ESPN ranks three Gamecocks in 2024 college football top 100
South Carolina football finished the 2024 season ranked 19th in both the AP and USA Today Coaches Poll. The strong season was the result of a lot of different factors, but the biggest was personnel. The Gamecocks received standout contributions from a long list of players this fall. On Wednesday, three of them earned recognition from the writers over at ESPN.
ESPN’s Bill Connelly, David Hale, Chris Low, Max Olson, Adam Rittenberg, and Paolo Uggetti collaborated to construct the worldwide leader’s article entitled “Ranking the top 100 college football players of the 2024-25 season.” They, along with other ESPN contributors, also included short write-ups about each player. South Carolina stars Kyle Kennard, LaNorris Sellers, and Nick Emmanwori all cracked the list. None of the trio made ESPN’s preseason rankings, so they each clearly earned their way onto the list.
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Kennard earned the highest ranking among the three Gamecocks. At No. 10, he is the third-highest defender (behind Penn State’s Abdul Carter and two-way Colorado Buffaloes star Travis Hunter). Mark Schlabach listed Kennard’s accomplishments, and the list is long: the transfer portal addition led the SEC in sacks and tackles for loss en route to the second-best pass rush season in team history, consensus All-American honors, the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, and multiple SEC Defensive Player of the Year selections.
Redshirt freshman quarterback LaNorris Sellers was the next South Carolina representative. Ranked No. 65 overall, Sellers is 13th among quarterbacks and 3rd among freshmen. The dual-threat quarterback dominated the month of November, setting a team record for single-month touchdowns. Breaking the Gamecocks’ all-time freshman records for both yardage and touchdowns this year, Sellers earned several SEC Freshman of the Year honors, the FWAA Offensive Freshman of the Year award, and All-SEC inclusion. Chris Low appropriately described Sellers in the article as “stellar” and “sensational.”
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Coming in at No. 66 (just one spot behind Sellers) was defensive back Nick Emmanwori. The All-American safety was the fifth highest-ranked safety behind only Ohio State duo Lathan Robinson and Caleb Downs, Notre Dame’s Xavier Watts (who also played some corner), and Georgia’s Malaki Starks. Chris Low reminded the reader that Emmanwori was the leading tackler and the top back-end player on a great USC defense that was 14th nationally in 2024 in yards per play allowed.
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When the 2025 season begins, both Kennard and Emmanwori will be in the NFL. Sellers, though, will return for the Gamecocks. He and his South Carolina teammates will open their season on August 31st at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Carolina will take on the Virginia Tech Hokies in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff.
