With 54 days until South Carolina football kickoff, a look at two who wear the number

There are only 54 days until the 2024 version of the South Carolina football team takes the field for their first game of the season. In what is a critical fourth season of the Shane Beamer era in Columbia, the Gamecocks must take a step forward to become a real player in the newly-expanded SEC.

Two players wear #54 on this year's Gamecock squad, redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Jamaal Whyce and true freshman offensive lineman Kam Pringle.

Whyce is entering his third year with the South Carolina football program and finds himself a little buried on the depth chart. Veterans like Tonka Hemingway, TJ Sanders, Boogie Huntley, and Nick Barrett all returned this fall, and transfers DeAndre Jules and Monkell Goodwine enter as candidates for playing time.

Whyce was well thought of coming out of high school, and he has plenty of potential. If things go well for him this offseason, perhaps he can overcome a player or two ahead of him and crack the rotation for defensive tackles coach Travian Robertson.

Kam Pringle is a true freshman who missed much of the spring with an injury. Potentially the biggest player on the team, he stands 6'7" or 6'8" depending on which measurement one checks, and he weighs nearly 350 pounds. He was a consensus 4-star prospect coming out of Woodland High School and was ranked as high as the 3rd-best offensive tackle in the country by ESPN.

Pringle won't play much in 2024 unless something unexpected happens, but he has a bright future ahead of him in garnet and black. With the modern redshirt rules, Pringle can see action in four games without burning a year of eligibility, so Gamecock fans can expect to see him take the field a few times this fall.

Whyce, Pringle, and the Gamecocks will play their first game of the year on August 31st against the Old Dominion Monarchs at Williams-Brice Stadium.