South Carolina's 2024 football roster set to feature 9 freshman walk-on players

The 2024 Gamecock Football Media Guide, which was posted on Sunday, July 14, provides media members and South Carolina fans with a reference to everything related to the program they need to know before the regular season begins. It also provides a final update to the team’s 2024 roster, which features 120 players.

Of those 120 players, 50 are newcomers who joined the team via the transfer portal or the high school ranks. Broken down even further, that group of 50 newcomers consists of nine freshmen who walked onto the South Carolina football team. Here are those nine players, listed in jersey number order.

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Jimmy Francis

Bio – Height: 5-foot-11 | Weight: 195 pounds | Hometown: Dallas, Tx. | No. 25

Francis is one of six quarterbacks listed on South Carolina’s roster. A graduate of St. Mark’s School of Texas, he was both a dual-threat on the gridiron, playing both quarterback and free safety, and a member of the school’s lacrosse team. Francis was coached by Harry Flaherty, the nephew of former Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett.

Isaiah McClary

Bio – Height: 6-foot-1 | Weight: 170 pounds | Hometown: Irmo, S.C. | No. 26

McClary was the lone freshman walk-on to participate in spring practice, graduating from Irmo High School a semester early enroll at South Carolina in January. He also appeared in the Garnet and Black Spring Game on April 20, logging a fourth-quarter interception off fellow walk-on Davis Beville to seal the game for the Garnet team.

Gunnar Yocum

Bio – Height: 6-foot | Weight: 200 pounds | Hometown: Huger, S.C. | No. 29

Yocum joins preseason All-SEC Second Teamer Hunter Rogers, Cole Rasmussen and Jordan Franke as one of the Gamecocks’ four long snappers this season. He graduated from Philip Simmons High School in Charleston, South Carolina, and played as a long snapper and linebacker on the school’s football team. Yocum is also a cancer survivor, having been diagnosed with a neuroendocrine tumor in Feb. 2021.

Neil Salvage III

Bio – Height: 5-foot-9 | Weight: 195 pounds | Hometown: Waxhaw, N.C. | No. 31

Salvage III brings with him plenty of leadership experience after serving as captain of the football team at Latin High School in Charlotte, North Carolina. Along with his responsibilities at running back, he played at wide receiver and defensive back for the Eagles. Salvage III gained 1,223 all-purpose yards and scored five total touchdowns during his senior season.

Jackson Burger

Bio – Height: 6-foot-2 | Weight: 190 pounds | Hometown: Fort Mill, S.C. | No. 35

Also a two-way player in high school, Burger appeared at defensive back, linebacker and wide receiver at Catawba Ridge High School but projects to play in the Gamecocks’ secondary. He registered 157 tackles (including 122 solo tackles), five fumble recoveries and two sacks across three seasons with the Copperheads.

Landon Kurtz

Bio – Height: 6-foot-1 | Weight: 195 pounds | Hometown: Fort Mill, S.C. | No. 36

Kurtz, a three-year varsity starter at Fort Mill High School, played at both wide receiver and cornerback for the Yellow Jackets. The incoming freshman defensive back was an All-Region selection as a junior and named player of the week as a senior, when he logged 23 tackles, nine pass breakups and two interceptions.

Chase Kibble

Bio – Height: 6-foot-5 | Weight: 285 pounds | Hometown: Leesburg, Va. | No. 59

Before walking on South Carolina’s football team, Kibble was a multi-dimensional athlete at Loudoun High School. He was an all-Loudoun County offensive lineman and all-state punter, despite electing to play along the Gamecocks’ defensive line, and was a state champion in the discus. Kibble also has a connection to Shane Beamer — Kibble’s father, Jimmy, played alongside Beamer on a Virginia Tech football team that reached the 1999 BCS National Championship.

Jake Recker

Bio – Height: 6-foot-5 | Weight: 300 pounds | Hometown: Indian Land, S.C. | No. 70

Recker, an offensive tackle who also handled long snapping duties at Indian Land High School, earned all-region honors and was selected to play in the Touchdown Energy Cooperatives Bowl (South Carolina’s North/South All-Star Game) following his senior season. He competed in three sports at the school — football, basketball and track and field.

Emazon Littlejohn

Bio – Height: 6-foot-0.5 | Weight: 188 pounds | Hometown: Gaffney, S.C. | No. 83

Like Recker, Littlejohn was selected to compete in South Carolina’s North/South All-Star Game as a representative from Gaffney High School. The incoming freshman wide receiver, who also played at cornerback in high school, totaled 1,751 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns on 130 catches during his high school career.

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