Gamecocks to Wear Throwback Uniforms Representing 1980-Era

South Carolina football will honor a memorable era in its history when the Gamecocks take the field at Williams-Brice Stadium this Saturday night against Akron. The Gamecocks will be donning throwback uniforms from 1980, which is best remembered for the year that running back George Rogers won the Heisman Trophy.

“I think it’s nice because a lot of those players from that time are still around,” said Rogers, who still regularly attends South Carolina home games. “I know the uniform isn’t what’s going to make them win. It’s the people in the uniforms that make them win. I think Coach Beamer is doing a lot of good things that help the team win, so let’s do it baby! Let’s get it on!”

Head coach Shane Beamer had expressed an interest in having an alternate uniform, and Under Armour, which is the official apparel provider for South Carolina Athletics, came through with a couple of options, including the homage to the 1980 uniform.

“Larry Waters, our head of equipment, came to me probably about this time last year and showed me pictures of how Under Armour wants to do a throwback game,” Beamer said. “I think I looked at it and said, that’s cool. Let’s roll! I didn’t think about it again until he showed me the helmet in July.

“Our players are excited, and it’s great to be able to honor that era of Gamecock Football with that uniform.”

(PHOTO: Left – replica uniforms. Right: George Rogers in 1980)

Starting at the top, the white helmets feature a larger Block C logo and will also have the memorable stars on the front of the head gear.

The garnet jerseys will have “Carolina” in large block letters across the front and will even have a white collar resembling the neck rolls that were common in that era.

The pants will be white with a thick garnet stripe and black complimentary outlines.

While Rogers is excited to see the Gamecocks play in the uniform of his era, he’s not ready to put on his old helmet and join the fray.

“Hell no!” Rogers said with a laugh. “Maybe I could get on the line and help block. I’ll throw 300 pounds on them. It would be good if I could still run! I do a lot of fishing these days and things that don’t’ take too much movement, but I’ll be at the game.”

Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.