South Carolina number assignments, who gained or lost weight

South Carolina updated its spring roster recently, giving the first look at a handful of new numbers and updated heights and weights. 

It’s a telling thing, seeing which guys spent the offseason putting on or cutting weight for the Gamecocks. It also gives a peak into where the freshmen and newcomers stand physically entering the spring. 

Here are a few notes from the roster update.

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The freshmen newcomers

South Carolina still has a few guys left to enroll over the summer but the early enrollees and transfers have their numbers and initial measurements. 

Markee Anderson–who debuts at 6-foot-4, 307 pounds will wear No. 58 in the spring. Walk-on tight end prospect Maurice Brown will wear the No. 44 vacated by Nate Adkins and checks in at 6-foot-4, 242 pounds.

Judge Collier and Connor Cox will wear No. 20 and No. 18 respectively. Collier is listed at 6-foot-1, 195 pounds while Cox is at 6-foot-5, 225. 

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Junior college defensive tackle Elijah Davis will wear No. 11 and is listed at 6-foot-3, 285 pounds. Pup Howard checks in with prototypical linebacker size at 6-foot-4 and 242 pounds. He’ll wear No. 5 his first season with the Gamecocks. 

Jalon Kilgore will rock No. 24 and is listed at 6-foot-1 and 207 pounds. Xzavier McLeod is already the third-biggest defensive lineman on the roster at 6-foot-5, 320 pounds. He’ll wear No. 64.

Reid Mikeska, a flip signee South Carolina landed in December, will wear No. 86 and is initially listed at 6-foot-6, 242 pounds. The Gamecocks’ quarterback in the class–LaNorris Sellers–checks in at No. 16 and is 6-foot-3, 232 pounds.

The final two freshmen are Desmond Umeozulu and Lukas Vozeh, who are 6-foot-6 and 6-foot-5 respectively. Umeozulu weighs 240 pounds and will wear No. 9 while Vozeh is 246 pounds and will wear No. 80. 

South Carolina transfer class

From a transfer class perspective, Mario Anderson’s initial height and weight is 5-foot-9 and 208 pounds. Tight end transfer Nick Elksnis is listed at 6-foot-6, 252 pounds. That’s up nine pounds from his listed weight at Florida. He’ll wear No. 84 for the Gamecocks. 

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Sidney Fugar–who was listed at 332 pounds at Western Illinois–is now 315 pounds in his first season at South Carolina. He’ll wear No. 76. Yale transfer South Carolina list Nick Gargulio at 310 pounds, 20 pounds heavier than his listed weight with the Bulldogs.

Walk-on transfer Deangelo Gibbs is listed at 6-foot-1, 218 pounds. Arkansas transfer Trey Knox checks in at 250 pounds which is five pounds heavier than his weight last year with the Razorbacks. He’ll wear No. 1.

South Carolina lists Memphis transfer Eddie Lewis at 185 pounds. Western Kentucky transfer Josh Simon–who will wear No. 6–is listed at 6-foot-4, 242 pounds. That’s up seven pounds from last year.

Jaron Willis is listed at 235 pounds, up 15 from his listed weight at Ole Miss at the start of last season. South Carolina gave him No. 14.

Who gained weight

For the purpose of this exercise, we’ll keep this to players who gained at least five pounds. 

The biggest gainer was defensive lineman Jamaal Whyce, who is now listed at 325. That’s up 20 pounds heavier than his listed weight at 305 pounds as a freshman. 

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Ryan Brubaker and Terrell Dawkins were the only others who put on double-digit pounds. Brubaker, who is coming off a redshirt freshman year, is listed at 305 pounds now. He was 295 as a freshman. 

Dawkins is also up 10 pounds as well to 260 pounds. Dawkins is coming off a knee injury that limited him for most of the 2022 season. With depth thin at edge, the Gamecocks need him to continue to develop at the position. 

Four players gained five pounds from their previously listed weights: Felix Hixon (305), Tyreek Johnson (270), Bryan Thomas Jr. (234) and Keenan Nelson (205).

Spencer Rattler gained three pounds, up to 218. Donovan Westmoreland was close to the threshold, gaining four pounds up to 232 pounds. Juice Wells also gained three pounds up to 210 pounds.

Who dropped weight

Six Gamecocks lost at least five pounds in the latest update, headlined by Landon Samson and Bam Martin-Scott. Each dropped eight pounds with Samson now listed at 187 pounds while South Carolina lists Martin-Scott at 227 pounds. 

Both are coming off limited role seasons and hoping to crack a rotation in 2023. 

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Nick Barrett, Luke Doty, Tonka Hemingway and Tanner Bailey all also lost five pounds. Barrett, the heaviest player on the team, is now 325 pounds and Doty is down to 205 pounds as the Gamecocks’ backup quarterback. Bailey dropped to 200 pounds. 

Hemingway is intriguing as a defensive tackle while listed at 290 pounds. He ballooned up to 300 pounds as a sophomore and has cut that down as someone who can potentially play inside or bounce out to end. 

Jaylen Nichols and Mo Kaba each shed four pounds to 318 pounds and 235 pounds, respectively. 

Number changes

DQ Smith and Juju McDowell will stick with their bowl game numbers and wear No. 1 and No. 0, respectively. O’Donnell Fortune is making the switch from 25 to No. 3. Emory Floyd went from 11 to No. 8. 

Dial, as he transitions to the team’s top corner, will also wear No. 12 for the Gamecocks. Kajuan Banks will rock 13 from 33. 

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