South Carolina football signed the 16th-best recruiting class in America in 2023. Since then, several USC true freshmen have had a significant amount of hype placed on them by the residents of Gamecock Nation and even, at times, national college football media outlets.
4-star quarterback LaNorris Sellers has Gamecock fans dreaming of the South Carolina football version of Tim Tebow after Spencer Rattler’s graduation.
Now, another true freshman has been named to a preseason Freshman All-American squad. Grayson “Pup” Howard, a potential starter at linebacker for the Gamecocks, was one of three linebackers selected to 247Sports’ preseason All-American team. He is joined on the team by fellow freshman ‘backers Texas’ Anthony Hill and Southern Cal’s Tackett Curtis.
Howard has a leg up on most freshmen because he enrolled early at South Carolina. No, he didn’t enroll in January like a lot of modern college football freshmen. Pup Howard graduated from high school even earlier than that, elected to skip the All-American Bowl, and went through bowl practices with the Gamecocks, giving him a 15-practice head start on other early enrollees.
Mo Kaba, a preseason All-SEC choice by Athlon Sports, is coming off of an ACL tear but is expected to start if he is 100%. After that, Howard is firmly in the mix to start. Howard will battle with Debo Williams and Stone Blanton for the second linebacker spot.
The Gamecocks primarily play two linebackers on the field at a time, a Mike and a Will. There is a lot of overlap between the two positions, but the two spots play distinct roles. As a big, physical tackling machine, Howard appears best-suited to play the Mike spot, but defensive coordinator Clayton White will do whatever it takes to get his two best guys on the field for the most snaps.
If Pup Howard can live up to these expectations and be a Freshman All-American, South Carolina football fans will have witnessed a Gamecock defender accomplish the feat for two seasons in a row.
In fact, in 2022, two Gamecocks made at least one Freshman All-American squad. Safeties Nick Emmanwori and DQ Smith received the honor despite both youngsters joining the team during the summer, later than most early contributors.
Howard, Emmanwori, and Smith will be some of the top talents on a defense looking to bounce back from an inconsistent 2022 season.
Howard has been dealing with an injury during fall camp, but how long it might be affecting him is unknown.