South Carolina football recently began its 2025 spring practice schedule looking to replace last season's leading rusher, senior running back Raheim "Rocket" Sanders.
The Gamecocks bring four scholarship running backs into the spring, including two seventh-year veterans and a pair who redshirted last season.
"The running back room, we're just all trying to compete, trying to win for this team this year," seventh-year running back Oscar Adaway III said.
South Carolina lost two experienced running backs the offseason to graduation, senior running backs Sanders and Juju McDowell. Sanders led the Gamecocks with 183 carries for 881 yards and 11 touchdowns last season after transferring in from Arkansas. McDowell spent his entire career with the Gamecocks, rushing for a total 621 yards and six touchdowns.
The Gamecocks went to the transfer portal to replace the lost production. Seventh-year running back Rahsul Faison joined the program after spending the past two seasons at Utah State. Faison rushed for 1,109 yards on 198 carries and eight touchdowns last season, earning him second team All-Mountain West Conference honors.
"It's kind of a mix with two older guys in 'Sul and Oscar, and then some young guys as well," head coach Shane Beamer said. "Eager to see how it all shakes out."
Faison rushed for at least 100 yards five times last season, including a 20-carry, 191-yard performance against Hawaii. Faison also made 26 carries for 109 yards and a touchdown against No. 21 Boise State, which reached the 2025 College Football Playoff. South Carolina will be his fifth college, as he also spent time at two community colleges and Marshall, in addition to Utah State.
"'Sul coming in, a talented guy at Utah State that's played a lot of football," Beamer said.
Adaway is the room's top returning rusher. Adaway, a North Texas transfer, finished with 77 carries for 295 yards and three touchdowns last season. He also made 15 receptions for 145 yards.
"It's a fun group, I'm excited about it," Beamer said. "Oscar Adaway obviously did some really good things for us last year and had a nice bowl game. I'm looking forward to seeing him take the next step."
Adaway filled in for Sanders in the 2024 Cheez-It Citrus Bowl after Sanders opted out of the game to prepare for the NFL Draft. Adaway posted 14 carries for 69 yards and a touchdown, while making seven catches for 33 yards. He said the loss has motivated the Gamecocks to push for more this spring.
"We're trying to get better than nine wins," Adaway said. "This whole team, everybody has that mindset ever since the Citrus Bowl."
Adaway spent five seasons at North Texas before transferring to South Carolina before last season. Adaway redshirted for the Mean Green as a freshman in 2019 and missed the entire 2021 season due to an ACL injury. He's rushed for 2,230 yards and 17 touchdowns in his career.
"I chose this year to lead by experience because I've done it all," Adaway said. "I've been injured, I've been on winning good teams, I've been on sorry teams. I've been on mid, average teams. Experience is going to go a far, far way for me and Rahsul."
The Gamecocks return two running backs who gained experience last season while preserving a year of eligibility. Redshirt sophomore running back Jawarn Howell returns after rushing 19 times for 123 yards and two touchdowns last season. He spent his freshman season at South Carolina State, where he was named MEAC Rookie of the Year and an FCS Freshman All-American. Redshirt freshman running back Matthew Fuller, who made eight carries for 25 yards in 2024, is also back for his second season in Columbia.
"Matthew Fuller and Jawarn Howell were two of our more impressive players in all of the testing that we did over the last couple of weeks of our guys," Beamer said. "All of our testing numbers, those two guys were really, really impressive."
South Carolina had five players record at least 20 carries last season, including redshirt sophomore quarterback LaNorris Sellers, who made 166 carries for 674 yards and seven touchdowns. While the battle to replace Sanders as the starter will be competitive, Beamer said he believes each player can separate themselves by proving their value on special teams.
"That's a room that's got a ton of bodies," Beamer said. "You start talking about who's going to play running back, those guys need to be able to play special teams. So that's one of the many position battles that we have."
South Carolina finished last season with the nation's No. 35 rushing offense, averaging 177.7 yards per game. The Gamecocks made a massive jump from 2023's 83.2 average, which ranked No. 128 nationally. Adaway said he hopes the Gamecocks can build off the improvement in 2025.
"Last year, we were 32nd or 36th in the nation in rushing, but the year before we were in the hundreds," Adaway said. "We're just trying get better and better. A hundred to 36th, we're trying to be below 36th next year."