Shane Beamer has good news on Rocket Sanders as Gamecocks prep for first practices

One of South Carolina’s most-exciting newcomers didn’t practice all spring.

Running back Raheim “Rocket” Sanders, who transferred from Arkansas in the winter, was absent from the Gamecocks’ spring practices and the Garnet & Black Spring Game.

South Carolina knew Sanders wasn’t going to be fully healthy immediately upon arriving to Columbia. Following the end of last season, Sanders had a shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum — a procedure that had him in a sling when he first stepped on campus.

Inside the Gamecocks’ facility, the recovery plan to get Sanders ready for preseason camp was referred to as “Rocket Science.”

While it’s unclear what exactly encompassed “Rocket Science,” Beamer made sure to thank the South Carolina administration for “giving us the resources to have cutting edge recovery tactics in place.”

The result: Sanders has been training with the Gamecocks this summer and will be full go for the start of camp on Aug. 2, Beamer said Monday while speaking at SEC Media Days.

“He stayed in Columbia the entire month of May. He didn’t go anywhere,” Beamer said of Sanders. “He (used) the month of May to really get ahead, so when the whole team came back and started workouts in June he (wasn’t behind.”

Beamer admitted that Sanders “lost a considerable amount of weight and body fat” since he arrived on campus, though the official roster listed Sanders at 225 pounds in the spring and now lists him at 230.

After three impressive seasons at Arkansas, including a sophomore campaign that included over 1,400 rushing yards, Sanders decided to play his final collegiate season in Columbia.

“I think people forget how freaking good that guy was in 2022,” Beamer said of Sanders. “I’m glad people have. He’s really good, when healthy. I’m optimistic that we’re gonna see the best version of Rocket Sanders this upcoming season that the SEC ever has.”

With the departure of last year’s starting running back Mario Anderson (transferred to Memphis), Sanders is expected to be the Gamecocks’ top option in the backfield — maybe the safety blanket for redshirt freshman quarterback LaNorris Sellers.

If Sanders is slowed for any reason, South Carolina will have reinforcements. In addition to grabbing Sanders out of the portal this year, the Gamecocks added two other tailbacks: Oscar Adaway III (North Texas) and Jawarn Howell (S.C. State).

And South Carolina will need all the help it can get. Last season, the Gamecocks had the worst rushing attack in the SEC and one of the worst in the nation, averaging just over 85 ground yards a game.