SEC football power rankings after spring portal closes: Did Aggies get better?

Post-SEC Spring Power Rankings: #11 - South Carolina Gamecocks

The Gamecocks are a common pick to finish in the lowest quartile of the conference, and I get why: coming off a season in which they missed a bowl, losing (at least) your two best offensive players in Spencer Rattler and Juice Wells, and facing an unforgiving schedule that includes LSU, Alabama, OU, Ole Miss, Missouri, A&M, and Clemson—all of these are reasons to be skittish about South Carolina.

But I’m a fan of a lot of what Shane Beamer is doing down in Columbia. They brought in two high-profile offensive tackles in this previous class—Josiah Thompson and Kam Pringle—to help shore up what has been in all recent memory a problematic offensive front. Dylan Stewart, the five-star freshman, should be an absolute game-wrecker up front on the defensive line.

Replacing Rattler is a guy who I think a lot of the country will know well sooner rather than later: LaNorris Sellers. Beamer has already announced that Sellers will be the top guy at QB, and watching his limited play last year, you can see why. He has the arm talent, accuracy, and athleticism to catch the eye of anybody watching.

Adding the versatile Rocket Sanders will give the offense a boost as well. The biggest question is how the Gamecocks can replace what they lost at receiver—not only the aforementioned Wells, but first-rounder Xavier Legette. This is where we could see athletic freak Nyck Harbor take a big step—he became more of a focal point on the offensive side of the ball near the end of last year, but he still has untapped potential.

The Gamecocks simply aren’t deep enough for me to put them any higher at this juncture, but there’s some reason to keep your eye on what’s going on in Columbia. If Beamer can keep stockpiling talent—and he’s right in the race for a couple of 2025 five-stars—then the Gamecocks could have big things ahead.