By THOMAS GRANT JR.,T&D Senior Sports Writer
Try as he may, Terrance Smith cannot contain his pride about being a South Carolina State wide receiver.
An already dynamic unit rich in size, athleticism and toughness with he, Oliver 'Trey' Young and Dustin Dubose returning, the Bulldogs added more size and depth with promising junior college transfer Phillip Morris and speed with Tron Jackson and Chase Robinson. Combine that with a strong-armed quarterback like Cleveland McCoy who's had a year to adjust to a new offense and experienced offensive line and SCSU could possibly lay claim to potentially having one of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference's most explosive passing attacks.
"As far as us in the league, I think we're one of the best receiving corps in the conference," Smith said. "It's just a pleasure to play with the guys that I'm playing with right now and have them beside me. Everybody's learning the plays, learning the concept of the plays and it's starting to come together.
"I think we've got one of the best units in the MEAC," Morris said. "Everybody comes out to practice. Everybody competes. That's just makes everybody better. Having Cleve, it just amps things up. He's a great quarterback and the talent he has surrounding him, I think we have a good chance of going far."
SCSU wide receiver coach Tony Elliott is more guarded about making bold proclamations about this year's group.
LARRY HARDY/T&D With new additions, the South Carolina State wide receiving corps could potentially post big numbers this season. Pictured, back row, Oliver "Trey" Young (3), Terrance Smith (10), Tron Jackson (18), wide receivers coach Tony Elliott, Matt Washington (80), Phillip Morris (21) and Chase Robinson (6). Front row, Byron Bush (25), Dusten Dubose (2), Semaj Moody (82), Richard Christie (39) and Dominique Henry (1). Seated in front is a SCSU student trainer.
"This is a very talented group," he said. "We've got some guys that can run, jump and catch the football really well. We're still working mentally to get prepared and get to the level we were at last year. But talent-wise, it's a big jump, especially the addition of Tron Jackson, Chase Robinson and Phillip Morris, guys who were sitting out last year. And then Terrance Smith and Trey Young, they've really stepped their game up starting back from the spring and carrying it through this fall. So I'm very excited about the potential we have at the wide receiver position. We're very talented, but we've got a long way to go."
As a redshirt freshman, the 6-2, 190-pound Smith provided an early glance of his big-play potential during the first half of last year's season-opener against Wofford. He first blazed past a Terrier defender on a play fake from McCoy for a 66-yard touchdown reception, then made a leaping 48-yard catch before halftime.
An ankle injury slowed the former Shrine Bowl participant out of Aiken High School the rest of the way as he finished the season with just 13 receptions. Now a starter, Smith has quickly taken the leadership reins of the receiving corps.
"I'm the motivator," Smith said. "Most of the people in the group look at me as the leader of the unit because I work so hard and I'm always first in line and just get everybody to come with me."
Like Smith, the 6-0, 180-pound Young also showed big-play potential as a redshirt freshman. Playing in all 11 games, the former four-sport athlete at Burke High School only had six catches, but two went for long touchdowns.
While Smith and Young stretched the field, the quiet but gritty Dubose led the team in receptions (18) and was known for making tough catches on inside routes and his downfield blocking. Paired with the speedy Jackson, a former state track champion at Lamar High School, Smith sees them as capable of turning short passes into long runs after catches.
Getting motivated playing behind talented players is nothing new for Morris. A second-team junior college All-American at Georgia Military College, the 6-3, 180-pound graduate of Timmonsville High School was a teammate of USC defensive twins Jasper and Casper Brinkley. Yet those rosters pale in comparison to what SCSU offers in Morris' eyes.
"This is one of the more talented teams I've ever been associated with," said Morris, currently sidelined with a hamstring injury. "We're deep at the running backs, we're deep at quarterback, we're deep at wide receiver. The sky's the limit for this team and our heart and motivation will take us there."
