Tavien Feaster committed to South Carolina football on Monday morning, giving the Gamecocks talented backfield an even biggest boost.
You don’t often see a player transfer to a rival school, but sometimes it’s all about the fit as well as an improved situation. For senior running back Tavien Feaster, transferring to South Carolina was met with plenty of raised eyebrows, but he immediately improved the Gamecocks’ backfield.
Feaster decided to transfer from Clemson this offseason and it didn’t come as a major shock given his position as a backup to junior Travis Etienne and with sophomore Lyn-J Dixon pushing him.
But Etienne was a five-star recruit out of high school and had high expectations for his time at Clemson but it wasn’t like his three years in the Tigers’ backfield was a total disaster. In fact, he rushed for 1,330 yards and 15 touchdowns on 222 carries. He averaged nearly 6.0 yards per carry over those three years and that’s all you can really hope for from a talented back.
South Carolina’s backfield got a major boost with the addition of Feaster who will be joining the program after his graduation from Clemson this summer but will he jump to the top of the depth chart?
Rico Dowdle rushed for 654 yards and four touchdowns on 5.3 yards per carry in 2018 and AJ Turner had 294 yards and two scores on 6.4 yards per touch. Add in Mon Denson who rushed for 432 yards and two touchdowns on 5.0 yards per touch and you have a full backfield with plenty of talent.
Feaster may be the most naturally talented of the bunch, though.
I wouldn’t be shocked to see Dowdle start as the No. 1 back before splitting some time with Feaster. By the end of the year, those two will be 1A and 1B but having Denson and Turner will take pressure off as well.
Does South Carolina have one of the most underrated backfields in America heading into 2019 after this addition? Absolutely.