Lifelong South Carolina fan took 'a leap of faith' to play for Gamecocks

Cole Rasmussen grew up a huge South Carolina fan.

He was there when South Carolina took down No. 1 Alabama in a thrilling 35-21 upset win back in 2010. He was there in 2013 when the Gamecocks were beating North Carolina, only for a weather delay to halt the game midway through the fourth quarter for almost two hours. He stuck it out, though, as South Carolina held on for a 27-10 win when play resumed.

“It got rained out, and the game was suspended,” Rasmussen told GamecockCentral. “We went back to my grandparents’ tailgate and ended up going back to the game.”

Over a decade and some change later, Rasmussen is living out his dream. He’s played football at South Carolina for the last four years as a backup long snapper. But now, going into his sixth season, the Fort Mill native will have a chance to become the team’s starting long snapper.

“It’s been good, definitely been a different role than what I’ve had. It’s been fun enjoying my last year,” he said. “I want to have fun with it and help Kyler (Farrow) out and help Gunnar (Yocum) out. If they have any questions about anything, I’m the guy they turn to now.”

Rasmussen, who transferred from Charleston Southern in 2021, has had to wait his turn to play. He was the backup to All-SEC performer Hunter Rogers for the last three seasons. Before that, Matthew Bailey was the starter at the position during Rasmussen’s first year in 2021.

While he’s had to pay his dues, this opportunity may not have been possible if he hadn’t taken a chance almost five years ago. In 2020, Rasmussen walked on as a freshman at Charleston Southern, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Buccaneers had their fall season postponed until the next spring.

As it turned out, Rasmussen never played a game at Charleston Southern. He then decided to transfer and try out for South Carolina.

“I was like, if I want to longsnap anywhere, I’d rather give it a shot here at South Carolina,” he said. “If it works out, great. If not, I have no issue being a regular student and still going to Carolina games on Saturdays.”

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When tryout day came, Rasmussen recalled being “super nervous.” He showed up at 6 a.m. at the Jerri and Steve Spurrier Indoor Practice Facility, where he would try out alongside future Gamecock defensive back King-Demenian Ford and Charleston Southern kicker Ben Rich.

“COVID was just happening, and they’re having a team meeting in there. So I was waiting in that lobby right there,” Rasmussen said. “They had us doing like some running stuff. And I had COVID like a week before, like I had just gotten over it, so I was dying out there. I go to try out, and they had me do like 12 charted punt snaps and a couple of field goal snaps.”

Rasmussen had to wait anxiously until the next day to find out if he had made the team or not. When the moment of truth came, he got a phone call from head football athletic trainer Clint Haggard.

“(Haggard) was like, ‘Hey, we need you to come in, fill out some paperwork,'” Rasmussen said. “So I went in, filled out some paperwork, and I was like, ‘So does this mean I made the team?’ Like no one had told me. And they’re like, ‘Yeah, congrats!’ And then I got a call from Coach (Pete) Lembo later that night.”

Since making the team, Rasmussen has only appeared in two games during his career. He’s hopeful that that will change this year. But he knows he will have to earn starting duties with a strong fall camp.

“I want to keep doing what I kind of showed in the spring, executing at a high level and just being consistent,” he said. “I think my goal for this camp is that if I do have a bad snap, then the miss isn’t terrible. So that’s one thing I want to work on. And then obviously, this is my last year, so I’m going to have fun with it.”

Looking back on the journey, has it gone as Rasmussen planned? Certainly not. Does he have any regrets about it, though? Certainly not. After all, he got to do something many wish they could’ve done.

“Out of high school, I had two offers to play at Presbyterian and Charleston Southern. I kind of took a leap of faith and gave it a shot,” Rasmussen said. “If it works out, great. If not, I don’t want to say I was cool if it didn’t work out, but I’m definitely glad it did. It was worth the risk.”

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