South Carolina may have found an emerging star in Saturday’s 41-30 loss to the Bulldogs, and it wasn’t tailback Mike Davis.
The Gamecocks already knew Davis could play, but the Gamecocks also got a big game from junior wide receiver Nick Jones.
Jones caught six passes for 97 yards and two touchdowns and showed signs that he may be emerging as a go-to player at a position where the Gamecocks are relatively young and inexperienced.
“He had two touchdown catches there in the first half, and we should have thrown some more at him,” South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier said, “but we didn’t have the ball enough.”
The Gamecocks expected to have success running the ball with Davis, and they did. Davis finished with 149 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries after rushing for 115 yards in the Gamecocks’ season-opening victory over North Carolina.
Even though Jones caught four passes last week against the Tar Heels, the receptions went for a modest 21 yards. His performance against the Bulldogs better fit the role of “stealth bomber.”
Jones’ four first-half receptions were good for 14, 18, 8 and 30 yards, with the 18-yard reception and the 30-yard reception resulting in touchdowns.
“I was just trying to get open, help the team, find the open spots in the zone and get open in man-to-man coverage,” Jones said. “It felt pretty good, but obviously it wasn’t enough.”
Jones said he hadn’t noticed anything in practice during game week to indicate he was poised to have a big performance.
“I made a few plays in practice last week, but there was nothing that let me know I was going to catch a bunch of passes,” he said. “It just came within the flow of the offense.”
Through two games, he’s Gamecocks quarterback Connor Shaw’s favorite target, with 10 receptions.
“Nick stepped up and had a huge game,” Shaw said. “I was proud of the way our offense bounced back series after series.”
Shaw said he’s not surprised to see Jones step up.
“You could see it coming,” Shaw said. “He had a great fall camp. Now he seems to be really coming on.”
If anything, Jones fits the profile of a late bloomer. He caught 12 passes each of the last two years in a reserve role, but never was a big part of the rotation.
“I’m kind of the underdog of the receiving corps,” Jones said. “I don’t mind it.”
Part of the reason Jones has been overlooked may be his size. At 5-foot-7, 174 pounds, he hardly is a big target. But toward the end of last season, he began to emerge with some of his better games.
In his past four games, including South Carolina’s victory over Clemson last season and the Outback Bowl victory over Michigan, Jones has 17 receptions.
“It took me awhile to figure things out,” Jones said. “I understand the offense a lot better and my route running has improved.”
Spurrier has noticed.
“I think you’ll see more of Nick Jones,” Spurrier said.
