South Carolina football: Gamecocks receive vote to win SEC

One voter chose South Carolina football as its SEC champion.

An exciting week of SEC Media Days has come to an end, meaning voters have now cast their predictions for the upcoming football season. Media members had an opportunity to listen to each of the league’s 14 head coaches speak about their respective teams over the last four days, and now can use those insights to project which program will win the league, and which players will make the largest impacts.

Shane Beamer must have caught the attention of one media member, as the Gamecocks have received a single vote to not only win the SEC East, but to take home the hardware in the SEC Championship Game, too.

While the single vote doesn’t do much for the overall standings (the Gamecocks still finished sixth in the seven-team Eastern Division ranks), it at least notes that Beamer has someone excited for the upcoming season in Columbia. When all was said and done, though, South Carolina remains an afterthought in the SEC race for the upcoming year.

Voters chose a Georgia v. Alabama SEC title matchup, with Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide taking home yet another SEC championship. The Bulldogs received 124 of the possible 134 votes to win the East, while Alabama took 130 votes to win the West and another 84 to repeat as conference champs.

Media members also voted on all-conference teams.

Three South Carolina football members earned the nod as all-conference performers. Defensive end Kingsley Enagbare was named to the first-team defense, running back Kevin Harris earned second-team honors, and tight end Nick Muse got a third-team vote.

Enagbare was one of the league’s fiercest pass rushers last season, totaling six sacks in eight games. His average of .75 sacks per game ranked second in the SEC and has him climbing into the first round of 2022 NFL Draft Boards.

Harris led the conference in rushing a season ago, but it still wasn’t enough to boost the back into first-team consideration. Instead, the media chose to go with Auburn’s Tank Bigsby and Texas A&M’s Isaiah Spiller. The offseason disrespect continues for the South Carolina tailback, who was outrushed by only one other player returning to the NCAA ranks this year. He’ll look to build on his 1,138-yard, 15-touchdown performance from a season ago.

Finally, Muse comes back to Columbia as the team’s leading returning receiver. The tight end hauled in 30 receptions last year totaling 425 yards and a score. The senior is looking to make the best of his final college season before trying his luck in the NFL.

South Carolina football kicks off the 2021 season on September 4th against Eastern Illinois. Stay tuned to Garnet and Cocky for all of your Gamecock news.