Confident, comfortable and coachable, Joyner finds her stride

SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS FOOTBALL

Sending to the media for the first time since arriving in South Carolina last January, quarterback Dakereon Joyner can not help but laugh when asked how he's different as a relative player. to a year ago.

At the end of the year, from 2018 to 2019, what Joyner described as a "bottom up" year on campus ended.

"I never really felt comfortable," said Joyner, remembering last year. "There has always been something different that has been thrown at me, I guess I have never felt comfortable, I think I am more comfortable now than I am. never before. "

The first year of Joyner's South Carolina blitz on and off the pitch, but the mobile quarterback avoided the haste.

In football, Joyner was instructed to learn an offense completely different from the one in which he played.

Off the field, Joyner said that he had had to adjust to college life and learn to put his teachers in a four day window during the season.

"I would not say mental change (but) it was different for me," Joyner said. "I have kept my faith and everything is going on for a reason.I did not get discouraged.As I told you before I signed, I come here and I will do everything that I have. 39th team needs me, I'm a player team. "

And this spring, Joyner's teammates have noticed.

Player more comfortable and more confident now, Joyner's teammates report having seen a smarter and more accurate smuggler, better informed of the offense committed.

"Seeing his growth from year one to year two has been the biggest revelation for me in terms of his progress," quarterback Jake Bentley said. "It was really very encouraging for me, I think the most important thing is the general trust, which is reflected in all parts of his game, confidence in throwing the ball, confidence in his reading, just everything that has just been improved, just because, firstly, he has a better understanding of what he's doing and is really confident in his ability to play pieces.He looks really good to do. "

The double threat quarterback who played in a single game last year is now in a tight battle with Ryan Hilinski and Jay Urich for the quarter 2 spot.

Joyner 's arms and feet were perfectly visible in Saturday' s Garnet and Black Spring match, when he showed a clear improvement over a successful 1 – to – 5 performance last year.

Rookie Redshirt completed 10 of 23 passes for 185 yards and one touchdown with a choice and added 66 rushing yards in eight races this year.

Joyner felt his performance was "correct", giving his teammates a boost in football, but head coach Will Muschamp was encouraged by both Joyner and Hilinski.

"The most important thing from my point of view was that we had no procedural problem or communication problem," Muschamp said. "We gave them a good shot, sometimes we put pressure in the corners, they were in their reading, sometimes in sight, and I think that at the position of receiver, we were sometimes absent, but not on When you play so many guys, sometimes it's hard to find a rhythm, but I thought the two guys were handling our attack well, and I thought both of them showed some very good things. "

It was a spring filled with great things for Joyner and, more importantly, a sweet start to her second year on campus.

"I am a more comfortable player," Joyner said. "I had my head in the notebook.I went to the movie.I really understood what the coach was trying to learn.I think this year this year compared last year, I'm more coachable, I have good coaches around me and I appreciate all my coaches and teammates. "

ALSO SEE: Recruiting Updates on Garnet and Black Spring Game | NOTES: What will Muschamp say after the match | Player's notes after the match | Pictures of the spring game | Kicker Parker White placed on a stock exchange