The Gamecocks are just 2 days away from taking the field for the start of the 2023 season. Sunbelt foe Georgia State, led by former Gamecocks assistant coach Shawn Elliot, makes the trip to Columbia from Atlanta with hopes of spoiling the hype surrounding the Gamecocks’ going into year 2 under coach Shane Beamer. Elliot has settled in nicely into his tenure, as his Panthers have ripped off three straight winning seasons with four bowl appearances in five years. He has done a good job of building and maintaining connections across one of the most fruitful states for producing talent. We will take a look here at their starters on both sides of the ball and dive into some of their key returning players.

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UNRANKED - TERRANCE DIXON

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UNRANKED - BRYSON BROADWAY

The offense all starts with 6-4, 202-pound senior QB Darren Grainger who threw for 19 TDs and only 4 picks last year. Although he looks to improve on his accuracy coming off last season, Grainger is extremely tough to bring down—having enough mobility to make you miss in a variety of ways to go along with a big frame to run defenders over.

He racked up 646 yards and 3 TDS (4.6 ypc) on the ground last year and will be a threat for opposing defenses all year. Ga St is going to run the football, having the best duo in the Sun Belt returning to go along 4 starters on the O Line.

One of the 2 headed monsters in the backfield is one Gamecock fans should be very familiar with. RS-SR Jamyest Williams is a sparkplug for the Panthers, having rushed for 859 yards and 9 TDs last year in his full season on the offensive side of the ball. Williams was a do-it-all type player coming out of in-state Georgia powerhouse, Grayson High School. Back in 2017, Rivals had Jameyest Williams ranked as the #159 player in the nation and the 12th overall ATH in the 2017 class when he came to Will Muschamp and co.

His counterpart is another senior in Tucker Gregg who has 310 carries, 1,560 yards (5 ypc), and 16 TD during his tenure with the Panthers.

The Panthers look to fully capitalize this year on offense with the O-Line returning 4 starters from last year. One of these starters is one Columbia natives may be familiar with in Malik Sumter. Sumter is the Panthers starting Center and prepped at powerhouse Dutch Fork under legendary coach Tom Knotts. Out of high school, Sumter was actually being recruited by many to play D-Line but has transitioned into a cornerstone leader along the O-Line for Shawn Elliot and co. The coaches named him a captain of the team and he’s a 3x All Sun Belt blocker as he looks to spoil the Gamecocks' first game in his return to Columbia.

The WR room returns some veteran depth and some young burners that Shawn Elliot has raved about this offseason to be contributors to this unit. Most notably are sophomores Ja'Cyais Credle and Jamari Thrash who made a big impact last year with a combined 53 receptions. Pairing them with tight end and important red-zone threat Aubry Payne (seven touchdowns) who was granted a 7th year of eligibility will be crucial for them being able to light up the scoreboard this fall. (Yes, 7th year)

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On defense, the Panthers bring back seven starters that made some big, disruptive plays with a school-record 36 sacks, 92 tackles for a loss, and 21 turnovers forced last season. However, in the trenches is where they might struggle as they have a few new starters settling into full-time roles in their 3-4 defense (Tre Moore and Jeffery Clark). A lot of their pressure will have to come from their LB corps where they return two all-conference players in Blake Carroll (11.5 TFLs) and Jordan Veneziale (97 tackles, 8 TFLs) along with junior Jamil Muhammad, who had six sacks and a fumble return touchdown.

At the back end, the Panthers return some good depth that was disruptive in forcing turnovers last season. This unit is led by one of the best Safeties in college football that you may have never heard of in Antavious Lane. Lane prepped out of West Palm Beach, FL, and since getting on campus has been one of the more consistent players over the last few seasons for the Panthers. (5 INTs last season)

So as you can see, the Panthers return multiple players who earned All-Sun Belt honors and 10 super seniors who are taking advantage of the extra year of COVID eligibility.

As Shane Beamer said in his presser earlier this week: “This ain’t Eastern Illinois.” The Gamecocks will have to put their best foot forward come Saturday and the fans will have to bring the energy.

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