First official South Carolina football depth chart is here; how the Gamecocks will line up this Saturday

With all of the new faces on the South Carolina football roster, Gamecock fans have been speculating all offseason about which players would crack the starting lineup when the season begins.

Some positions are givens as players like Nick Emmanwori, Kai Kroeger, and Debo Williams are entrenched in their starting spots. Others, like new starting quarterback LaNorris Sellers and center Vershon Lee, already have been named the starter by the coaching staff.

The rest of the starting lineup (and the two-deep) has been somewhat of a mystery until Gamecocks SID Steve Fink released the depth chart on Monday afternoon.

You can check out the entire lineup (starting lineup, backups, and even 3rd-string at some positions) below:

OFFENSE

QB: LaNorris Sellers, Robby Ashford
RB: Rocket Sanders, Juju McDowell OR Oscar Adaway
WR: Jared Brown, Nyck Harbor OR Dalevon Campbell
WR: Gage Larvadain OR Mazeo Bennett OR Payton Mangrum OR Luke Doty
WR: Vandrevius Jacobs, Tyshawn Russell
TE: Josh Simon, Michael Smith
TE: Brady Hunt, Maurice Brown
LT: Josiah Thompson OR Tree Babalade
LG: Kamaar Bell, Markee Anderson
C: Vershon Lee, Ryan Brubaker
RG: Torricelli Simpkins OR Trovon Baugh
RT: Cason Henry, Jatavius Shivers

DEFENSE

DT: Tonka Hemingway OR TJ Sanders, Monkell Goodwine
DT: Boogie Huntley, Nick Barrett OR DeAndre Jules
EDGE: Kyle Kennard OR Gilber Edmond, Desmond Umeozulu
EDGE: JT Geer OR Bryan Thomas, Jr., Dylan Stewart
MLB: Bam Martin-Scott OR Demetrius Knight, Fred "JayR" Johnson
WLB: Debo Williams, Bangally Kamara, Mo Kaba
CB: O'Donnell Fortune, Emory Floyd OR David Spaulding
CB: Judge Collier OR Vicari Swain
FS: Nick Emmanwori, David Bucey OR Gerald Kilgore
SS: DQ Smith, Peyton Williams
N: Jalon Kilgore, Kelvin Hunter OR Jalewis Solomon

SPECIAL TEAMS

K: Alex Herrera, Mason Love, William Joyce
P: Kai Kroeger, Mason Love
KOS: Alex Herrera, Mason Love
LS: Hunter Rogers, Cole Rasmussen
H: Kai Kroeger, Mason Love
KR: Juju McDowell, Nyck Harbor
PR: Juju McDowell, Gage Larvadain

Any spot on the depth chart that includes an "OR" is indicative of a positional battle, either in the starting lineup or for the first backup role.

On offense, there are 12 starters listed because of the team's willingness to play with multiple tight ends on the field. In those situations, a wide receiver or running back would come off the field.

Of defense, there are not separate designations for 4-2-5 or 3-3-5 defensive sets. Players like Tonka Hemingway and TJ Sanders could play tackle or end in the 3-3-5 but are, primarily, tackles in the 4-2-5.

At this point on special teams, it is unclear if the kickoff return duties will fall to Juju McDowell and Nyck Harbor (some teams line up two returners deep), or if McDowell is the guy, and Harbor is his understudy.

The 2024 version of the South Carolina Gamecocks will take the field against Old Dominion at 4:15 PM ET on Saturday. The game will be broadcast on the SEC Network and streamed on the ESPN app.