South Carolina Football: In case you missed it, here are all the Gamecocks nominated for preseason award watch lists
By Kevin Miller
South Carolina football is on the rise under head coach Shane Beamer, and the upward trajectory of the program has been built largely on two factors: a culture shift and a quick improvement of the roster.
The Gamecock roster was in disarray after Will Muschamp’s dismissal, both due to some poor recruiting choices by the old coaching staff and also because of defections via the transfer portal. The Muschamp era had some good players, certainly, but the Gamecocks were often missing the right players.
Now, Beamer and company have started to put together a team that is much more complete from top to bottom, and the guys joining the program appear much more bought into making South Carolina football great.
This is seen by the Gamecocks’ representation on preseason award watch lists. In case you have missed the announcements over the past couple of weeks, there are more than a few garnet and black-clad young men who will have lots of eyes on them in the 2023 season.
The full list of Gamecock preseason award watch list members is below:
Maxwell Award (nation’s top player, typically on offense): Quarterback Spencer Rattler and Wide Receiver Antwane “Juice” Wells
Manning Award (nation’s top quarterback): Spencer Rattler
Biletnikoff Award (nation’s top wide receiver): Antwane “Juice” Wells
John Mackey Award (nation’s top tight end): Trey Knox
Outland Trophy (nation’s top interior lineman; DT/OT/OG/C): Defensive Tackle Tonka Hemingway
Bronko Nagurski Trophy (nation’s top defensive player): Safety Nick Emmanwori
Ray Guy Award (nation’s top punter): Kai Kroeger
Lou Groza Award (nation’s top placekicker): Mitch Jeter
Patrick Mannelly Award (nation’s top long snapper): Hunter Rogers
Danny Wuerffel Trophy (nation’s top player who exemplifies athletic, academic, and community service aptitude): Running Back/Wide Receiver/Quarterback Dakereon Joyner
While not officially a preseason watch list, the Heisman Trophy betting odds have often included Gamecock quarterback Spencer Rattler. Rattler has been typically listed with somewhere between the 10th and 50th-best odds at bringing home the most prestigious award of them all.
Strangely, Spencer Rattler made the Maxwell Award watch list (nation’s top player, typically on offense) but not the Davey O’Brien Award (nation’s top quarterback). Nick Emmanwori also made the Bronko Nagurski Award watch list (nation’s top defensive player) but not the Jim Thorpe Award (nation’s top defensive back).