Shane Beamer confirms Rocket Sanders is not limited for Week 1

South Carolina coach Shane Beamer revealed running back Rocket Sanders will face no limitations in Week 1 against Old Dominion. The transfer from Arkansas is coming off of an injury-plagued 2023 season and had surgery in December to repair a torn labrum.

Although he was wearing a sling when he first arrived on campus this spring, he appears to be close to if not at 100% healthy now. Beamer explained that he expects Sanders to lead the way in the backfield, but added that Oscar Adaway and Juju McDowell will also factor in.

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“He’s not on any kind of pitch count to my knowledge,” Beamer said of Sanders. “Now if (athletic trainer) Clint Haggard or somebody comes to me and says that he is, then we will, but he’s not limited in any way. So he’ll play as many plays as we need him to play. Certainly no matter who is your running back, it’s a long season. It’s a long game. We want to keep those guys fresh and keep rotating them guys in and out. So we’ll absolutely rotate between Rocket and Oscar and Juju.”

Sanders finished second in the SEC in rushing in 2022 with 1,443 yards and 10 touchdowns. However, he appeared in only six games for the Razorbacks this past season as a result of his injuries.

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The addition of Sanders was a big get for a South Carolina team that ranked last in the SEC this past season with 85.1 rushing yards per game. They also brought in Adaway, who is a sixth-year senior, from North Texas.

Beamer expressed excitement for the room as a whole this coming season, but there’s no doubt that Sanders will be the lead back. He’ll hope to help the Gamecocks bounce back coming off of a 5-7 season with they kick off against Old Dominion at 4:15 p.m. ET on Saturday.

“We’re excited about Jawarn Howell and we’re excited about Matthew Fuller and Bradley Dunn and Djay Braswell,” Beamer said. “We’ve got a lot of running backs in there that have played and we’re fired up about. Certainly there will be rotation, but assuming Rocket’s out there on the first play depending on personnel grouping. It will be kind of his show and we’ll run with it.”