South Carolina is heading into 2026 with a new set of leaders in place as the Gamecocks try to put a rough 2025 behind them. The team will open the season at home against visiting Kent State, and before that kickoff arrives, the captains are set.
The six players chosen to lead the group are senior defensive back Gerald Kilgore, junior quarterback LaNorris Sellers, junior linebacker Fred Johnson, senior linebacker Shawn Murphy, senior defensive back Peyton Williams, and senior tight end Brady Hunt.
Kilgore has put together 56 total tackles, two interceptions and a touchdown in his career. Sellers brings the biggest offensive profile of the bunch, with 5,057 passing yards and 33 passing touchdowns to go with 995 rushing yards and 13 rushing scores. Johnson, listed at 6-foot-3, has logged 67 total tackles, plus a sack and an interception.
Murphy’s path to Columbia has been a winding one, with two years at Alabama, a season at Florida State and then a transfer to South Carolina last season. Williams has totaled 72 tackles, two interceptions, a sack and a forced fumble. Hunt has 69 catches for 688 yards and five touchdowns after starting his college career at Ball State in 2022 and then joining South Carolina in 2024.
The Gamecocks are looking to rebound after finishing 4-8 last season, a drop from their 9-4 record in 2024. South Carolina’s opener against Kent State is scheduled for Sept. 5 at 12:45 p.m. ET on SEC Network.
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Gamecock Fans Need This Williams-Brice Heads Up Before Saturday
South Carolina has packed a lot of game-day housekeeping into the lead-up to Saturdays season opener against Kent State, and fans heading to Williams-Brice Stadium would be wise to sort through the details before leaving home. The school has rolled out advisories covering digital ticketing, parking and traffic flow, and how people will move around the stadium while construction continues to reshape parts of the venue.
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Sanchez is also eligible to return for a fifth year because of a recent court ruling, which helps explain why his market stayed active and why South Carolina moved to get involved. He now enters a competition for the starting kicker job with other players already on the roster, giving the Gamecocks a new layer of intrigue in a spot where reliability can matter as much as upside. [Read more 🡒]
South Carolinas New Offense Puts LaNorris Sellers Under An Early Spotlight
South Carolina is about to give fans their first real look at a new offense under Kendal Briles, and the season opener against Kent State figures to reveal a lot before the competition level rises. After an offseason of anticipation, the biggest questions are the practical ones: how fast the unit wants to play, which offensive line combinations settle in, how the running back rotation takes shape and how comfortably the quarterback position settles into the new system.
LaNorris Sellers sits at the center of it all, because his confidence and decision-making will help determine how smoothly the entire operation runs. Coaches have spent the preseason laying the groundwork, but the opener is where the ideas finally have to become production, even if the first answers arrive in fragments. For a team trying to establish an identity early, the first glimpse of Briles offense should tell us plenty about what kind of season is coming. [Read more 🡒]