Jabree Coleman didn’t arrive at South Carolina with much noise, and he’s making his case the same way.
He was easy to overlook when the season began. Matt Fuller was back.
Christian Clark had transferred in after that strong bowl game at Texas. Jawarn Howell and Isaiah Augustave were still in the mix.
Coleman, meanwhile, was the guy who redshirted last year and came over with Stan Drayton from Penn State. He looked like depth, not a headline.
Now he’s the Gamecocks’ No. 2 running back, and he’s getting there the same way he helped spark South Carolina’s season-opening win: quietly, without much fanfare, with people checking their programs to figure out who No. 21 was.
Shane Beamer and Kendal Briles both pointed out that Coleman was something of a forgotten man in the backfield conversation, at least from the outside. Then he started running, and the grin came with it.
Fuller still gets the bulk of the work because he’s earned it, but Coleman has already piled up 147 yards and three touchdowns while averaging 8.6 yards per carry. He’s added three catches for 20 yards, too.
It’s only been four games, so nobody is rushing into comparisons. But there’s still something familiar about seeing No. 21 carry the ball and catch passes, the kind of role that has belonged to some memorable Gamecocks backs before. South Carolina’s passing game has been rough, but the ground attack is rolling and sits 10th in the country this week.
That could matter even more if weather becomes a factor. This would be the fourth home game in four tries affected by rain, with a high chance of rain in the forecast, and that kind of setup usually nudges a team toward the run game anyway.
“He’s changed his body over the course of the time I’ve been here. And he’s got a lot of natural running ability.
He sees things well. He’s got great contact balance,” Briles said.
“He accelerates, catches the ball well. He’s smart.
And he’s young, so he’s got a big future.”
Left guard Nolan Hay sees it the same way. Coleman doesn’t announce himself until he’s already through the line and turning a small crease into 15 yards.
“I would just say his mentality,” Hay said. “He doesn’t say much, and his play backs him up.”
Coleman isn’t the type to jaw with his linemen after every carry, but he and the other backs do make a point of thanking the offensive line and asking if there’s anything they can do to make the blockers’ lives easier. That kind of approach makes it easier for a lineman to stay locked in for just a little longer.
His workload should keep climbing. If it doesn’t, it won’t be because of his production or his attitude.
It would have to be for a quieter reason, which fits him just fine. His running does the talking.
In Other News...
South Carolina Faces Real Pressure As Kentucky Brings A Bigger Concern
South Carolina gets Kentucky at Williams-Brice Stadium on Saturday afternoon with a little more urgency than the records alone might suggest. The Gamecocks are 2-2 and still looking for their first SEC win, while Kentucky arrives at 3-1 and already has a conference victory, setting up a matchup that feels bigger than a standard early-October league game. The 4:15 p.m. kickoff on SEC Network comes with the usual game-week backdrop of injury updates, betting lines and weather watching, but the broader pressure is simple enough: South Carolina needs to steady itself in the league race.
Kentucky brings a different kind of concern into Columbia, because this is the sort of opponent that can make a team pay if it is still sorting through its own issues. The odds list South Carolina as a slight favorite, which tells you oddsmakers still see a path for the Gamecocks at home, but the margin is thin enough to leave plenty of room for anxiety. With conference play already off to a shaky start, the interest is not just in whether South Carolina can win, but in whether this is the game where it begins to look more like the team it expected to be. [Read more 🡒]
Florida State Has A Growing QB Concern At The Worst Time
The quarterback picture across the conference has become harder to ignore, and it only gets sharper for South Carolina when LaNorris Sellers is part of the conversation. The Gamecocks have leaned on his talent and development all season, and as other teams sort through their own quarterback issues, Sellers remains one of the more important young passers to track heading into the stretch run.
Jayden Maiava, Marcel Reed and Ashton Daniels are all dealing with their own pressure points as their teams look for steadier play, but South Carolinas interest in the group goes beyond casual scoreboard watching. The Gamecocks are trying to keep their own momentum going while the leagues quarterback ranks shift around them, and the next round of games will tell a lot about which of these passers can clean things up before the stakes get even higher. [Read more 🡒]
LaNorris Sellers Ranking Adds Pressure To South Carolinas QB Situation
ESPNs updated ranking of 68 Power 4 quarterbacks put LaNorris Sellers at No. 49, a reminder that the South Carolina passer is still trying to separate himself in a crowded, scrutinized spot. Sellers has flashed enough to keep the job conversation alive, but his recent run has been uneven, with a 59.1 QBR and plenty of pressure that comes with playing quarterback in Columbia.
Shane Beamer said the competition at the position is still ongoing in practice, which keeps the door open for a deeper look at how the Gamecocks want to handle the role moving forward. The context around the position only gets louder with Clemson freshman starter Tait Reynolds also in the same ranking, landing at No. 66 after starting the past two games and posting a 29.8 QBR, but South Carolinas bigger question remains whether Sellers can steady things before the debate around him gets even more uncomfortable. [Read more 🡒]