Kendal Briles has barely settled in at South Carolina, and already he’s drawing some of the loudest praise of SEC Media Days.
Former Alabama quarterback and ESPN analyst Greg McElroy didn’t hold back Tuesday in Tampa, calling Shane Beamer’s move to hire Briles one of the offseason’s best decisions.
“I think Shane Beamer made one of the best hires of the offseason,” McElroy said while speaking on an SEC Network broadcast. “There’s a few coordinator hires in this league this year that I am really excited about, but I’m not sure any is bigger than the hire of Kendal Briles.”
For a South Carolina program that struggled badly on offense last season, that kind of buzz matters. The Gamecocks went 4-8, and they finished at or near the bottom of the SEC in several offensive categories after Beamer moved on from Mike Shula in November.
Briles arrived in December after two years at TCU, where the Horned Frogs put up 425.3 yards and 30.8 points per game last season. South Carolina, by comparison, averaged 336.3 yards and 22.7 points.
McElroy believes the fit could be especially good for quarterback LaNorris Sellers, who enters a key season with a system designed to make life simpler.
“I think this year is about transitioning from being a great football player to a great quarterback, and Kendal Briles’ system will allow him to do so,” McElroy said of Sellers. “He can throw it, he can run it, but he also needs to be a distributor. And if he can do those things on time and help the offensive line out, help the receivers out, this offense has a chance to go from being one of the worst in the league to one of the best in the league very quickly.”
That kind of immediate jump is exactly what Briles’ track record suggests is possible. His offenses have tended to click fast, including his first season at TCU in 2023, when the Horned Frogs averaged 466.7 yards per game. That was the best number of his time in Fort Worth.
Beamer said Tuesday that Briles’ efficiency and clear system are a big part of why he brought him in.
“I think it just goes back to his system and what he wants to get done,” Beamer told local media on Tuesday. “He knows what he’s looking for.
He knows how to call it, and he’s just efficient. ... He gets really good at what he wants to do, and we just rep it over and over and over again, and then those guys get out there and are able to play freely and go make plays.
“He’s got a proven track record as a coordinator, and it’s a big reason why I hired him and (I’m) eager to see that continue.”
That freedom is part of what has caught the attention of veteran receiver Nyck Harbor, too. Harbor said South Carolina’s wideouts have more room to react to what they see on the field than they did before, and he thinks that can pay off in 2026.
“It’s freedom, and everybody loves freedom,” Harbor said of Briles’ offense. “Everybody loves the ability to run a route and have the opportunity to do what they want to do in the route.
He gives you the option of whatever you see, you can run. We always didn’t have that.
We had a pen and paper, and you ran what was on the paper. So now you get the opportunity to do what you can.
“It’s a little bit more freedom, so it just lets us play like pros at this point.”
South Carolina is counting on that freedom, and on Briles, to help turn the offense around.
In Other News...
South Carolina Just Landed The Kind Of In-State Bat Fans Want
South Carolina added an in-state piece to its 2026 recruiting class with the commitment of Slaide Burd, a utility player whose path has already taken a few turns. Burd had previously signed with Charleston Southern and later committed to Stetson, but he is now headed to Columbia, where the Gamecocks are getting a versatile player who can help in a hurry and has spent the summer getting game reps in the MLB Draft League.
For South Carolina, the appeal goes beyond just another name in the class. Burd is the kind of flexible defender coaches can move around the diamond, and that sort of roster fit matters for a program trying to build depth while keeping talented local players home. He joins the Gamecocks 2026 group as a player expected to contribute quickly, even if the full shape of his role is still left to be determined. [Read more 🡒]
Nyck Harbor Gave Gamecocks Fans A Stephen Garcia Moment To Cherish
South Carolina fans got a reminder this week that the Gamecock family still shows up in moments that matter. At SEC Media Days, Nyck Harbor shared a touching exchange with former quarterback Stephen Garcia, who is battling Stage 4 colorectal cancer and has been open about the toll of chemotherapy and radiation treatments. Garcia, long a familiar and complicated figure in Columbia, has also been encouraged by the support pouring in from the community and beyond, including donations to a GoFundMe page started by his wife.
Garcia said the response has reached former teammates, fans and even people outside the program, a sign of how wide the circle has grown around him. He also noted that his next stretch of treatment is still ahead, with surgery part of the road to come, but the outpouring around him has already become its own kind of lift for a former Gamecock who once gave this fan base plenty to remember. [Read more 🡒]