Hunt and Sanders Named to 2024 Comeback Player of the Year Award Watch List

University of South Carolina tight end Brady Hunt and running back Raheim “Rocket” Sanders are two of the 90 college football players from 68 schools currently under consideration for the 2024 Comeback Player of the Year Award, the College Sports Communicators in association with The Associated Press and the Fiesta Bowl Organization announced today.

Hunt, a 6-5, 253-pound redshirt junior from Muncie, Ind., is in his first season with the Gamecocks after spending the past three seasons at Ball State. As a redshirt freshman in 2022, Hunt earned first-team All-MAC honors and was an FWAA Freshman All-American after catching 46 passes for 498 yards and five touchdowns. He missed the entire 2023 season with an ankle injury.

Sanders, a six-foot, 230-pound senior from Rockledge, Fla., is also in his first season at South Carolina after spending the past three campaigns at Arkansas. In 2022, Sanders was a first-team All-SEC selection after rushing for 1,443 yards and 10 touchdowns on 222 carries. A 2023 preseason All-America candidate, Sanders’ season was limited to just six games and 62 rush attempts after injuring his knee in the season opener against Western Carolina.

Since 2018, the award has recognized college football student-athletes for overcoming injury, illness, or other circumstances. At the conclusion of each season, in a vote by a panel of college football writers, editors, and sports information directors, three college football student-athletes are honored as Comeback Player of the Year Award winners at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl.