South Carolina's end of season superlatives

South Carolina’s regular season has come to an end, and now it’s time to examine who stood out this year.

It wasn’t a year to remember as the Gamecocks won five games and came up short of a bowl bid. But there was still some good things that happened this year. Let’s take a look at who some of the biggest impact players were.

Most valuable player: Spencer Rattler

Rattler’s impact on this year’s team was bigger than anyone else. It’s hard to imagine where South Carolina is if he’s not at quarterback.

Even with all the sacks he took, Rattler still had an impressive year. He threw for 3,186 yards with 19 touchdowns to eight interceptions.

He’ll go down as one of the best quarterbacks, if not players, to ever play for this university when it’s all set and done.

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Offensive player of the year: Xavier Legette

We saw a glimpse of what Legette could be in the Gator Bowl last year when he scored two touchdowns. But it was a shock to see just how big of a jump the fifth-year receiver made in 2023.

Legette had a breakout year, finishing with 71 catches for 1,255 yards and seven touchdowns. He averaged 17.7 yards per catch, just showing how explosive he was as a deep ball threat.

His connection with Rattler was a big part of any offensive success this year. And he will definitely be a sought after talent in the upcoming NFL Draft.

Defensive player of the year: Debo Williams

This felt like an easy choice. Williams led South Carolina with 113 tackles, 67 of which were solo. He also had one sack and a fumble recovery.

Williams, a redshirt junior linebacker, seemed to always be on the field. Everywhere you looked, he was right in the middle of the action. He made a huge jump this year after only recording 43 tackles in 2022. He was the perfect leader for this defensive unit.

Special teams player of the year: Mitch Jeter

At this point, Jeter might as well be known as Mr. Consistent. After making 100 percent of his kicks last year, he was almost just as good this year. Jeter made 12-of-14 field goals with his longest coming from 51 yards out. He only missed one extra point.

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Best transfer: Joshua Simon

This one could’ve gone to either him or fellow tight end Trey Knox. But Knox was banged up at the end of year, which allowed for Simon to make some noise. Simon, a Western Kentucky transfer, finished with 28 catches for 256 yards and two touchdowns. He has the chance to come back next year if he wants to and really take on a big role in this offense.

Best freshman: Jalon Kilgore

Much like last year, it didn’t take long for a freshman defensive back to get his name called. This time around, it was Kilgore who had to step up when Nick Emmanwori went down in Week One. And he stuck around the whole year, even taking on punt returner duties late in the year.

Kilgore made 76 tackles and had six pass deflections. He also had one interception and a forced fumble. His future looks to be very bright in Columbia.

Unsung hero: Bam Martin-Scott

When South Carolina installed the 3-3-5 package midway through the year, Martin-Scott’s role drastically increased. And he was huge down the stretch.

The redshirt senior linebacker had 38 tackles and two sacks this year. He made a game-high 13 tackles and one sack against Vanderbilt. He also had 10 tackles in the season finale against Clemson. If he comes back next year, expect him to be a real impactful player on defense.

Moment of the year: Stone Blanton seals the deal

There’s definitely more than one play to pick from here. So it really is hard to narrow it down. But Blanton’s pick six against Jacksonville State in early November was huge.

Late in the fourth quarter, Jacksonville State was on the verge of either tying or winning against South Carolina. But on a pass play near the sideline, Blanton picked off Zion Webb and took it the other way for an 88-yard touchdown to help South Carolina pull away to a big win.

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