South Carolina leans on Sellers and Stewart after a painful collapse
South Carolina's 2025 season ranks among the most deflating in program history. A team that carried playoff buzz into September stumbled to 4-8 (1-7 SEC), a full year removed from a 9-4 finish, and never came close to a bowl. The offense was the culprit: coordinator Mike Shula was fired at midseason, the line collapsed, and a quarterback who had entered the year as a Heisman hopeful went backward.
Shane Beamer responded by tearing the offense down to the studs. He hired Kendal Briles, whose systems at Baylor, TCU and Arkansas have long produced points, and brought 35-year coaching veteran Randy Clements from TCU to rebuild the line. The talent that matters most is back on both sides: this team owns two of the best players in the country at their positions, and the season will be defined by whether the pieces around them come together.
Offense
LaNorris Sellers returns for another run, and getting him back to his 2024 form is the whole ballgame. A 6-3, 245-pound dual threat who is exceptionally tough to bring down, Sellers threw for 2,534 yards (66 percent, 18 touchdowns to 7 interceptions) and ran for 674 as a breakout starter, becoming just the third quarterback in school history with a 350-yard, five-touchdown game in a win over Missouri. Last year the numbers sagged to 2,437 yards (61 percent, 13-8) and only 270 rushing, in no small part because he was sacked 42 times, the most of any FBS quarterback. Briles is expected to lean back into Sellers' legs and get the ball out faster. Freshman Cutter Woods is the backup.
Pass catchers are the clearest strength on offense. Nyck Harbor is the headliner, a 6-5, 242-pound No. 1 target who caught 618 yards' worth (20.6 per grab) last year and closed with 100-plus in each of his final two games. He improved steadily but still has not fully tapped his enormous physical ceiling, and a jump into that range would change the offense. Around him is real depth: Mazeo Bennett Jr. (337 yards), Donovan Murph (197 yards on 14.1 per catch as a true freshman) and Sellers' younger brother Jayden Sellers, who also cleared 300 yards, along with Purdue transfer Nitro Tuggle and UCF transfer DJ Black. At tight end, Brady Hunt returns after 168 yards, with Mike Tyler behind him.
The backfield was gutted and rebuilt. Matt Fuller, the top returning back after 260 yards a year ago, had an outstanding spring and is projected to handle the bulk of the carries. Beamer added bodies through the portal, including Texas transfer Christian Clark, Ohio State's Sam Dixon and Isaiah Augustave, a junior in from Arkansas who joins a group with plenty of new faces and few settled roles. The run game, which finished near the bottom of the SEC, has to become more than an afterthought for Briles' offense to click.
Fixing this unit was job one. The line was in shambles in 2025, six starters are gone, and left tackle Josiah Thompson is out for the year. The overhaul was heavy on transfers: center Carter Miller (UCF), guard Emmanuel Kojo Poku (East Carolina) and guard Hank Purvis (Purdue) all arrive with starting experience, with returner Shedrick Sarratt Jr. in the mix. The centerpiece is Jacarrius Peak, rated the fifth-best tackle in the transfer portal and among the top pass blockers in the ACC at NC State. There is a serious cloud, though: Peak hurt his knee in a February basketball tournament, missed spring, and while Beamer expects him ready by September, no one is certain of the timeline. Protecting Sellers is the single most important thing this line can do.
Defense
Dylan Stewart is the crown jewel, an elite edge rusher regarded as one of the best defenders in the country. He posted 33 tackles, 4.5 sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss last year despite being double-teamed on nearly every snap, numbers held down by the extra attention and a back issue that kept him out of spring drills. If he stays healthy, he is a wrecking ball. Freshman Julian Walker, a highly touted recruit, is penciled in opposite him to give the pass rush a second gear. The interior offers strength and depth, led by returners Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy and Troy Pikes, with Alabama transfer Kelby Collins (12 tackles, two sacks last season) and fellow transfers Tomiwa Durojaiye and Caleb Herring adding rotation pieces up front. Rebuilding this line after a heavy loss of talent is the defense's central task.
Beamer calls linebacker the strength of the defense, and it is easy to see why. Returning starters Fred "JayR" Johnson and Justin Okoronkwo combined for 125 tackles a year ago and give the middle of the field experience and range. Florida State transfer Shawn Murphy adds another proven body, and touted freshman Andrew Harris joins a room with real depth. This group should let coordinator Clayton White be aggressive while the front settles.
Takeaways remain the signature: South Carolina has forced turnovers at an elite rate, finishing top four in the league in giveaways gained in four of the last five years and among the national leaders in takeaways over the last half-decade. The catch is replacement work, with a second-team All-America safety and a starting corner to make up for. Judge Collier anchors the corner spots, and Vicari Swain is a playmaker in every phase, logging two interceptions and two forced fumbles while doubling as a dynamic returner. Peyton Williams is back at safety after picking off two passes, but the other safety job is a genuine question, with several players, including freshman J'Zavien Currence, in the mix.
Punter Mason Love is a weapon, returning off a strong debut season that ranked fourth in the SEC at 45.1 yards per punt. The placekicking job is open, with Texas Tech transfer Upton Bellenfant trying to hold off Max Kelley. The return game is a legitimate asset thanks to Swain, who took three punts back for touchdowns last year, and new coordinator Matthew Smiley arrives from the NFL to tighten up units that have been uneven.
Overview and Prediction
The schedule offers a soft opening in Kent State and Towson before the SEC grind arrives in full. Home dates with Mississippi State, Kentucky, Tennessee, Texas A&M and Georgia bracket road trips to Alabama, Florida, Oklahoma, Arkansas and rival Clemson, a slate that grades as one of the tougher ones in the country. There are winnable games, but no soft stretch once conference play starts.
Our read lines up with the broad consensus: a team projected in the bottom third of the SEC, roughly 10th to 14th in the league and outside the national top 25. The ceiling here is a winning season, not a playoff push, and even that hinges on two things. The rebuilt line has to keep Sellers upright and unlock the version of him that terrorized defenses in 2024, and Peak's knee has to hold up. Get those, and with Stewart bending edges and a defense that keeps generating takeaways, South Carolina climbs back toward respectability. Miss on the line again, and another long autumn is on the table.