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South Carolina football has its star quarterback, and if it fills some gaps on defense, the Gamecocks could be one of the most dominant teams in the SEC.
LaNorris Sellers is one of the most talked about quarterbacks in college football and is heading into his second season as the offense’s orchestrator. In 2024, Sellers had a stellar defense to help get him on the field. In 2025, coach Shane Beamer will have to replace all that he’s lost.
Five players from the 2024 team were selected in the 2025 NFL Draft, all of whom were on defense. It included stars like safety Nick Emmanwori, edge Kyle Kennard and linebacker Demetrius Knight, in addition to veterans like tackles TJ Sanders and Tonka Hemingway.
Beamer also lost players like tackle Alex Huntley, linebacker Bam Martin-Scott and other dependable options.
With every season comes change, but ahead of the 2025 season opener, here are players who could break out on defense for the Gamecocks.
Bryan Thomas Jr. replaces Kyle Kennard at edge for South Carolina football’s defense
Bryan Thomas Jr. is a fourth-year edge rusher who brings not just experience but skill to the line. South Carolina is now without Kennard, who led the SEC with 11.5 sacks in 2024. He played alongside star Dylan Stewart, who returns for his sophomore year.
In the Citrus Bowl, Thomas played snaps with Stewart and finished with four solo tackles and a sack. The 6-foot-2, 247-pound player had 12 solo tackles and 4.5 sacks last season, which likely instilled a lot of trust in him from Beamer.
Kennard and Stewart were a quarterback’s nightmare in 2024. If Thomas can approach both Kennard’s impact and statistics, the Gamecocks’ defense will be in much better shape.
Three players in secondary set for big season for South Carolina football
Defensive coordinator Clayton White returns a trio of defenders in the secondary who can make a massive impact in 2025.
Jalon Kilgore, a 6-1, 211-pound junior, primarily plays nickel but can play safety. DQ Smith, a 6-1, 219-pound senior, mainly plays safety, and Judge Collier, a 6-1, 195-pound junior, returns as cornerback.
Not having Emmanwori is a huge loss, considering he had 244 career tackles and six interceptions (returning two for touchdowns) but he never worked alone. Kilgore, Smith and Collier can lead by example, especially with a younger defense.
South Carolina football’s defensive line has experienced players ready to steup
Losing Hemingway, Huntley and Sanders is significant. Those three starred for Beamer as interior defensive linemen.
It could be Nick Barrett, Monkell Goodwine and Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy’s time to shine.
Barrett, 6-3 and 327 pounds, is a fifth-year player who redshirted in 2024 and played in only five games. Goodwine and Brownlow-Dindy are in-conference transfers who arrived in South Carolina in January. Goodwine played three years at Alabama, and Bronlow-Dindy played two seasons at Texas A&M.
Beamer always had Hemingway, Huntley and Sanders, as they were part of the program since his first day on the job but he may have his next trio of star options.
South Carolina football’s linebacker room: Who to watch for in 2025
Debo Williams and Knight were voices on and off the field that were critical to South Carolina’s linebacker room in 2025. Williams was a permanent captain for the Gamecocks, and Knight became a prominent leader in just one season.
On the field, Shawn Murphy and Fred “JayR” Johnson may be on pace to mirror what Williams and Knight provided.
Murphy transferred in from Florida State, and despite only playing in four games last year, registered 13 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and recovered a fumble. At 6-3, 231 pounds, he could be a dependable option for White, especially with some in-game experience.
Johnson is 6-3, 244 pounds and a second-year linebacker. He played in all 13 games in 2024 and finished with six tackles and a quarterback hurry.
As a whole, the linebacker room is fairly young, as is Johnson, but his experience from last year combined with Murphy’s college experience as a whole, those two may lead the charge in 2025.
Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at lkesin@gannett.com and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @Lulukesin
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