Two of USC’s most promising freshmen enter 2024 season with very different goals

Mazeo Bennett is ready to play.

The four-star signee from Greenville arrived on campus in January, walking into a depleted wide receiver room that had been built up with transfers and freshmen like Bennett.

“The fact (there are) a lot of new faces in that room is what pushes us,” Bennett said. “We really all just got here. Nobody knows what we can do in the SEC. Everybody is doubting that room.”

Perhaps they are. As of now, there isn’t a proven pass catcher on the Gamecocks’ roster. The most interesting returner is Nyck Harbor, the athletic marvel. But he has just 12 career catches to his name. The transfer generating the most buzz is Miami (Ohio) transplant Gage Larvadain — and he only tallied 679 yards last season in the Mid-American Conference.

So, yeah, Bennett thinks he’ll have a shot to play right away.

“I just think if I keep doing what I’m supposed to be doing, there should be no question,” Bennett said of playing time. “And that’s what I want. I don’t want there to be a question of whether I should play or not. I want my work to speak for itself.”

Bennett and every other South Carolina freshmen were together Friday at the Drew Wellness Center for the annual Pigskin Poets event where they read to children and signed autographs. They’ll convene in three weeks to begin preseason practice.

The freshman group is full of youngsters who have a chance to start next year. Bennett is one of them.

Five-star Josiah Thompson might be the Gamecocks’ starting left tackle in a few months. And five-star edge Dylan Stewart might earn a starting nod as well.

One guy, though, who knows he might have to wait and learn is freshman quarterback Dante Reno. The three-star from Connecticut arrived on campus in January but came out of spring ball as the Gamecocks’ No. 3 or No. 4 quarterback, behind likely starter LaNorris Sellers, Auburn transfer Robby Ashford and, maybe, Oklahoma transfer Davis Beville.

To Reno, who is the son of Yale coach Tony Reno, learning is just part of the college process.

“The biggest thing with being a freshman for me, and what my dad told me, is develop,” Reno said. “Develop. Develop. Develop. Be the strongest you can be when you’re put in there. Be the fastest you can be when you’re put in there. Make sure you know what your supposed to do.”

Reno only had a few weeks to absorb offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains’ playbook before he was taking reps during spring practices. It’s not uncommon for freshmen to take reps after just a few weeks in college and have no clue what to do. The goal is to make sure that doesn’t happen in the fall.

With the chances of Reno starting in 2024 slim to none, his goals are to prepare himself for the future.

“Just being able to develop as a player, develop within the system, develop with the playbook,:” he said. “And just bonding with the teammates and building relationships with those guys because those are the guys you’re playing for.”