Five Gamecocks to watch in Florida's home opener

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Dan Mullen's program will strap up the pads for their first home contest of the season on Saturday, as play host to former Gators head coach Will Muschamp and the South Carolina Gamecocks.

Over the last couple of years, Florida has inched out to slow starts against the Gamecocks and had to battle its way back in the fourth quarter to secure come-from-behind victories. UF enters the game with its first top-three ranking since 2012, which was also when Muschamp was the head man in Gainesville.

With that being said, below are five Gamecock players to watch in Saturday's noon kickoff from the Swamp.

The 5-foot-10 190-pound slot receiver is by far the most explosive offensive weapon on South Carolina's roster. They will look to get him the ball as much as they can and did exactly that last weekend against Tennessee.

Smith touched the ball 12 times for 136 yards of total offense and was the favorite target for new starting QB, Collin Hill. And after watching how much trouble Elijah Moore gave Florida out of the slot, Mike Bobo has to be salivating when thinking of the many ways he can get the ball into Smith’s hands to make a big play.

To add to that, Smith is also the kick returner, so there is no time to breathe if you are on the Gators' special teams unit.

Mukuamu, a 6-foot-4 205-pound cornerback, missed a good portion of last week’s game against Tennessee with what is now said to be a groin injury. He listed as “day-to-day” according to Will Muschamp, but if he is healthy and able to go, he is one of the best cornerbacks in the SEC.

He almost singlehandedly won South Carolina's matchup against Georgia last year with his three interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown.

When Mukuamu is on the field, he does a great job of locking down his side, forcing opposing quarterbacks to look elsewhere.

Hill is a grad-transfer quarterback who came over from Colorado State with first-year offensive coordinator, Mike Bobo, who was his head coach with the Rams.

The South Carolina native manufactured a good game last week, completing 25-of-39 passes for 290 yards, one touchdown and an interception that went through the hands of his tight end and right into the lap of the Tennessee defender.

Hill, who has been running Bobo’s system for four years now, looks to have a firm grasp of all the concepts and was smart with the ball against the Vols. He doesn’t wow you with anything he does, but he’s one of those game managers who isn’t going to lose the game for the Gamecocks.

Horn is the other half of one of the better cornerback tandems in the SEC.

Last week when Mukuamu went down, Horn had to lock down his side of the field and did that fairly well. Tennessee stayed away from his side for the most part and went after Mukuamu’s replacement.

Though he doesn’t have any interceptions to this point in his career, Horn has shown the ability to get his hands on passes to force break ups. If Israel is able to go on Saturday, UF’s receivers might have a difficult time creating separation from this cornerback duo.

Jones was South Carolina’s leading tackler last season with 97 total tackles, which was 20 more than anyone else on the team, and has kicked off the 2020 season in similar fashion.

A native of Waycross, Georgia, Jones racked up 11 tackles against Tennessee last Saturday and is the vocal leader and captain of the Gamecocks' defense. He was also a preseason third-team All-SEC selection for Athlon magazine.

Jones, who stars at middle linebacker, makes all the calls on defense and is vital to getting the Gamecocks in and out of looks and making checks.