South Carolina football: freshmen to watch
With freshmen reporting to campus recently and players scheduled to come back the first of June, it’s time to take a look at a few players in each of South Carolina’s classes.
GamecockCentral will be going class by class on this year’s roster breaking down a few intriguing prospects in each.
First up is the freshman group.
TJ Sanders
Sanders isn’t a true freshman but did redshirt last season and will be a big piece of the Gamecocks’ front line if he lives up to how players talked about him in the spring.
HE’s someone who didn’t start playing football seriously until late in high school and has tremendous potential. The in-state product will almost certainly factor into the Gamecocks’ front four rotation along with guys like Tonka Hemingway, Zacch Pickens, Boogie Huntley and others.
If he keeps developing and plays as he did in the spring he could be in for a very good first full year on the field.
Stone Blanton
Blanton is in a sweet spot where he’s ranked the highest member of South Carolina’s recruiting class and comes in at a position with the opportunity to play early.
The two-sport star out of Mississippi comes in as a four-star prospect and No. 283 player in the country and could fit in nicely with the Gamecocks’ linebacker corps this season.
Sherrod Greene, Brad Johnson, Mo Kaba and Debo Williams will compete for snaps but Blanton could challenge for some as well. Either way, he should have a part to play on special teams.
Landon Samson
Samson was Justin Stepp’s biggest gets in the 2022 class, a three-star receiver who played on one of the largest high school stages in Texas.
He’s someone on who South Carolina’s staff is very high on and could make an impact early in year one.
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The Gamecocks still need depth at receiver and Samson could certainly be one of the prime candidates to slide into a rotation.
Nick Emmanwori
Emmanwori is one of South Carolina’s more intriguing prospects in the 2022 class, an athletic defender who can do a lot of different things on the field.
He’s considered No. 317 nationally but On3 is higher on his potential, ranking him as the No. 121 player in the class.
He’ll start with the defensive backfield and could play some linebacker, two positions in need of some depth entering the season.
Because of that, mixed with Emmanwori’s potential, he could certainly see the field some as a freshman.
Keenan Nelson Jr.
Nelson is on here largely because of his talent, the No. 321 player in the class, but he also comes in at a position of need.
The Gamecocks have some talent in the defensive backfield but will need to fill roles potentially at nickel or the outside cornerback slot—depending on where Cam Smith settles—and with depth at safety.
Nelson could slide in and fit there if he comes in this summer and performs well in training camp.