"Phillip Morris is a freakish talent," Elliott said. "He's a 6-4 kid that can run like a deer, jump out the gym and once he catches the football, I don't think there's a person in our conference that can tackle him one on one. Chase Robinson, he's a very explosive kid. He went down with a (foot) injury, so we're going to miss him for the beginning part of the season. But he's a very explosive kid, a very tough kid and he just loves the game and Tron Jackson, everybody knows he's a track guy who can really, really run and he's working very, very hard to learn the technique and the fundamentals to make him a good wide receiver. We gained a lot of speed and we gained a lot of ability after the catch with the new guys."
Making Elliott's job easier is the high level of respect and admiration he's held by the wide receivers.
"Coach Elliott is a hard-working guy," Smith said. "He's not just all about football all the time. He's teaching you to be a man both on and off the football field and that's hard work. It's hard being a man every day and he's a great teacher at that. He's been through a lot and him kind of understanding where I'm coming from, he can just get you on that page to listen to him. He's very motivational. He's an all-effort guy and that's what we preach around here. If we're the best, we're going to practice to be the best, we're going to try to be the best and that's how we've got to believe that we're the best."
"He's not just settling for being the best on the field," Morris said. "He wants you to be the best in the classroom, off the field, wherever you go. He's that type of guy."
More than anything, Elliott expects the wide receivers to display the same toughness and tenacity he personified playing at Clemson and growing up in Charleston.
"We play a position where we run a lot and we get hit and you've got to be tough because with the amount of running that we do and the position that we catch the ball in, you've got to be tough," Elliott said. "I stress that a lot because ... my philosophy is that we're football players that play the receiver position. We're not wide receivers because the perception of wide receivers is that they're pretty boys that don't like to get dirty and I really emphasize on every play, do your job because there's only one football and there's 60 plays so there's a lot of people that deserve to touch the ball. So on every play, you have an assignment and you've got to go out and do it and you've got to be tough in order to get down there and block for your teammates when the ball's not going to you for an opportunity."
An effective passing game can only bode well for a rushing offense which led the MEAC last season. Once that happens, Smith believes it will be a thing of beauty for Bulldog fans to watch.
"Every good running game has to have a good passing game," he said. "It has to be something like a 50/50 situation. With our running backs and with our receiving corps, it's going to be hard to stop our offense. Once everybody buys into the concept that we have right now, it's going to be lovely."
Try as he may, Terrance Smith cannot contain his pride about being a South Carolina State wide receiver.
An already dynamic unit rich in size, athleticism and toughness with he, Oliver 'Trey' Young and Dustin Dubose returning, the Bulldogs added more size and depth with promising junior college transfer Phillip Morris and speed with Tron Jackson and Chase Robinson. Combine that with a strong-armed quarterback like Cleveland McCoy who's had a year to adjust to a new offense and experienced offensive line and SCSU could possibly lay claim to potentially having one of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference's most explosive passing attacks.
"As far as us in the league, I think we're one of the best receiving corps in the conference," Smith said. "It's just a pleasure to play with the guys that I'm playing with right now and have them beside me. Everybody's learning the plays, learning the concept of the plays and it's starting to come together.
"I think we've got one of the best units in the MEAC," Morris said. "Everybody comes out to practice. Everybody competes. That's just makes everybody better. Having Cleve, it just amps things up. He's a great quarterback and the talent he has surrounding him, I think we have a good chance of going far."
SCSU wide receiver coach Tony Elliott is more guarded about making bold proclamations about this year's group.
LARRY HARDY/T&D With new additions, the South Carolina State wide receiving corps could potentially post big numbers this season. Pictured, back row, Oliver "Trey" Young (3), Terrance Smith (10), Tron Jackson (18), wide receivers coach Tony Elliott, Matt Washington (80), Phillip Morris (21) and Chase Robinson (6). Front row, Byron Bush (25), Dusten Dubose (2), Semaj Moody (82), Richard Christie (39) and Dominique Henry (1). Seated in front is a SCSU student trainer.
"This is a very talented group," he said. "We've got some guys that can run, jump and catch the football really well. We're still working mentally to get prepared and get to the level we were at last year. But talent-wise, it's a big jump, especially the addition of Tron Jackson, Chase Robinson and Phillip Morris, guys who were sitting out last year. And then Terrance Smith and Trey Young, they've really stepped their game up starting back from the spring and carrying it through this fall. So I'm very excited about the potential we have at the wide receiver position. We're very talented, but we've got a long way to go."
