Gamecocks enter 2025 with confidence to match lofty expectations

Based on South Carolina’s preseason football outlook, Gamecocks opponents should be careful to look out.

Not since the days of Steve Spurrier has the forecast been so bright. The Gamecocks could open the season ranked among the top 10. That hasn’t happened in Columbia since Spurrier’s Gamecocks opened the 2014 season ranked No. 9.

Confidence is high. So are expectations. That’s the way coach Shane Beamer wants it.

“You want high expectations,” Beamer said during the spring. “Our players and the people in our program, I believe, embrace those high expectations and understand that with those expectations, you have to prepare the right way, that it doesn’t just happen.

“There’s plenty of teams — and we’ve talked about it a lot as a team — there’s plenty of teams every year that have high expectations and fall well short of those expectations, and it’s usually coming out of the gate as well. So, understanding that there’s a lot of expectations, and rightfully so at our place, you want that as a coach, where there are high expectations within the media, with the fan base.”

To Beamer’s point, there indeed are highly-ranked teams that underachieve. A case in point is South Carolina, which opened the 2014 season with an ominous 52-28 loss to Texas A&M. The Gamecocks finished 7-6.

But this year’s Gamecocks presumably will be different.

Much of that presumption is centered around quarterback LaNorris Sellers, who led South Carolina to a 9-4 finish and a No. 19 final ranking last season.

Sellers is a big, strong dual threat who runs like a tailback and figures to improve as a passer. There’s little question that he’s among the best quarterbacks in the Southeastern Conference.

However, there are several significant questions almost everywhere else.

Tackles Josiah Thompson and Cason Henry return, but the interior must be replaced on an offensive line that allowed 41 sacks in 2024.

The running game was sound, but standout tailback Raheim Sanders has departed. Utah State transfer Rahsul Faison is counted on to replace Sanders’ production.

A mediocre receiving corps hopes to get a boost from a half dozen incoming freshmen led by four-star prospect Malik Clark.

Any questions on offense are dwarfed by those on defense.

The Gamecocks' defensive unit was ranked No. 16 in the nation last season. Nine opponents were limited to 21 points or less.

However, five key contributors to that stellar unit were taken in the NFL Draft. Safety Nick Emmanwori, defensive tackle T.J. Sanders and linebacker Demetrius Knight Jr. were second-round selections. Edge rusher Kyle Kennard and defensive tackle Tonka Hemingway were fourth-round picks.

Though sophomore defensive end Dylan Stewart is an emerging star, little-used transfers are counted on to fill big shoes in the defensive line.

Without Emmanwori, the Gamecocks' secondary will be hard-pressed to match last year’s 14 interceptions.

South Carolina Gamecocks

2024 record: 9-4, 5-3 in the SEC

Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

LaNorris Sellers accounted for three total touchdowns in a 44-20 win over Texas A&M, passing for 244 yards and rushing for 106.

Primary area of strength: Quarterback LaNorris Sellers is one of the best in the Southeastern Conference. He’s a major running threat but needs to improve his passing. If Sellers makes strides as a passer, he could be a legit Heisman contender.

Primary area of concern: The defense, which was ranked among the nation’s top 20 last season, must be rebuilt. The losses include five players who were selected in the NFL Draft.

Top returners

• QB LaNorris Sellers: Last season as a first-time starter, Sellers passed for 2,524 yards and 18 touchdowns. He also rushed for 674 yards and seven scores.
• DE Dylan Stewart: A freshman All-American in 2024, Stewart posted 6.5 sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss (both second on the team).
• NB Jalon Kilgore: South Carolina has a history of producing NFL-quality defensive backs. Kilgore could be next. Last season, he had five interceptions and 48 tackles.

Key additions

• RB Rahsul Faison: The transfer rushed for 1,109 yards and eight touchdowns last season at Utah State.
• DT Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy: A former five-star prospect was hampered by injuries at Texas A&M.
• CB Brandon Cisse: A transfer from North Carolina State, where he posted 28 tackles, 1.5 for loss and broke up five passes last season.

Key losses

• RB Raheim Sanders: The Gamecocks' rushing leader gained 881 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2024.
• DE Kyle Kennard: The SEC Defensive Player of the Year last season after posting 11.5 sacks. A fourth-round draft pick of the Los Angeles Chargers.
• S Nick Emmanwori: The All-SEC safety was the second-round NFL draft pick of the Seattle Seahawks. Last season, he had four interceptions. Two were returned for touchdowns.

2025 South Carolina Schedule

• Aug. 31 vs. Virginia Tech (at Atlanta)
• Sept. 6 vs. South Carolina State
• Sept. 13 vs. Vanderbilt
• Sept. 20 at Missouri
• Sept. 27 vs. Kentucky
• Oct. 11 at LSU
• Oct. 18 vs. Oklahoma
• Oct. 25 vs. Alabama
• Nov. 1 at Ole Miss
• Nov. 15 at Texas A&M
• Nov. 22 vs. Coastal Carolina
• Nov. 29 vs. Clemson