Gamecocks Offense Preview

New quarterback. Restocked receiving and running back rooms. Staff changes. The Gamecocks are essentially going to be showcasing an entire new offense in 2024. With a challenging schedule, the offense will have to show up better than they did last season and there are plenty of reasons to believe they will.

Without further ado, let’s get into our positional-focused preview starting with the offensive line.

If you can’t win at the line of scrimmage, you’re not going to have much of a chance to get any rhythm going, which was the case last season for the Gamecocks. The offensive line improved this offseason in recruiting and in returning the unit to health. Expect the o-line to alternate starters for the first few games as the coaches get some first-time looks at newcomers and face different levels of competition from weeks one to three (Old Dominion, at Kentucky, LSU).

My biggest reason-to-believe in the offensive line improving is the addition of Coach Shawn Elliott who will be the Tight Ends coach and Running Game Coordinator. Elliott, who coached the Gamecocks offensive line back when I played in the Garnet & Black, is an excellent schemer and has proven experience melding together an offensive line to protect a dual-threat QB. Given what I expect the offensive identity to be, which is running-centric and built around LaNorris Sellers and Rocket Sanders, the addition of Coach Elliott will prove to be one of the biggest changes this past offseason.

Now to the man of the hour…

Redshirt freshman quarterback LaNorris Sellers enters his first year as starter with high fan excitement and buy-in. Sellers is a dual-threat player whose athletic running ability just may prove to be the x-factor needed to keep the Gamecocks in tight games in year one. We talked about the offensive line being improved but the running back room also received an upgrade and the receiving corps was completely revamped. Both of these areas seemed to have been built around Sellers’ dual-threat playing style, as well.

At running back, the team brought in a legitimate All-SEC caliber player in Raheim “Rocket’ Sanders, who comes over from Arkansas where he ended his career with 2,230 rushing yards in less than three complete seasons and will be coming off a season-ending shoulder injury. Sanders is a tone-setting back who can run by or through second-level defenders and is arguably the Gamecocks biggest offseason acquisition. 

Right behind Sanders is fellow incoming transfer Oscar Adaway who comes in from North Texas. Adaway is a confident and decisive runner who will excite fans with his willingness to fight for extra yards. Adjacent to Sanders and Adaway, depending on personnel, senior Juju McDowell returns as the Gamecocks change-of-pace back and gadget option who can also play in the slot. Also worth highlighting that the season-opener against Old Dominion offers an excellent opportunity for other running backs to make a case for playing time, including true freshman Matt Fuller. 

The rotation of running backs centered around Sellers’ game will serve as the cornerstone for South Carolina’s success in 2024. The biggest reason for this is that as opposing defenses start to respect the Gamecocks ground game more, we’ll see opportunities for the offense to win through the air.

Catching Sellers’ passes will be a completely revamped receiver and tight end group. 

At receiver, I have the most question marks of any position group on the entire team. Given the influx of newcomers and a new quarterback, I expect to see a season-long competition for snaps and targets, and the winners will ultimately come down to who is the most consistent in terms of being on the same page as Sellers. 

Who’s going to step up?

We are all excited to see Nyck Harbor emerge into the superstar his athleticism indicates he could be but he’s still developing as a route runner and full package receiver. The coaches will have to get creative in using Harbor as he’s just too special of an athlete to not be on the field. 

Ready-to-play newcomers is the top storyline for the receiving corps. Jared Brown seems to be the most reliable option, while Vandrevius Jacobs and true freshman Mazeo Bennett seem to be trending upward with flashes of big play ability. I’ll be doing another breakdown focused on wide receivers as a whole as there are a few more names to mention and I do like the upside.

At tight end, I’m excited to see Josh Simon get his shot at number one as he was vastly underused in the passing game last season. Keep an eye on transfer Brady Hunt and true freshman Michael Smith as I do think they’ll be able to maximize their snaps early in the season. Overall, I do think this could be the most underrated position group on the team.

When you go through the position groups, there’s a lot to be excited about but also a lot of unknowns. Ultimately, the Gamecocks offense will go as far as Sellers can take it and it will be up to the coaches to field the proper personnel and program the play-calling around his skillset. It will be critical that the coaches utilize the first game against Old Dominion to get plenty of snaps to the players competing for playing time, and work out any kinks in rotations and communication ahead of proper competition in following weeks.

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