As a redshirt freshman, the 6-2, 190-pound Smith provided an early glance of his big-play potential during the first half of last year's season-opener against Wofford. He first blazed past a Terrier defender on a play fake from McCoy for a 66-yard touchdown reception, then made a leaping 48-yard catch before halftime.
An ankle injury slowed the former Shrine Bowl participant out of Aiken High School the rest of the way as he finished the season with just 13 receptions. Now a starter, Smith has quickly taken the leadership reins of the receiving corps.
"I'm the motivator," Smith said. "Most of the people in the group look at me as the leader of the unit because I work so hard and I'm always first in line and just get everybody to come with me."
Like Smith, the 6-0, 180-pound Young also showed big-play potential as a redshirt freshman. Playing in all 11 games, the former four-sport athlete at Burke High School only had six catches, but two went for long touchdowns.
While Smith and Young stretched the field, the quiet but gritty Dubose led the team in receptions (18) and was known for making tough catches on inside routes and his downfield blocking. Paired with the speedy Jackson, a former state track champion at Lamar High School, Smith sees them as capable of turning short passes into long runs after catches.
Getting motivated playing behind talented players is nothing new for Morris. A second-team junior college All-American at Georgia Military College, the 6-3, 180-pound graduate of Timmonsville High School was a teammate of USC defensive twins Jasper and Casper Brinkley. Yet those rosters pale in comparison to what SCSU offers in Morris' eyes.
"This is one of the more talented teams I've ever been associated with," said Morris, currently sidelined with a hamstring injury. "We're deep at the running backs, we're deep at quarterback, we're deep at wide receiver. The sky's the limit for this team and our heart and motivation will take us there."
"Phillip Morris is a freakish talent," Elliott said. "He's a 6-4 kid that can run like a deer, jump out the gym and once he catches the football, I don't think there's a person in our conference that can tackle him one on one. Chase Robinson, he's a very explosive kid. He went down with a (foot) injury, so we're going to miss him for the beginning part of the season. But he's a very explosive kid, a very tough kid and he just loves the game and Tron Jackson, everybody knows he's a track guy who can really, really run and he's working very, very hard to learn the technique and the fundamentals to make him a good wide receiver. We gained a lot of speed and we gained a lot of ability after the catch with the new guys."
Making Elliott's job easier is the high level of respect and admiration he's held by the wide receivers.
"Coach Elliott is a hard-working guy," Smith said. "He's not just all about football all the time. He's teaching you to be a man both on and off the football field and that's hard work. It's hard being a man every day and he's a great teacher at that. He's been through a lot and him kind of understanding where I'm coming from, he can just get you on that page to listen to him. He's very motivational. He's an all-effort guy and that's what we preach around here. If we're the best, we're going to practice to be the best, we're going to try to be the best and that's how we've got to believe that we're the best."
"He's not just settling for being the best on the field," Morris said. "He wants you to be the best in the classroom, off the field, wherever you go. He's that type of guy."
More than anything, Elliott expects the wide receivers to display the same toughness and tenacity he personified playing at Clemson and growing up in Charleston.
"We play a position where we run a lot and we get hit and you've got to be tough because with the amount of running that we do and the position that we catch the ball in, you've got to be tough," Elliott said. "I stress that a lot because ... my philosophy is that we're football players that play the receiver position. We're not wide receivers because the perception of wide receivers is that they're pretty boys that don't like to get dirty and I really emphasize on every play, do your job because there's only one football and there's 60 plays so there's a lot of people that deserve to touch the ball. So on every play, you have an assignment and you've got to go out and do it and you've got to be tough in order to get down there and block for your teammates when the ball's not going to you for an opportunity."
An effective passing game can only bode well for a rushing offense which led the MEAC last season. Once that happens, Smith believes it will be a thing of beauty for Bulldog fans to watch.
"Every good running game has to have a good passing game," he said. "It has to be something like a 50/50 situation. With our running backs and with our receiving corps, it's going to be hard to stop our offense. Once everybody buys into the concept that we have right now, it's going to be lovely."
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