South Carolina Football: Ranking the most otherworldly Gamecock athletes

South Carolina football has never seen a player with as much defensive versatility as Melvin Ingram. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
South Carolina football has never seen a player with as much defensive versatility as Melvin Ingram. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 13
Next
South Carolina Football
South Carolina football’s only Heisman Trophy winner, running back George Rogers, dominated the 1980 season. Mandatory Credit: Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Sports /

South Carolina Football’s No. 10 Most Otherworldly Player of All-Time:
Running Back George Rogers

The greatest player to ever play football for the University of South Carolina, George Rogers won the 1980 Heisman Trophy, and for those who watched him play, convincing them that Big George was an alien probably wouldn’t have taken much effort.

Rogers was bigger than most running backs (he was 230 pounds during his Heisman campaign), but he was also faster than most running backs. George seemed to have turbo boosters attached to his cleats at times as he would hit another gear running around the edge of the Gamecock offense line, often behind the block of tight end Willie Scott.

For players that mistakenly got in the way of Rogers while he had the ball in his hands, a freight train of garnet and black generally ran right through them as Rogers’ combination of size, strength, and speed is almost unmatched among running backs.

Perhaps the most well-known trait about Rogers, though, is his smile. The Gamecock legend fought through some serious demons during his NFL career and the decade that followed, but Rogers has managed to become one of the most impactful former Gamecocks off the field and has smiled through it all.