South Carolina football is 55 days away from the start of their 2024 season. It is an important fall for the Gamecocks and head coach Shane Beamer as they attempt to right the ship after a 5-7 record a season ago.
There are two #55 jerseys to be found on the South Carolina football roster, and both players could find themselves playing a significant role for the 2024 version of the Gamecocks.
Offensive lineman Jakai Moore is in his sixth year in the program and has starting experience at both guard and tackle. During his career, he has seen action at every spot on the line but center, and he will be involved in multiple position battles up front heading into the season. Finding a starting spot will be tough, but fans should expect to see Moore's name in the two-deep somewhere when the season begins.
Moore most likely will compete with sophomores Tree Babalade and Cason Henry, freshman Josiah Thompson, and veteran transfer Aaryn Parks for the two tackle jobs (Babalade and Henry are probably the current favorites at left tackle and right tackle, respectively), and he will battle on the interior with fellow veterans Vershon Lee, Torricelli Simpkins, and Kamaar Bell and younger players Trovon Baugh and Markee Anderson. Lee will start somewhere (probably at center), and Baugh and Simpkins appeared to be the top options at guard during the spring.
On the other side of the football, Gilber Edmond is back with the South Carolina football team after spending one season with the Florida State Seminoles. Technically a transfer portal addition, Edmond is familiar with how the Gamecocks do things, and the fact that Shane Beamer and his staff allowed him to return indicates that they plan for him to play a role on the 2024 defense.
Edmond, who now weighs 255 pounds, is bigger than when he was a freshman linebacker in 2020, and the added weight and strength should allow him to be used more than just as a situational pass rusher. Edmond will battle for a spot in the two-deep with fellow veteran transfer Kyle Kennard, older returners like Bryan Thomas, Jr., Elijah Davis, and Jatius Geer, and younger players like Dylan Stewart and Desmond Umeozulu.
Moore, Edmond, and the Gamecocks will welcome Old Dominion to Williams-Brice Stadium for the season opener on August 31st.