COLUMBIA - South Carolina opens the season with one obvious edge: LaNorris Sellers is already established at quarterback, heading into his third year as the Gamecocks’ starter.
That matters, because seven of USC’s 10 Power-4 opponents do not have that same certainty under center.
The catch is that this advantage may not stay clean for long. Early in the year, a first-time starter can look like a first-time starter.
Later on, though, those same quarterbacks are no longer raw newcomers. By the time South Carolina sees them, they’ve usually settled in, and the nerves are supposed to be gone.
Of course, every team still has to live with the possibility of a quarterback change at some point.
Mississippi State is first on the list with Kamario Taylor, who took over for the final two games of his freshman season after Blake Shapen was benched. Taylor got his first start in the Egg Bowl and then started a Duke’s Mayo Bowl loss to Wake Forest.
Rated the ninth-best quarterback in his class, he showed off real dual-threat ability, running for 236 yards and three touchdowns over those two games while completing 43 of 77 passes for 629 yards, five touchdowns and one interception. The Gamecocks will want to make the most of that matchup, especially with Taylor opening against Louisiana-Monroe and at Minnesota before coming to Williams-Brice Stadium.
South Carolina also sees plenty of a quarterback who can hurt defenses with his legs, because Sellers gives them that look every day.
Alabama’s situation is less settled. Kalen DeBoer didn’t name Ty Simpson his starter until 19 days before the opener last year, so this battle could stretch deep into preseason camp.
Keelon Russell, the Gatorade National Player of the Year and the top-rated player in Texas as a high school senior, saw only spot duty last season against ULM and Eastern Illinois. Austin Mack is in his fourth year of college, with two seasons at Alabama and one at Washington, but he has mostly been a mop-up option too.
That changed when Simpson was hurt against Indiana in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal. Mack finished that game 11 of 16 for 103 yards and added five rushes for no yards, taking two sacks while playing most of the second half.
Whoever wins the job will get East Carolina, Kentucky and Florida State before South Carolina visits Bryant-Denny Stadium in Week 4. Alabama has been nearly unbeatable there, going 117-7 at home since 2008, though Oklahoma did win there last year.
Kentucky’s Kenny Minchey is another unknown. He arrived after three years at Notre Dame, but he played only 10 games there and has not been through a full season since his junior year of high school in 2021.
A shoulder injury wiped out most of his senior year, and since then he has mostly been used in garbage time. The Wildcats open with Youngstown State, then face Alabama and Texas A&M before returning home to play South Alabama.
South Carolina gets him in Week 5, and there’s no telling what shape he’ll be in after that stretch.
Florida may be even messier. Aaron Philo was expected to start at Georgia Tech before entering the portal after offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner left Atlanta.
The logic was simple enough: a player who was close to a starting job would not transfer unless he had a strong chance to start somewhere else, and Faulkner is now in Gainesville. But new Florida coach Jon Sumrall has not committed to either Philo or Tramell Jones.
Philo had a solid spring and spring game, though he also threw two first-half interceptions. Jones looked better in that setting, but he also got a chance last season against Kentucky and completed 9 of 17 passes for 60 yards in a 38-7 loss.
Florida’s schedule is brutal early, with two of its first three SEC games on the road - Auburn and Missouri - and a home game against Ole Miss in between. If the quarterback play is shaky, or even if the quarterback plays well and the losses pile up, the pressure from Florida fans could be loud by the time USC sees the Gators in Week 6.
Tennessee’s quarterback picture features a different kind of choice. Faizon Brandon is a freshman phenom who was ranked as high as No. 2 in the country and lost only one game in high school.
George MacIntyre played in two games last year while redshirting and was a consensus top-15 quarterback recruit. One brings limited experience and system familiarity.
The other brings a flood of physical talent. By the time Tennessee comes to Williams-Brice Stadium in what used to be an annual late-October matchup, the job should be decided and the winner should have plenty of reps.
Probably. Most likely.
Maybe not.
Arkansas has its own first-year puzzle with KJ Jackson and AJ Hill. Jackson redshirted in 2024 and started one of five games last year, while Hill played in two games last season during his redshirt year.
Both have shown flashes, and both are learning a new system. Jackson can beat opponents with his arm and his legs, while Hill is more of a drop-back passer.
New coach Ryan Silverfield is known for a run-heavy approach, but he inherits a program that has gone 13-24 over the last three seasons and won only four of 24 SEC games. Whether he has the personnel to fully install his scheme is another question entirely.
Clemson at least has a clearer lean with Christopher Vizzina, who is widely expected to be the guy. Freshman Tait Reynolds could push him, but Vizzina has the advantage of being three years into the program for a coach who has long valued loyalty.
He has appeared in 14 games with one start, a home loss to SMU. The Tigers, though, are in a different place now.
Dabo Swinney needs a major offensive lift, and he turned to rehiring Chad Morris as offensive coordinator to try to get it. That move brings back familiarity, but it also comes with baggage, given Morris’ uneven path since leaving Clemson in 2014.
He was solid at SMU, struggled badly at Arkansas, was part of the staff that was removed during Auburn’s rough 2020 season, and has spent the last three years as an analyst and advisor. Swinney is betting on old magic returning.
Vizzina still has to prove he can become the kind of quarterback who makes it all work.
In Other News...
Gamecocks May Already Have Early Answers In Two Troubling Spots
Shane Beamer and offensive coordinator Kendal Briles spent part of their recent discussion pointing toward a simple reality for South Carolina entering the season: some of the new faces may not need much time to earn real roles. The list of newcomers with a chance to help right away is a long one, with defensive linemen Tomiwa Durojaiye, Kelby Collins, Noah Clark and Jordan Thomas, safety JZavien Currence, and offensive additions like D.J. Black, Nitro Tuggle, Sequel Patterson and Emmanuel Kojo Poku all in the mix.
For USC, that kind of early contribution matters most in the spots that have felt unsettled, especially up front and in the secondary. Beamer has said the portal help on the defensive line gives the Gamecocks immediate depth and a better look there, while the offensive staff is sorting through which newcomers can turn promise into snaps once camp and the season get rolling. [Read more 🡒]
Nike Just Revealed What This Change Could Mean For South Carolina
South Carolinas switch from Under Armour to Nike is more than a wardrobe change, even if the first wave of gear looks familiar to longtime Gamecock fans. The athletics department has officially closed the book on a 19-year partnership and opened a new one with Nike, bringing a fresh look that still leans heavily on the schools signature garnet, just with a shade that may take some getting used to.
The bigger question is what comes next, because the contract calls for a full redesign of the football jerseys by 2030, including multiple new looks beyond the standard home and away set. For now, the rollout is part brand reset, part bridge to the future, with leftover Under Armour inventory being cleared out and the new Nike era beginning in a way that suggests the real transformation is still ahead. [Read more 🡒]