South Carolina Football’s No. 7 Greatest Kick/Punt Returner of All-Time:
DB Rashad Fenton
Before he earned (and later lost) the moniker of “Fenton Island,” Rashad Fenton (2015-2018) was a part-time defensive back but an impact return man. In his first two seasons in Columbia, Fenton returned a kickoff for a touchdown against LSU and a punt for a touchdown against Kentucky (linked above), but the punt return was called back for an inconsequential block in the back.
For some reason, Fenton was only given 28 total return attempts combined between punt returns and kick returns despite playing for some teams that struggled to score. His 25.0 yards per return average is one of the best numbers in school history, and he took one of his three punt return attempts all the way for a score (before being negated by the block in the back penalty). Deebo Samuel burst onto the scene as a kick returner during Fenton’s sophomore season, but that does not explain his lack of touches on punts. Maybe someone could ask Will Muschamp about that.