Gamecocks get first look at Rocket Sanders in scrimmage setting. He was impressive

South Carolina was out on the grass at Williams-Brice Stadium on Saturday afternoon for its second and final scrimmage of the preseason.

Afterward, head coach Shane Beamer spoke to reporters about what went down. Here are three takeaways:

1. No decision on quarterback competition

Beamer was not quite ready to name a starting quarterback on Saturday. While many feel the favorite is redshirt freshman LaNorris Sellers, Beamer said he wanted to watch the film, talk with his coaching staff and wait at least a few days to announce the pick.

And for those who think there’s no choice to be made, Beamer disagreed.

“I feel like we have multiple quarterbacks who I feel like we can win games with,” Beamer said. “And I mean that. When you talk about Davis (Beville) and Robby (Ashford) ... they’ve started SEC games.”

On Saturday, Beamer said, Sellers and Ashford took the majority of the snaps and “I thought they both flashed.”

During these scrimmages, the quarterbacks are not allowed to be hit, which means it’s up to Beamer blowing his whistle to determine if a play was a sack or not. Naturally, some disputes between the defensive line and quarterbacks arise.

But that system can also make it tougher to truly evaluate quarterbacks like Sellers and Ashford, who are both over 6-foot-2, weight over 225 pounds and are true dual-threat quarterbacks.

“We’ve seen Robby on tape do that in games. We’ve seen LaNorris do it in games , against there vs. Vanderbilt ,” Beamer said. “When you’re 240 pounds and run close to 22 mph (like LaNorris), you have a pretty good idea that when he gets rolling, he’ll be hard to bring down.”

2. Rocket Sanders plays. Who did not?

Last week, a number of expected South Carolina starters did not participate in the scrimmage, a list headlined by wide receiver Vandrevius Jacobs and running back Raheim “Rocket” Sanders.

Sanders played on Saturday, and according to Beamer, looked like a pro.

Sanders, a transfer addition from Arkansas , missed all of the spring while recovering from shoulder surgery. USC held him out of last weekend’s scrimmage, but he did participate in the 7-on-7 sessions leading up to the latest scrimmage.

“We wanted him to get tackled. That happened some in practice this week where we tackled in practice and he got tackled a couple times,” Beamer said. “Then it happened today, and I thought he looked great. Ran the ball hard.

“People don’t talk enough about him in pass protection — he’s really good in pass protection, and that’s so critical at the running back position. He runs good routes in the passing game. He can catch. He’s just a really good, overall running back. We got him some carries there today, and I thought he showed that he’s Rocket Sanders.”

Still, even with Sanders and Jacobs back on the field, the Gamecocks had some absences. Here were the guys who didn’t participate Saturday.

• Edge Byan Thomas Jr.
• TE Reid Mikeska
• OL Jakai Moore
• Edge Elijah Davis
• TE Nick Elksnis

Beamer said he expects those guys will be back next week.

3. Freshmen will be a big part of this team

Beamer said he was recently trying to put together a preliminary travel roster, which can include 74 players for SEC games.

When asked about it, Beamer said there will be plenty of youngsters making the trip.

“There would be freshmen literally at every position,” Beamer said, “other than defensive tackle, who would be going on the trip at true freshmen.”

While Beamer has some time before he needs to figure out who is and isn’t traveling to Kentucky for the week-two contest, he does need to start telling guys where they stand.

Beamer noted that process will start during the Tuesday morning team meeting, where he noted he’ll tell the team who’s currently on the scout team. Now, Beamer said, that can change. In 2021, TJ Sanders started off on scout team and elevated himself quickly. Last year, linebacker Jaron Willis did the same.

“Everybody has the chance to improve their role,” Beamer said. “And everybody, if they don’t continue to improve, has the opportunity to lose that role, too.”