During the 2023 season, South Carolina had one of the worst rushing offenses in recent years. But through four games this season, the bolstered offensive line and senior running back Raheim "Rocket" Sanders have completely shifted that narrative.
Last year, the Gamecocks ended the season averaging 85.1 rushing yards per game, the lowest total of any school in the SEC. South Carolina also logged 2.8 yards per carry as a team, and former running back Mario Anderson, the team's leading rusher, scored just three touchdowns in 12 games. The Gamecocks were forced to rely heavily on its air attack, causing the team to finish fourth in the SEC at 278.0 yards per game.
In just four games, South Carolina’s running game has completely flipped the script from last year and become an integral part of the team's offense.
Two-and-a-half weeks before the Gamecocks' season opener against Old Dominion, redshirt sophomore offensive lineman Cason Henry said the identity of the team's offense made a noticeable shift in the preseason.
"I think that we are going to be more of like a 'ground-pound, run the ball' team," Henry said. "I think that's why we brought in a lot of good transfers like (redshirt senior offensive lineman) Torricelli (Simpkins III), (sixth-year offensive lineman) Kamaar (Bell), guys like that."
South Carolina has done exactly that by running the ball more times per game than last year, with much of its running production coming from Sanders and the team's two primary options at quarterback.
The 'Rocket' takes off
Sanders, who transferred from Arkansas this past offseason, has been one of the conference's top players at the position. Heading into Saturday's 50-7 win over Akron, he ranked first in the SEC in rushing attempts (56) fourth in both rushing yards (285) and touchdowns (four). He added just one yard to that total.
Sanders had his strongest performance of the season on Sept. 14 against LSU when he registered 154 all-purpose yards and scored two touchdowns — one of which came on a 66-yard carry.
After the game, which ended 36-33 in favor of the Tigers, he said he was aiming to prioritize the team's success over his own.
“I had a day, but at the end of the day ... we didn’t win the game, and that’s my goal overall," Sanders said. "I feel like I did great, but I’d rather come with a great outcome than me have a great day myself.”
Quarterbacks shine
The Gamecocks have also seen rushing production from redshirt freshman LaNorris Sellers and fifth-year Robby Ashford, the two quarterbacks who have started games for the team this season.
Sellers, despite missing South Carolina's victory over the Zips, is currently the team's third-leading rusher. He has gained 145 rushing yards and scored three touchdowns on 40 rushing attempts. One of those scores came on a 75-yard run against the Tigers, which was the most yardage a quarterback gained on a single carry in program history.
Ashford, who has primarily served as the Gamecocks' backup quarterback this season, eclipsed Sellers' season rushing totals with a 157-yard display on Saturday. Ashford is now second on the team in rushing yards, 221, and has scored one touchdown on 33 total carries.
New faces on the field
Before South Carolina's game against Akron, it generally did not use other players. However, sixth-year Oscar Adaway III, a transfer from North Texas, had six rushing attempts, the second-most carries of any running back outside of Sanders.
Another veteran running back, senior Juju Mcdowell had only five carries going into the Akron game. In his four years with the Gamecocks, he has not been the premier running back, but serves his role more in the receiving game with 35 catches in the last two years.
Senior running back Juju McDowell carries the ball up the field during South Carolina's game against Akron on Sept. 21, 2024 at Williams-Brice Stadium. McDowell finished the game with five carries and 29 rushing yards.
Head coach Shane Beamer said the team's lack of sharing snaps was a problem it aimed to address heading into the weekend.
"You can’t just ask one guy to play 60 to 70 plays every game at that position because he’s going to get worn down, so one, we’ve got to be able to get other guys in there,” Beamer said. "We’ve also got to be willing to just throw them in there and let them continue to develop.”
South Carolina's ability to take a quick lead — and hold onto it for the rest of the contest — provided opportunities for multiple running backs to earn playing time.
Adaway III was the primary beneficiary of this, as he totaled 42 yards and scored two touchdowns on 14 carries. McDowell, who also saw action as a pass-catching running back last year, had 29 yards on five carries.
An additional three running backs got their first taste of action in the fourth quarter once the Gamecocks' lead had grown to 22 points. Sophomore Jawarn Howell, a transfer from South Carolina State who ran for 809 rushing yards last season, gained 33 yards on five carries. Matthew Fuller, appearing in his first game as a true freshman, ran for 25 yards on eight carries, while redshirt senior walk-on Bradley Dunn ran for 10 yards on two attempts.
Beamer said he was impressed with how the team's running backs performed in Sanders' absence.
"We said that, regardless of the score, regardless of how the game's going, we wanted to get Jawarn and Matthew some work tonight. Now, that happened a little bit quicker with Rocket going out, but we've got confidence in Oscar, and he came in and did a nice job," Beamer said. "We've got to continue to find ways to get all those guys touches and keep them involved."