Gamecocks Begin Spring Football Drills Wednesday

2026SpringGuide

Year six of the Shane Beamer Era at South Carolina gets underway with the start of spring drills on Wednesday, March 4. The Gamecocks are scheduled to practice 15 times during the spring over a six-week period, concluding on Saturday, April 11. 

Here’s a preview as the Gamecocks’ embark on their 133rd season of intercollegiate football and 35th year in the SEC.

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Finish.

That’s the buzzword emanating out of the Long Family Football Operations Center on the University of South Carolina campus this spring.

The Gamecocks, under sixth-year head coach Shane Beamer, are looking to bounce back from a disappointing 4-8 campaign last season and look to climb their way back into the FBS playoff conversation again in 2026 like they were in 2024.

But to do so, they’ll need to do a better job of finishing what they start.

The Gamecocks either led or were down by no more than one score entering the fourth quarter in 10 of their 12 games last season. In their eight losses, they led No. 23 Missouri, No. 4 Alabama and No. 3 Texas A&M heading into the final stanza only to lose, and trailed No. 11 LSU, No. 7 Ole Miss and in-state rival Clemson by just seven, six and six points respectively, with just 15 minutes left in regulation before ultimately falling short. Even in the two “blowout” losses versus Vanderbilt and Oklahoma the Gamecocks were within one score going into the halftime intermission in each contest but could not rally in the second half. 

The Gamecocks were a gaudy 25-3 when either leading or tied after three quarters through Coach Beamer’s first four seasons as the Carolina head coach but posted just a 4-3 mark in those scenarios in 2025.

For the Gamecocks to have success in 2026, they’ll need to get back to winning those tight games in a highly competitive Southeastern Conference where a single play here or there can make all the difference between a win and a loss.

Coach Beamer made several off-season moves to turn the tide back in the Gamecocks’ favor with the goal of propeling them into the national picture again in 2026.

First, he revamped much of his offensive coaching staff, bringing in offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Kendal Briles, offensive line coach Randy Clements and running backs coach Stan Drayton to rejuvenate the attack. The Gamecocks need to find ways to more consistently move the ball and more frequently put points on the scoreboard, taking some of the pressure off their defense.

Next, Coach Beamer and his staff reached into the portal and re-stocked the roster with 25 transfers, many of who have been through the wars with significant game experience and can lead when the going gets tough and the game is on the line.

Most notably, Coach Beamer and his staff completely revamped an offensive line that has been considered a weak link for much of his tenure. The Gamecocks brought eight offensive linemen, six of whom are redshirt seniors. In fact, Carolina now boasts the most experienced offensive line in the nation, netting a combined total of 8,797 career snaps.

The Gamecocks also beefed up their ground game by adding three running backs from the portal, who join the three scholarship backs already on campus, in what should be a very competitive room.

Finally, Coach Beamer and his staff addressed some other areas of need, including the defensive line, both at tackle and Edge rusher, added a couple of veteran wide receivers to supplement a talented but still young unit, and brought in a couple of special teamers who will compete for starting slots.

While the 25 transfers, along with a dozen true freshmen who enrolled in January, give the Gamecocks a lot of new faces this spring, many of the core components of last year’s squad are back, including 12 returning starters, most notably three standouts who could hear their names called early in the 2027 NFL Draft.

There aren’t many schools in the country that can match a “Big Three” like the Gamecocks’ trio of quarterback LaNorris Sellers, wide receiver Nyck Harbor and Edge rusher Dylan Stewart. All three have the God-given physical tools to play the game at the highest level and they will be counted on to take it to another level in what will likely be their final season of college football.

While the Gamecocks have always played a very challenging schedule as a member of the SEC, 2026 takes on a new challenge, as the conference has expanded to a nine-game league slate. 

After opening with a pair of non-conference home games against Kent State and Towson, Carolina will embark on a nine-game gauntlet of conference opponents over a 10-week period that ping-pongs home and road venues before wrapping up the regular season with the annual Palmetto Bowl against in-state rival Clemson. The back half of the conference slate after the October 17 off week is especially loaded with consecutive games against Tennessee, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Arkansas and Georgia scheduled before the aforementioned finale with Clemson. The Sooners, Aggies and Bulldogs all were College Football Playoff participants a year ago.

But first things first. The Gamecocks open spring practice on Wednesday, March 4 and will practice three times before taking a week off for spring break. They will return to the practice fields on March 18 and wrap up the 2026 spring drills on Saturday, April 11.

OFFENSE

For the third time in as many years, a new offensive coordinator will be putting his fingerprints on the Carolina attack. The keys to the offense have been turned over to Kendal Briles. Briles brought Randy Clements with him from TCU to direct the offensive line. Veteran Stan Drayton was added to coach the running backs.

Despite struggling for much of the 2025 season, the offense is not without some impressive weapons, most notably quarterback LaNorris Sellers and wide receiver Nyck Harbor. Sellers, a dual-threat signal-caller, looks to return to the form where he was playing as well as anyone in the country at the end of the 2024 season and one that made him a preseason Heisman Award candidate a year ago, while Harbor is one of college football most freakish athletes with his combination of size and speed that make scouts drool over. 

The offensive line has been completely retooled, with the addition of eight transfers, all upperclassmen, but two-year starter Josiah Thompson and second-year player Shed Sarratt Jr. have both been starters since they stepped foot on campus.

The much-ballyhooed receiving class that enrolled a year ago is a year older, with Donovan Murph and Jayden Sellers making the most impact in their freshman seasons. With defenses having to gameplan for Harbor’s unique talents, the opportunities for others to shine is real.

The running back position starts with a clean slate under Stan Drayton. Matt Fuller, Jawarn Howell and Isaiah Augustave return, while three transfers look to make a strong first impression.

Brady Hunt is the returning starter at tight end.

DEFENSE

One constant during Shane Beamer’s tenure at South Carolina has been the solid play of the defensive unit, led by defensive coordinator Clayton White and co-defensive coordinator/defensive backs coach Torrian Gray, both of whom have been with Coach Beamer since the onset of his arrival five years ago.

The featured player is Edge rusher Dylan Stewart, whom one national publication has listed as one of its top three impact players for 2026. Stewart is the only returning starter on the defensive line, but between the returning players and those brought in through the portal, the Gamecocks should be solid again up front.

The linebacking corps is the only position group that did not see an infusion of talent from the portal. The Gamecocks are expected to roll with primarily with Fred “JayR” Johnson, Justin Okoronkwo and Shawn Murphy, who took most of the snaps last season. All return and will be counted on to take on more of a leadership role this season.

The secondary lost a possible first-round draft pick in Brandon Cisse at corner, an All-SEC performer in Jalon Kilgore at nickel, and a four-year starter in DQ Smith at safety, but return starters Judge Collier at corner and Peyton Williams at safety.

SPECIAL TEAMS

The newest face to join the squad in the spring is special teams coordinator Matthew Smiley, who arrived in Columbia just a week before the start of spring practice. Smiley returns to the college ranks for the first time since 2012, having spent the past several years in the NFL.

Smiley has the benefit of having Mason Love, who was one of the top freshman punters in the country a year ago, return. He will need to replace both the placekicker and long snapper slots that are wide open due to graduation. The return units should be solid, if not spectacular, led by kick returner Nyck Harbor and All-American punt returner Vicari Swain.