South Carolina football: predicting season awards, top performers
By Jacob Elsey
The South Carolina football season is quickly approaching and the Gamecocks are looking to start fresh with Shane Beamer at the helm. The coaching staff has already keyed in on a few players that could end up being major contributors. Some of those names are unknown, while others have been top performers in the past.
Last season was one to forget, though the Gamecocks did see a breakout year from sophomore running back Kevin Harris. He’ll undoubtedly be leaned upon heavily in this year’s offense, but he should have a bit more help in the form of ZaQuandre White and MarShawn Lloyd.
While the running back room is loaded, there are question marks at wide receiver and quarterback. Will one of these players step out of the shadows and surprise in 2021?
What about the defense, where the Gamecocks will see a ton of new faces? South Carolina landed double digit transfers from either the Division I, Division II, or JUCO ranks. Will one of these newcomers step into a starting role early on?
Here, we attempt to predict South Carolina football’s top performers, and we’ll start with our guess on who will be the team’s best overall player in 2021.
Predicting South Carolina football’s season awards
Team MVP – EDGE Kingsley Enagbare
Enagbare led the team in sacks a season ago, reaching the quarterback six times in eight games of action. His .75 sack per game total ranked among the SEC’s top three performers in the category, and he’s looking to finish out his career at South Carolina on a high note this year.
Enagbare had a chance to jump to the NFL following his junior campaign, but he opted to return to Columbia despite the Gamecocks making a coaching change. That decision could wind up paying major dividends as he’s been rated by many draft experts as a potential first-round pick next April.
New defensive coordinator Clayton White is expected to install a scheme with an attacking front four, placing an emphasis on getting to opposing signal callers. We could wind up seeing a huge year from his pass rushers, and Enagbare should lead the way.
Runner-ups: Kevin Harris, Luke Doty