South Carolina’s kicking situation has gotten a little clearer, and not in the way Ethan Sanchez was hoping.
Gamecocks head coach Shane Beamer said Tuesday that the fifth-year kicker’s push for another season of eligibility is still unresolved, but the outlook isn’t encouraging. Sanchez, who has yet to play for South Carolina after joining the roster a few days before the start of the 2026 season, is still waiting for his extra year to be officially approved.
“I don’t know where this thing is going to go. It doesn’t seem likely at this point,” Beamer said.
“I know his agent, lawyer, attorneys, whatever, they’re continuing to find an avenue for him to get eligible. I know from talking to my bosses and our compliance people, it doesn’t seem promising at this point.”
Sanchez’s college path is already full. He spent three seasons at Old Dominion before playing the 2025 season at Houston, which would have exhausted his eligibility under the NCAA’s old rules. But the NCAA changed its eligibility model this summer to allow players five seasons, and Sanchez is among the athletes trying to use lawsuits to secure one more year.
Even with the uncertainty, South Carolina isn’t treating Sanchez like a lost cause. Beamer said the kicker remains around the program, continues to work in practice and has made an impression inside the locker room.
“I told him, ‘If it doesn’t work out and you’re not eligible, don’t think we’re running you out of here,” Beamer said. “He’s a great teammate and I think he’s made those other specialists better. He’s an awesome young made and has brought a lot of maturity to our team and made us better since he got here.”
The good news for the Gamecocks is that they haven’t exactly needed Sanchez to survive early on. Sophomore Malik Orsan has handled the job since taking over in the third week of the season, and he’s been sharp: 14-for-14 on extra points and 7-for-8 on field goals, with two makes from beyond 50 yards.
For now, Sanchez is still part of the picture. The door isn’t shut.
“He’s a great member of our team,” Beamer said. “He’s out there continuing to kick. We’ll see where it leads.”
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If South Carolina were to reach that point, the list of names already circulating shows how quickly a search could take shape. Jake Dickert, Brent Vigen, Shannon Dawson, and Tim Polasek are among the coaches being mentioned, each bringing a different resume and a different path to the job through current roles and recent success. For now, it remains a conversation the program did not want to have, but one the results have made hard to avoid. [Read more 🡒]
Former Gamecock Dante Reno Responded To Heartbreak In Remarkable Fashion
Dante Renos Saturday at Yale carried a weight far beyond football, but the former South Carolina quarterback still managed to deliver one of the most impressive performances of his college career. Less than 24 hours after the death of his father, Tony Reno, the longtime Yale coach, the current Bulldogs starter threw for 298 yards and four touchdowns in a comeback win over Merrimack, then picked up Ivy League co-offensive player of the week honors.
Tony Reno had led Yale for 14 years before his death from Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, and the emotional backdrop made his sons response all the more remarkable. For Gamecock fans who remember Dante Renos time in Columbia, the story serves as a reminder of how quickly a players path can change, and how a difficult weekend can turn into a defining one on the field. [Read more 🡒]