South Carolina Gamecocks News: Georgia loss, recruiting update, injury news, basketball uniforms, and more

Here is the latest South Carolina Gamecocks News from the last week, starting with South Carolina football’s competitive effort in Athens, Georgia on Saturday.

The Gamecocks fell to the two-time defending national champion Georgia Bulldogs by a score of 24-14. After leading 14-3 at the half, the Gamecocks were worn down on the line of scrimmage by the more physical Bulldogs who scored 21 straight points in the 2nd half.

Spencer Rattler was great once again until some desperation shots down the field at the end of the game wound up in the paws of Bulldog defenders.

Defensive lineman TJ Sanders had a really nice game (9 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 1 PBU), and the Gamecock safety group of Nick Emmanwori, DQ Smith, and Jalon Kilgore totaled 25 tackles. Debo Williams also had a good game at linebacker, tallying 11 stops.

True freshman offensive tackle Tree Babalade had an elite game in pass protection, allowing just one quarterback pressure against the most talented defense in the country.

Though the season is usually a quieter time on the recruiting front due to the prospects playing in their own high school seasons, the Gamecocks still made a few recruiting headlines last week.

Class of 2024 4-star athlete Darrell “Duke” Johnson released his top-11 schools, and South Carolina made the cut. The Georgia athlete is a top-50 prospect in the class.

Top-5 national prospect in the class of 2025, defensive tackle Elijah Griffin, had positive things to say about his visit to Columbia for last weekend’s Furman game. Griffin is a current high school teammate of Gamecock commitment David Bucey. As it stands today, South Carolina and Georgia appear to be the heavy favorites to land the 5-star.

’25 offensive lineman Juan Gaston, Jr. released a top-8 that included the Gamecocks. The consensus 4-star prospect likely will play tackle at the college level.

Some Gamecocks have been selected as award winners for their recent performances.

Last week, Spencer Rattler was honored for his performance against Furman as the SEC Offensive Player of the Week. #7 threw for 345 yards on 25/27 passing attempts and added 4 total touchdowns.

On Sunday, Tree Babalade was named 247Sports’ True Freshman of the Week after being a stone wall in the passing game against Georgia. He allowed just one pressure and zero sacks during the contest.

Though not selected for an award this week, Gamecock wide receiver Xavier Legette still sits in the top-5 (#4) in receiving yards among all players in Power-5 college football. Spencer Rattler is 7th in passing yards. Legette is 2nd in the SEC in his statistical category, while Rattler is 3rd in his.

Injuries continue to be a major storyline in Columbia.

After returning and scoring a touchdown against Georgia, star receiver Juice Wells left the game with what Shane Beamer said the medical staff believed was a “broken bone” in his foot. It was the same foot he had surgery on this offseason.

Offensive lineman Markee Anderson will miss the rest of the season after an upcoming knee surgery. He is expected to be ready for spring practice.

Fellow offensive linemen Cason Henry, Jaylen Nichols, and Ryan Brubaker will remain out.

Wide receiver Ahmarean Brown and defensive ends JT Geer and Tyreek Johnson are hopeful to play this Saturday against Mississippi State after missing the Georgia game.

Some NFL Gamecocks performed well this weekend.

Deebo Samuel had 101 yards on offense and a touchdown in the 49ers’ win over the Rams.

In the same game, Ernest Jones led the Rams with 10 tackles.

EDGE Jadeveon Clowney picked up his first sack as a member of the Baltimore Ravens.

Lamont Paris’ basketball team received some positive updates in their pursuits of big-time talent.

5-star Sadiq White (a positionless player who can play almost anywhere on the court) announced that he would be taking a visit to Columbia this fall. 4-star point guard target Bishop Boswell is a current high school teammate of White at Myers Park High School in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Tre Raymon, a class of 2026 player from South Pointe High School in Rock Hill, South Carolina, had an official visit that he classified as “great.” The versatile forward also said that he “can’t wait” to return to campus. Raymon is currently unranked as most of the class of 2026 has not yet been evaluated.

The Gamecock women unveiled some new uniforms.

The fan reaction was mixed, but most seemed to like the uniforms more than the pinstripes that have been worn at times during the last two seasons. You can see them here.

In the WNBA, a Gamecock legend made playoff history.

Aja Wilson, a top-2 candidate for MVP, led her Las Vegas Aces squad to a first round sweep of the Chicago Sky. In the closeout game of the series, Wilson became just the 3rd player to ever put up 35 points and 15 rebounds in the playoffs. She also set a franchise record for most points scored in a postseason game with her 38-point outburst.

Speaking of Aja Wilson…

She won the Associated Press’ WNBA Defensive Player of the Year Award. Fellow Gamecock Aliyah Boston won the AP’s WNBA Rookie of the Year Award. Both players are considered the favorite to win the same award from the league, itself, and Wilson is one of two major candidates to win the league’s MVP.

Wilson was one of three former Gamecocks who finished the 2023 regular season as a league leader in a major statistical category. Wilson led the league in blocks, Aliyah Boston had the best field goal percentage in the sport, and Ty Harris was the most efficient player in the league from 3-point land. Wilson and Boston both finished in the top-10 in several other categories, as well.

The South Carolina baseball team learned its SEC schedule for next season.

The schedule can be found here.