Gamecocks get good news on starting offensive lineman

South Carolina received good news from one of its starting offensive linemen on Tuesday.

Hours after Jovaughn Gwyn announced he was leaving, offensive tackle Jaylen Nichols proclaimed he’ll return to Columbia for one more season via an Instagram post.

“Run it back,” the photo read.

Nichols has been a versatile piece for the Gamecocks offensive line of late, lining up at left tackle this season. In four years at USC, he’s appeared in 37 games, including 18 starts over that span.

The North Carolina native came to South Carolina as the No. 1,004 player and No. 84 offensive tackle in the 2019 class, per the 247Sports Composite.

South Carolina is slated to lose a chunk of its starting offensive line from this fall in Gwyn, Eric Douglas and Dylan Wonnum. Nichols should help anchor next year’s group along with Vershon Lee, Tyshawn Wannamaker and Jakai Moore.

Tha Gamecocks signed a 2023 recruiting class that’s also heavy on offensive linemen in four-star prospects Markee Anderson, Oluwatosin “Tree” Babalade, Trovon Baugh and three-star recruit Jatavius Shivers.

USC has also landed a commitment from Yale tackle transfer Nick Gargiulo, who’s expected to compete for the starting center spot vacated by Douglas.

South Carolina concluded its campaign with a 45-38 loss to No. 21 Notre Dame in the Gator Bowl last week following upset wins over No. 8 Clemson and No. 5 Tennessee to end the regular season.