COLUMBIA — South Carolina football is desperate to bounce back from a 5-7 record, but the road ahead is far from easy.
South Carolina has one of the toughest SEC schedules this season and enters preseason practice with new players in critical positions.
Here are five of South Carolina’s biggest weaknesses ahead of the 2024 season for the Gamecocks and coach Shane Beamer:
No more Spencer Rattler, so the focus is on redshirt freshman LaNorris Sellers, who was named starting quarterback after the spring.
He’s young and expected to lead a team that is patching up many offensive holes.
Sellers was picked over redshirt senior transfer Robby Ashford, which speaks to Sellers’ potential and skill. Sellers saw the field in three games last season and against Furman on Sept. 9, he was 4-of-4 passing for 86 yards with two touchdowns.
In the spring game, he was 9-for-11 for 70 yards and rushed for 38 yards, including a 13-yard touchdown on the first drive.
It’s Sellers’ first year guiding the offense and only the second year for quarterbacks coach/offense coordinator Dowell Loggains.
South Carolina lost go-to receiver Xavier Legette, who led the team in receiving yards with 1,255 which accounted for 39.4% of Rattler’s passing yards in 2023. The Gamecocks also lost Juice Wells to the transfer portal, who was another key target in 2021 and 2022.
There are five new transfer wide receivers: Jared Brown, Ahmari Huggins-Bruce, Gage Larvadain, Dalevon Campbell and Vandrevius Jacobs.
In the spring game, Mazeo Bennett, a freshman from Greenville, and Tyshawn Russell, a sophomore combined for 42 receiving yards.
Of the top receiver options, Russell is the only one who has played a real game for South Carolina and it’s wide receiver coach Mike Furrey’s first season.
Raheim “Rocket” Sanders has a lot riding on him this season. Sanders was the third best player in the 2024 transfer portal and the Gamecocks’ best transfer pickup since Rattler.
At Arkansas, Sanders battled a knee injury in 2023 and only played six games. In 2022, he rushed for 1,443 yards on 222 carries and ran in 10 touchdowns, in addition to 28 receptions for 271 yards and two touchdowns.
Without Mario Anderson, who had 143 carries and 707 yards in 2023 and has since transferred to Memphis, pressure shifts to the star-studded transfer. Sanders will need to repeat 2022’s success but if injuries plague him again (he missed the spring game), the Gamecocks may struggle.
There are other options, such as Oscar Adaway, a sixth-year transfer and Jawarn Howell, a sophomore transfer but similar to the receivers, lack experience with the program.
Last season, injuries plagued the offensive line and week after week, depth players were forced to step up. By the end of the season, South Carolina ranked No. 118 of 130 FBS teams in sacks allowed with 41, and the only way Sellers can be successful is if he’s protected.
This season, there are a trio of freshmen — Kam Pringle, Blake Franks, and Josiah Thompson — who might make a positive impact, but veterans such as Jakai Moore and Vershon Lee will need to step up.
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The Gamecocks travel to SEC newcomer Oklahoma, who was ranked No. 8 overall on USA TODAY’s too-early Top 25 poll after spring practices. Five other teams that South Carolina plays this year made the list: No. 5 Alabama, No. 6 Ole Miss, No. 9 Missouri, No. 10 Clemson and No. 13 LSU.
In addition, according to 247Sports early rankings, South Carolina’s defense faces six of 10 best SEC quarterbacks.
Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at lkesin@gannett.com and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @Lulukesin
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