South Carolina Football: Under the radar players to watch as fall camp begins
By Kevin Miller
South Carolina Football’s most under the radar players to watch in fall camp:
Defensive Lineman TJ Sanders
Everyone knows Tonka Hemingway. The 4th-year, versatile defensive lineman has been all over All-SEC Team projections this offseason for good reason. Almost everyone knows Boogie Huntley. The Columbia native and former 4-star prospect has been very good when healthy for the Gamecocks.
But defensive lineman TJ Sanders could be the most important player up front for the Gamecocks in 2023. Sanders won the best defensive lineman award this spring for his improvement and solid play at defensive tackle while Hemingway rehabbed from an offseason surgery.
Like Hemingway and junior college addition Elijah Davis, Sanders is athletic enough to play defensive end in a pinch, as well. That versatility could come in real handy this season with the Gamecocks’ dearth of depth at the defensive end spot. Starters Jordan Strachan and Jatius Geer are solid, but everyone else on the depth chart is unproven at this point.
Despite weighing 300 pounds, the former basketball player Sanders is one of the most athletic big men on the team. His quick-twitch ability will come in handy in pass rush situations, but his strength will be needed against opposing teams’ rushing attacks, especially if he is playing next to more pass rush-oriented players like Hemingway, Strachan, Geer, or Desmond Umeozulu.
Sanders’ continued progression this fall could be the key to the Gamecock front on defense. Whether he is starting (which appears to be the expectation around the program), operating as the third tackle, or playing a slash role up front, TJ Sanders will play a lot of snaps for a Carolina defensive line unit that really struggled to stop the run a year ago.