South Carolina Football: Which Gamecocks made the preseason All-SEC team?

South Carolina football was picked to finish third in the SEC East by the media present for SEC Media Days this week. Georgia and Tennessee were picked ahead of the Gamecocks in first and second rankings, respectively. Carolina received a small handful of votes to win the East and one vote to win the entire SEC.

Third seems to be the most reasonable preseason expectation for Shane Beamer’s third year in Columbia, and the development of players is a big reason why.

The Gamecocks had six players selected to the three All-SEC teams.

On the first-team, South Carolina football claimed two specialist spots as preseason All-American punter Kai Kroeger was voted in as the first-team punter, and Mitch Jeter was selected as the third-team kickoff specialist.

The Gamecocks put one player on the second-team. Antwane “Juice” Wells was selected as one of two second-team wide receivers.

The third-team included three South Carolina football players as Tonka Hemingway, Trey Knox, and Dakereon Joyner were voted to the third-team at defensive tackle, tight end, and all-purpose player, respectively.

Kroeger, Jeter, and Hemingway are all seniors in their fourth year in the program, Wells is a senior in his second year with the Gamecocks, Joyner is a sixth-year senior, and Knox is the lone newcomer but is also a senior in his fifth season of college football.

These six Gamecocks are all expected to be major contributors for South Carolina football in 2023, but several other players were not selected who have realistic chances to make the postseason version of the All-SEC squad.

Quarterback Spencer Rattler, kicker Mitch Jeter (as a placekicker, not just kickoff specialist), kick returner Xavier Legette, linebacker Mo Kaba, cornerback Marcellas Dial, and safeties Nick Emmanwori and DQ Smith all could be in line for big years despite being overlooked by the media during SEC Media Days.

The media voting should be taken with a grain of salt as some media members do not take the responsibility of voting seriously. This is best illustrated by the fact that Vanderbilt inexplicably received 8 votes to win the SEC East and 5 votes to win the SEC outright.