As the wait continues for Rahsul Faison, South Carolina remains 'optimistic'

Six months have come and gone, and Rahsul Faison is still waiting for an answer. Now well into July, only weeks away from the start of fall camp, South Carolina doesn’t know if its transfer running back will be able to play this season.

When Faison committed in January, the Gamecocks moved quickly in trying to secure an NCAA eligibility waiver for him to get on the field this fall. They’ve done what they’ve needed to do. Yet there haven’t been any answers from the NCAA.

While South Carolina’s season is fast approaching, now only 48 days away from kickoff, head coach Shane Beamer remains hopeful that things will work out for Faison.

“I’m optimistic that it would be potentially this week,” Beamer said at SEC Media Days on Monday. “Jeremiah Donati has worked really, really hard on this. Our compliance people, the NCAA, they’ve been very forthcoming in their communication in regards to what they need and what they’re looking for and the issues they see. So it’s been a great process for us in regards to the communication back and forth. I wish we had an answer right now, but yeah, I’m optimistic that it’ll be sooner than later.”

To get caught up to speed, Faison graduated from high school in 2019 and enrolled at Marshall, but never played a snap for the Thundering Herd. He later left the program and enrolled in online classes at Lackawanna College in 2020, but did not play football. He then enrolled at Snow College in 2021 but didn’t play there until the following year.

In 2023, Faison transferred to Utah State and spent two seasons there before transferring to South Carolina this year. Because of the ‘Pavia rule’ that was put into place this past December, he hoped to gain an extra year of eligibility to play for the Gamecocks.

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In early May, he hired NIL attorney Darren Heitner to help with the waiver. Heitner notably represented South Carolina men’s basketball’s Myles Stute in his case to be cleared for a medical hardship waiver by the NCAA, which he eventually was and will be able to play next season.

The wait rolls on for Faison, though. Despite how slow the process has been, he’s continued to remain in good spirits. LaNorris Sellers described him as “happy” when asked how he’s been doing from his standpoint.

“We’ve spent a lot of time together. Spring break, I think we were in Florida together. In Columbia, we hang out together,” Sellers said. “When he’s playing the game, he’s always happy and talking to us. He’s in a good mood. We try not to talk about it too much, but he understands the seriousness of the situation.”

Faison rushed for 1,845 yards and 13 touchdowns on 316 carries in his two years at Utah State. He had a breakout season in 2024 as he ran for a career-best 1,108 yards and eight touchdowns.

“He’s quick, agile. He’s kind of physical for his size,” Sellers said. “You wouldn’t think that much because he’s not as big, but he’s not small either. He’s quick, he can move, he can run.”

In late June, Faison tweeted that it was going to “get serious when they give me my year back,” which led to a wave of replies with the hashtag ‘#FreeSul’. It started after a summer workout by the players when they broke a huddle.

It’s become something of a rallying cry for Faison and the program. According to On3’s Pete Nakos, Faison is prepared to move on with his career and join an NFL training camp roster if necessary. Of course, South Carolina is hoping he will eventually be cleared for the upcoming season.

“He means a lot,” DQ Smith said. “He brings a lot of confidence and a hard-working, strong mentality to the locker room that we all want. And he brings that to the running back room. … He’s picking up where Rocket (Sanders) left, and he’s one of those guys that we’re going to need this year.”

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