Caleb Herring knows exactly what kind of noise he’s walking into at Williams-Brice Stadium.
Before he ever suited up for South Carolina, the senior defensive end got an early preview from his brother, Elijah, who was a freshman linebacker at Tennessee in 2022 when the Vols were in Columbia. That night turned into one of South Carolina’s loudest showcases, with Spencer Ratter throwing six touchdown passes in a 63-38 win over No.
5 Tennessee. The crowd was so overwhelming that fans rushed the field afterward.
“My brother told me the environment was crazy,” Caleb Herring said on Aug. 6.
“They were trying to talk to each other on the sidelines and communicate with each other. They couldn’t hear each other.
I heard it gets really, really crazy.”
Now Herring is set to experience it for himself. South Carolina opens the season Sept. 5 against Kent State, giving the former Tennessee standout his first chance to play at Williams-Brice as a Gamecock.
Herring arrived in Columbia after three seasons with the Vols, where he was the No. 1 recruit in Tennessee in 2022. His best year came in 2025, when he finished with 14 tackles, six tackles for loss and four sacks. After that season, he decided his final stretch of college football should happen somewhere else.
The 6-foot-5, 245-pound defender said the move wasn’t easy.
“It was the hardest decision I had to make,” Herring said. “I felt like it was time for me to leave Tennessee, and give my best somewhere else. After the first five or six games that were good, there was a little dip in consistency.”
South Carolina wasn’t his first choice when he entered the transfer portal on Jan. 2.
Texas, Ole Miss and Miami were all in the mix, and the Gamecocks were one of the last programs he seriously considered. A call from Shane Beamer changed the direction of his recruitment.
Herring had been on USC’s radar before, too. He was recruited by the Gamecocks under former coach Will Muschamp, and South Carolina was among the first schools to offer him when he was heading into his sophomore year of high school.
“Coach Beamer said they needed to get me on campus,” Herring said. “ I came up on a visit and Coach (Deion) Barnes was straight up with me.
I am approaching this year like this is my last. I need to get the best out of me.”
On the field, Herring is in the mix for the starting spot at defensive end opposite Dylan Stewart, who has been limited by injury during preseason practice. Barnes said that competition will be settled in training camp, and he likes what he has seen so far from the transfer.
“He is powerful, he is long,” Barnes said. “He has a high football IQ.
He can bend. He is tough and got what you are looking for to hold the edge.
He has things you can’t teach.”
In Other News...
South Carolina Just Gave Fans Two Big Beamer Stadium Questions
The business side of South Carolina football got a notable update this week as the Board of Trustees approved an amendment to Shane Beamers employment agreement. The move changes the source of some of his supplemental compensation to an LLC he created, a change that lets the athletic department avoid certain fringe benefit costs while keeping the contractual arrangement in place.
At the same time, there is plenty happening around the broader facilities picture that Gamecock fans have been tracking. Williams-Brice Stadiums renovation work remains on schedule and on budget in Phase 1, with Phase 2 targeted for completion by 2027 and plans to expand how the student space is used, while other projects are also moving along, including fundraising for a new golf clubhouse and land acquisition near Founders Park to add parking. [Read more 🡒]
South Carolina Safety Battle Has A Camp Name Fans Need To Watch
With the season opener against Kent State getting closer, David Bucey has quietly become one of the more interesting names in South Carolinas safety mix. He has seen his role grow at the position this preseason, and both teammates and Shane Beamer have singled him out for the kind of physical play and work ethic that tend to get noticed inside a camp even before the public starts paying attention.
The real test comes in the Gamecocks final preseason scrimmage, where the safety battle gets one more chance to sort itself out before the opener. Buceys climb has made him a legitimate contender, and the next step will be whether he can turn that praise into the kind of consistency that makes the staff trust him when the games start to count. [Read more 🡒]
South Carolina Suddenly Has A High-Stakes Battle In The Secondary
Gerald Kilgores move from safety to nickelback has quickly become one of the more interesting subplots in South Carolinas secondary, especially now that his brother Jalon has moved on to the NFL Draft. The shift gives the Gamecocks another look at how they can line up on the back end, and it puts Kilgore in a new spot where the demands are a little different and a little more immediate.
The competition with Kentucky transfer Quay'sheed Scott adds another layer to it, because both players are expected to matter when the season starts. Kilgore has been working on his man coverage and getting ready for the kind of slot receivers the SEC can throw at a defense, which makes this more than just a position change. It is a real battle for playing time in a role South Carolina will need to get right. [Read more 🡒]