out for NFL scouts at USC’s Pro Day in March and then had a pair of tryouts with the Seattle Seahawks and New Orleans Saints.

Joyner said he tries to remain in good shape in case an NFL team calls. He’s also had interest from the United Football League, which has its season in the spring.

Joyner is staying busy spending time with his girlfriend and daughter, and is working with the Athletes First agency in Atlanta.

“Definitely different being away from football even for a little bit, especially during this time with the start of the season,” Joyner said. “I’ve been blessed with an opportunity with Athletes First. I’m kind of like an intern dealing with NIL guys and mentoring guys. It might be something temporary or something I do in the future.”

Whether he gets another shot in the NFL remains to be seen, but he hopes to stay around the sport in some way — and it won’t be as a coach, something he made clear.

“To be honest, you won’t see me as a ‘Coach Joyner,’ ” he said.

Joyner touched on a variety of topics during Tuesday’s Q&A session, from his recruitment, to multiple position changes in college, NIL and, of course, the 2021 Duke’s Mayo Bowl, which was among his shining moments as a Gamecock.

A replay of the bowl game played during the evening before Joyner took the stage for questions. He walked by the screen that was showing the game, stopped and pointed out to his daughter Kahlani as he scored a touchdown in his MVP performance against North Carolina.

Duke’s Mayo Bowl secret

Joyner’s move to quarterback for the bowl game came as a surprise to fans and media. USC coach Shane Beamer and the staff did a great job of keeping the position switch under wraps during the bowl practice portions that were open to the media.

Joyner said he found out he was going to be the team’s starting quarterback early in December before bowl practice began. Zeb Noland and Jason Brown were the team’s quarterbacks in the 2021 regular-season finale against Clemson.

“I’m surprised it didn’t get leaked out. Everything gets leaked out nowadays. I knew I was going to be starting quarterback that day and the rest is history,” Joyner said.

Joyner was the game’s MVP and finished 9-of-9 passing for 160 yards and a touchdown, and rushed 10 times for 64 yards.

After the bowl game, Joyner said he was contacted by many other schools about the prospect of transferring. But he declined the offers and remained a Gamecock for his final two seasons.

“After the Duke’s Mayo Bowl, schools were hitting me up. I could have literally went to play anywhere,” Joyner said. “But I felt my loyalty to this program and my family being here. Things that schools were offering me, I could get them here.”

Benefiting from NIL

Joyner parlayed his success from Duke’s Mayo Bowl into revenue, as he was able to benefit from name, image and likeness. NCAA allowed athletes to use NIL starting in June of 2021, a few months before the Duke’s Mayo Bowl.

Joyner was given a $5,000 deal with Duke’s Mayo to work as an ambassador after earning MVP honors during the Gamecocks’ win. He also launched a personalized clothing line — Can’t Stop Cinco — and signed a handful of other deals with businesses such as the Carolina Home Buying Group, Summit Insurance, Goings Law Firm and Midas, a deal that continued after his playing days at USC were done.

In 2022, Beamer estimated while speaking at a booster event in Rock Hill that Joyner had made “over six figures” since the bowl game alone.

“Everything changed for me,” Joyner said after the bowl game. “NIL was in play. It has its pros and cons. I had a lot of genuine people reaching out. NIL put me in rooms like this to talk to people. NIL let me be personable with people like you guys.”

Sticking it out at USC

Getting NIL deals and ending his career as one of the most popular Gamecocks players almost didn’t happen, according to Joyner.

Joyner said Tuesday that he thought on multiple occasions of transferring or giving up football altogether. The first time came when former coach Will Muschamp told Joyner they didn’t want him to play quarterback weeks before the start of the 2019 season. Joyner took two days off of practice to decide his next move — leave the program or stick it out and move to receiver.

“I told coach Muschamp and coach Bryan McClendon I was done and I was going back to Charleston. I didn’t want to play ball anymore. At the time, I felt like I failed my family, to be truthfully honest,” Joyner said. “... I was so disappointed and discouraged. I wasn’t aware what God was doing in my life and I am super grateful what he has done for me. At the time, I thought it was a devastating moment, but it was one of the most humbling, greatest moments of my life.

“God humbled me, sat me down and taught me a different way of life. He showed me I am so much more than a quarterback. I feel like it worked out well for me and I am grateful for it.”

Joyner ended up playing that season at receiver and later played running back during his career at USC. The thought of leaving came up again before his 2020 season during the COVID pandemic. He had at least considered a transfer to Missouri.

“Just not knowing if we were going to have a season. I was going to go out to Missouri, but I didn’t want to go all the way out there and then there would be no season,” he said.

Dreaming of Beamer

Joyner played his last three years at USC for Shane Beamer, and the two’s relationship went way back to when Beamer was recruiting him to play for Georgia where he was an assistant from 2016-17.

Joyner said he stopped returning messages to Beamer after he committed to USC. When Beamer got the Gamecocks’ job, Joyner started following him again on Twitter and realized there were about 20 unread messages from him during his high school days.

Joyner also shared the story of a dream he had that Beamer was going to get the USC job. Muschamp was fired on Nov. 15, 2020 and Beamer was introduced as the new coach on Dec. 6.

“I had a dream that coach Beamer was going to get the job before he was a candidate. That was confirmation from God for me to stay,” Joyner said. “... He was one of the best coaches I’ve ever have been around and one of the best mentors.”