After four years at South Carolina, one of the mainstays of the Shane Beamer era is off to the NFL.

Defensive tackle T.J. Sanders is officially heading to the league, drafted No. 41 overall by the Buffalo Bills. Sanders is the second defensive tackle to reach the NFL of the Beamer era, joining Zacch Pickens who was drafted No. 64 overall.

After only appearing in two games as a freshman and redshirting, Sanders quickly grew into a steady presence on South Carolina’s defensive line.

He appeared in all but one game over the last three seasons and made 16 starts between 2023 and 2024. His breakout performance came in the 2023 game at No. 1 Georgia, when he recorded nine tackles, two tackles for loss and a pass break-up to win the SEC Defensive Lineman of the week. He never looked back from there, ending his season with 43 tackles and 4.5 sacks.

The Marion, S.C. native was a First-Team All-SEC player in 2024 and a Third-Team All-American as the key run stopper in the middle of South Carolina’s dynamic defensive line. Sanders recorded 50 tackles and four sacks while playing every game for the 9-4 Gamecocks, making his biggest contributions in a narrow win over Missouri with seven tackles and a sack.

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