Greg McElroy: South Carolina’s 2025 season could hinge on two key factors
ESPN and SEC Network personality Greg McElroy dove into each SEC team on his podcast this week with the main topic being what questions each would have to answer to feel good about 2025.
For South Carolina, the veteran analyst and former Alabama quarterback pointed to one familiar refrain from last offseason as well as one of the biggest discussion pieces locally for the Gamecocks this offseason.
“South Carolina had an impressive breakthrough last year,” McElroy said. “I don’t think at this point when we were talking in the spring of 2024, any of us would have said South Carolina is gonna be a fringe playoff contender. But the way this team was playing down the stretch, anything was possible.
“The big question is who’s gonna step up at wide receiver and who’s going to replace that veteran leadership on defense?”
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Indeed, the need for South Carolina to step up at wide receiver was a huge talking piece last year as the Gamecocks looked to replace Xavier Legette who had just been drafted in the first round to the NFL.
Forced to take a by-committee approach to try and replace Legette’s production, the unit made major strides as a whole under the tutelage of assistant Mike Furrey but at the same time never was one of the league’s more dynamic groups.
“We know that they have one of the best quarterback prospects in the country in LaNorris Sellers,” McElroy said. “The problem is the group that he had at wide receiver last year was extremely underwhelming. Those guys are all needing to collectively take a pretty big step towards allowing this passing attack to become a little bit more dynamic.”
But there’s reason for optimism here as South Carolina returns Jared Brown, Nyck Harbor, and Mazeo Bennett from last year’s room and adds one of the deepest, most talented receiver classes in the country to the mix.
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It’s for that reason that this writer doesn’t see the position being as big of a question mark as McElroy does, especially if Harbor takes another big step forward after not running track during the indoor season.
The Gamecocks should also get some production from at least a couple of their highly touted freshmen to add depth and upside to the position.
Of course, McElroy’s other question mark is a massive one.
A South Carolina defense that was one of the best in the country and in school history will have to replace a ton.
That includes key pieces like Nick Emmanwori, Demetrius Knight, Kyle Kennard, and the entire two-deep at defensive tackle.
“We know we have the building block on offense, but the building block on defense is Dylan Stewart,” McElroy said. “He is the key, and they have to replace a lot on that side of the ball. This is a group that finished in the top 20 in scoring defense and rushing defense. Now they went out into the portal, they got some transfers, they have some reinforcements on the way, but will they be able to replace it?”
And that’s the million-dollar question for the Gamecocks in 2025.
