With Rocket Sanders declaring for NFL Draft, where does this leave South Carolina's RB room?
Oscar Adaway III had always been “the guy” when he was in high school and North Texas after that. But when he came to South Carolina this season, another great running back who had also been “the guy” at his previous stops stood in the way.
When Shane Beamer and his staff brought in Rocket Sanders from the transfer portal last year, that was going to be their guy. Sanders wasn’t brought in to be second fiddle. As long as he stayed healthy, he was going to be the lead running back in 2024.
Sanders managed to stay relatively healthy and mostly returned to his old self, running for 881 yards and a career-best 11 touchdowns. Adaway still got touches but it was only half of what he had gotten in each of the previous two seasons at North Texas.
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While it might not have been what Adaway initially envisioned, it still ended up being a beneficial season for him. He got a firsthand experience of seeing a future pro like Sanders play right in front of his eyes.
“It was like seeing it being done right in front of me,” Adaway told GamecockCentral. “Everybody’s talking about how good he is at football. Great athlete. To be that big and be able to move as quick as he does, it’s not seen very often.”
With Sanders declaring for the 2025 NFL Draft, this leaves South Carolina’s running back room in an interesting spot for next year. For the immediate future, it looks like Sanders won’t play in the Citrus Bowl on New Year’s Eve as he’s not listed on the team’s depth chart. That should open the door for players like Adaway to step in and have more carries.
Of course, the transfer portal is open and there could always be another player brought in to fill the void left by Sanders. But with Adaway having another year of eligibility, this could be his chance to slide back into the lead role if he decides to return next year.
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“Now I know how it how it needs to be done,” Adaway said of what he learned from playing with Sanders. “Being early to everything, staying after practice, getting treatments after treatments. Seeing the extra mile that you got to go to win a Comeback Player of the Year award. It was great.”
South Carolina will also have other options at running back, those which will go beyond next season. Jawarn Howell and Matthew Fuller, who each have inked NIL deals with Garnet Trust for 2025, will be able to redshirt after playing in four or less games this season.
Adaway, who has gotten to work with these two players every day, sees what Howell and Fuller bring to the table. Even after his time as a Gamecock comes to an end in the future, he knows the program will be in good hands.
“Matthew Fuller has every tool in the toolbox. All he has to do is just put it all together,” Adaway said. “Jawarn being a big back like Rocket, with speed behind him, it’s gonna be a crazy couple years coming in South Carolina.”
