South Carolina PFF grades: Furman

South Carolina is coming off a very strong 47-21 win over Furman Saturday night, and the grades coming out of the game indicate as much. 

The Gamecocks had a number of quality performers with 18 players earning Pro Football Focus (PFF grades) of at least 70 overall. 

Here’s the full list of grades from a palate-cleansing win over the Paladins.  

Offense

It shouldn’t be a surprise, but three Gamecocks quarterbacks finished with some of the best grades on the team after good days from Spencer Rattler, LaNorris Sellers and Luke Doty.

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Sellers was the highest-graded Gamecock overall per PFF, playing 11 snaps and leading two touchdown drives. He’d finish 4-for-4 for 86 yards and two touchdowns, including a 50-yard dime to Tyshawn Russell and a PFF grade of 94.7.

Rattler was great again to start his season, finishing with a 93.1 overall grade in 50 snaps. Rattler completed 25 of his 27 attempts for 345 yards and three scores without throwing an interception. 

After not logging an offensive snap last week, Eddie Lewis played 23 against Furman and was the third-highest overall grade. He had an 87.1 overall grade and an 89.1 receiving grade. Lewis caught six passes on seven targets for 89 yards including 26 yards after the catch. 

Doty finished with a 78 overall grade over 19 snaps, catching one pass for 36 yards and a touchdown. He also got a series in at quarterback, going 2-for-4 for 17 yards. 

Nick Elksnis rounded out the top five offensively with a 77.1 overall grade and an 89.1 passing grade over 18 snaps. He had a 54.6 run block grade. 

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Here are the rest of the offensive grades: 

Ahmarean Brown: 76.2
Ben Rollins: 74
Mario Anderson: 72.6
Payton Mangrum: 72.1
Djay Braswell: 70.6
Vershon Lee: 69.9
Dakereon Joyner: 67.8
Jakai Moore: 67.2
Xavier Legette: 66.8
Connor Cox: 66.1
Colten Gauthier: 65.7
Nyck Harbor: 64.9
Nick Gargiulo: 63.9
Trey Knox: 62.4
Tree Babalade: 61.3
O’Mega Blake: 61
Juju McDowell: 60.9
Aaron Morton: 60
Chase Sweigert: 59.3
Nathan Harris-Waynick: 59.1
Grayson Mains: 59
JonDarius Morgan: 58.8
Jatavius Shivers: 58.7
Trovon Baugh: 58.3
Kylic Horton: 58.1
Trai Jones: 57.4
Juice Wells: 56.9
Eriq Rice: 56.7
Tyshawn Russell: 56.6
Joseph Morris: 56.4
DJ Twitty: 55.6
Josh Simon: 51.8
Tyshawn Wannamaker: 51
Sidney Fugar: 50.1 
Tanner Bailey: 29.5

Defense

Debo Williams (48 snaps) was South Carolina’s highest-graded defender, finishing with an 80.3 overall grade with an 80.7 tackling grade. PFF credited him with four tackles–three stops–with a quarterback pressure. Williams was really good in coverage, allowing two receptions on two targets for just nine yards. He also had a pass breakup. 

Cornerback Joseph Byrnes (14 snaps) finished with the next-best grade at 79.4 with three tackles and one target. The best defensive lineman per PFF was TJ Sanders, who finished with a 78.9 overall grade and a 78.2 run defense grade. In 25 snaps, he finished with three stops and had two quarterback pressures: one sack and another quarterback hit.

Freshman defensive back Jalon Kilgore continues to grade out well through the start of his freshman season. PFF gave up a 77.3 overall grade with an 83.2 rush defense and 83.9 tackling grade in 46 snaps. He had seven tackles (three stops) and allowed one reception for eight yards on two targets. 

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Emory Floyd was the fifth-best grade at 76.5 with a 76.2 coverage grade. PFF credited him with an assist on a tackle and with no receptions allowed on one target over 15 snaps.

Here are the rest of the defensive grades:

Landon Grier: 75.5
Boogie Huntley: 74.7
Jordan Strachan: 73.9
Tonka Hemingway: 71
Nick Barrett: 69.5
Donvon Westmoreland: 68.6
Desmond Umeozulu: 67.6
DQ Smith: 66
Zahbari Sandy: 65.4
Judge Collier: 65.2
Vicari Swain: 64.9
Keenan Nelson: 64.8
BJ Gibson: 64.8
Drew Tuazama: 64.5
OD Fortune: 63.8
Pup Howard: 63.5
Andrew Colasurdo: 63
Jace Blackshear: 62.6
Isaiah Norris: 62.6
Xzavier McLeod: 62.5
Deangelo Gibbs: 62.4
Kajuan Banks: 61.5
Marcellas Dial: 60.1
Terrell Dawkins: 55.3
Jamaal Whyce: 54.7
Tyreek Johnson: 53.8
Bryan Thomas: 53.4
Stone Blanton: 50.7
Elijah Davis: 50.6
Bam Martin-Scott: 50.1
King-Demenian Ford: 42.5
Colin Bryant: 28.7

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