National analyst says that South Carolina football "is being slept on" this offseason

The 2024 version of the South Carolina football team is a polarizing group in terms of predictions and record projections. Some believe that a down 2023 was indicative of bigger problems in Columbia and that the Gamecocks will go 4-8 this fall. Others think that it was a mere blip on the radar and that an 8-4 season is on the horizon. Naturally, other prognostications have split the difference.

One analyst who is higher than others on Shane Beamer's team is former Alabama quarterback and current ESPN college football analyst Greg McElroy. McElroy, who was the quarterback of the #1-ranked 'Tide when the 2010 Gamecocks upset them at Williams-Brice Stadium, believes that the predictions of a bad year for South Carolina football are misguided and that the Gamecocks are "being slept on" this offseason.

On his "Always College Football" podcast, McElroy said he thinks that USC "will be better than people realize" and that the Carolina defense could be "really good." A top-half-of-the-SEC defense and a new-look offense with LaNorris Sellers starting at quarterback have McElroy believing that South Carolina will "win more games than people are anticipating."

McElroy and others who believe in the Gamecocks in 2024 recognize that Shane Beamer and his staff have revamped the roster through the transfer portal. If most of the additions "hit" and can contribute in big ways this fall, then things will be much better. If the transfer portal Gamecocks are, collectively, more "misses" than "hits," though, it is hard to imagine the team will be much better.

With transfers in the projected two-deep at virtually every position on the field (other than on special teams), only time will tell if the newest Gamecocks can have the type of impact Beamer and company are hoping they will have. Greg McElroy, at least, seems to think that they will, and South Carolina football fans everywhere are hoping he is right.