5 observations from South Carolina football’s first preseason practice

For the first time this preseason, South Carolina was on the practice field Friday getting ready for the 2024 season.

Here are five things we saw during the three-period media observation time, or about 15 minutes.

1. The offense

We got a brief glimpse of the first-team offense for the day as the final media period was winding down. The group that huddled included QB LaNorris Sellers, running back JuJu McDowell, transfer wide receiver Jared Brown and, most notably, true freshman offensive tackle Josiah Thompson.

2. Bam Martin-Scott limited

Linebacker Bam Martin-Scott participated in team stretching but walked off off to the side during individual drills to do a personalized workout with trainers. He was joined by redshirt freshman defensive back Zahbari Sandy, who’s out for the season as he recovers from an ACL injury. Beamer hasn’t mentioned Martin-Scott as dealing with any sort of injury, and it wasn’t immediately clear why he wasn’t participating in the early drills.

3. Rocket Sanders full go

Arkansas transfer running back Rocket Sanders, who’s coming off a shoulder surgery that was done after the 2023 season, looked lean and unhampered after almost six months of rehab. Sanders was wearing a black shirt under his jersey, so it was unclear if he was wearing a shoulder brace or anything to keep that injury area sturdy.

4. Kicker watch

One of the position battles to watch this month is at kicker. The favorite to win the job, sixth-year returner Alex Herrera, was kicking extra points as the first-team kicker. Simultaneously on the opposite field, walk-on kickers Daniel Lester and Payton Argent — who are both competing for the starting job — were working on kickoffs.

5. A lot of guys fielding punts, kicks

I have never seen a practice with so many guys working as a returner. During the special team period, there was a group of 14 guys — notably Sanders, WR Nyck Harbor, freshman WR Mazeo Bennett and other receivers — who were working with RBs coach Marquel Blackwell at returning kickoffs.

Right next to them was an eight-man group — being coached by WRs coach Mike Furrey — who were practicing punt returns. That contingent included three defensive players: DB Jalon Kilgore, DB Vicari Swain and DB David Bucey.