On Wednesday, several South Carolina football players spoke to the media after practice. Among them were a pair of linebackers, sophomore Fred “JayR” Johnson and transfer portal redshirt freshman Justin Okoronkwo.

Okoronkwo was up first, and after a week of practicing alongside Johnson, the former Alabama Crimson Tide ‘backer sang his new teammate’s praises. “Fred Johnson is a crazy athlete. He’s fast, he’s physical. He’s got everything that a linebacker needs,” Okoronkwo said.

At 6-3 and 244 pounds with elite speed for the position, Okoronkwo’s assessment is correct. The quote of praise also matches what others have said about Johnson during his brief time as a Gamecock.

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He played a lot of special teams for the 2024 version of the South Carolina football team but was behind NFL Draft hopefuls like Demetrius Knight, Bam Martin-Scott, and Debo Williams, specifically listed as the backup to Knight at the Mike linebacker spot. His snaps on defense were limited, but all year, coaches and players praised his athletic profile and improving mental understanding of the game.

Knight called Johnson’s potential “off the charts” and praised his “sponge”-like willingness to learn and better himself. Ahead of Citrus Bowl practice, Williams went as far as to say he “expect[s] nothing but the best” for Johnson’s career. All-American safety Nick Emmanwori says he remembers the young defender making a lot of “woah” plays at practice last season.

Defensive coordinator Clayton White has lauded Johnson’s athleticism and work ethic this offseason. According to the South Carolina DC, if he “keep[s] grinding every day, and then [he] will be great.”

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Both Johnson and Okoronkwo expect to factor into the starting linebacker battles this spring and summer. They will be joined by Shawn Murphy–another transfer who spent some time at Alabama–and returner Jaron Willis. Incoming freshmen Donovan Darden, Taeshawn Alston, AJ Holloway, and Josh Smith will join with former walk-ons Ronnie Porter and Colin Bryant in the linebacker competition, too.

Despite having to replace three high-level players from last year’s room, Johnson is confident in USC’s current crop of linebackers. During his media availability on Monday, Johnson said that this year’s group still has a high level of “speed and strength.” He complimented Murphy’s knowledge and understanding of defensive football and Okoronkwo’s physical gifts.

Johnson added that he’s confident in his own abilities to be a big part of the team’s linebacker success. He said that he will be holding himself to an “expectation of dominance,” a standard also held by his predecessors. Last season, Williams, Knight, and Martin-Scott played and led with confidence. If Johnson and company can replicate that attitude in 2025, the South Carolina defense can be special once again.

In every sense of the term, it was a midweek game.

South Carolina and North Carolina’s baseball teams spent all night in Charlotte toeing the line between trying to snag a nice non-conference win and not burning too many high leverage arms before conference series. It was back-and-forth, it lasted a tick under four hours, 393 pitches were thrown and the scoring never stopped.

At the end, though, North Carolina landed the last punch.

The Tar Heels won 13-8 in the annual midweek match-up against the Gamecocks, condemning South Carolina (17-9) to its fourth consecutive loss heading into a home series against No. 1 Tennessee starting on Friday.

For the second consecutive game, Nathan Hall started it out with a bang. South Carolina’s lead-off hitter opened the game with a home run, following on from his lead-off home run at Arkansas. Ethan Petry moved into the No. 2 hole as his protection for the first time all season, and he followed it up with another blast. It was Petry’s 50th career home run, putting him in a club with just Justin Smoak as South Carolina players ever to reach that plateau.

But the back-to-back home runs accounted for the last offense for a while. South Carolina scored just one run on one hit in innings two through five, mostly handcuffed by North Carolina (19-6) reliever Olin Johnson.

In the meantime, an outing like Johnson’s was the last thing Paul Maineiri could find. South Carolina used 12 different pitchers, nearly exhausting its entire complement of healthy arms excluding the three weekend starters. It was an inning-by-inning game, but nobody really found success. Ashton Crowther did throw one scoreless frame in the fifth and Caleb Jones did the same in the seventh, just his second outing of the season.

But after regular closer Brenden Sweeney started the game, Jackson Soucie relieved him and could only record five outs with three runs allowed as he gave up two.home runs. Freshmen Ryder Garino and Zach Russell both had rare rough outings after strong first halves of the season, giving up a combined five runs. Matthew Becker’s nightmare of a month continued as he gave up a bases loaded walk and a two-run double in the sixth.

North Carolina’s Luke Stevenson hit two home runs and drive in four runs, Tyson Bass homered and drove in four runs on his own and the offense drew 11 walks against the bleeding Gamecock pitching staff, a dozen pitchers who combined to throw an astounding 108 balls and allowed 27 baserunners.

Still, it was not enough to shake the tie until late. A furious South Carolina rally played four runs in the sixth and another in the seventh to tie the game 8-8, momentarily completing the comeback on a Beau Hollins RBI double.

The tie lasted five pitches.

Stevenson crushed a two-run home run after a four-pitch walk led off the eighth, the Tar Heels added on three more runs in the frame and South Carolina’s exhausted offense did not have another five-run rally in it.

The loss was South Carolina’s first midweek defeat of the campaign, dropping its record to 7-1 with six more to play, all at Founders Park.

Far more pressing issues exist, though, starting on Friday. South Carolina will have to flush this loss, recover its depleted pitching staff quickly and prepare for a three-game home series against No. 1 Tennessee.

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