How ‘All Gas, No Brakes’ continues to define USC, and what it means to players

It started with a bold declaration in the wake of South Carolina football’s comeback win in the Outback Bowl in January.

Celebrating with his players, Will Muschamp predicted that USC would win a national championship. In doing so, he invoked the mantra “All Gas, No Brakes.”

Muschamp and South Carolina are not the first to use that phrase in sports — the Atlanta Falcons did so just a few years ago and are starting to bring it back, among others. But it caught fire with the Gamecock fanbase, becoming a rallying cry throughout the offseason as expectations for 2018 rose. It’s on T-shirts, all over social media and in hype videos.

Within the program, it’s still very much a thing, players say.

“Ever since the Michigan game, that was our motto,” junior wide receiver Bryan Edwards said. “Oh yeah, it’s definitely (carried through the summer).”

What exactly it means, however, depends on who you ask.

For an offensive skill player like redshirt junior running back Ty’Son Williams, it’s all about explosiveness.

“It means going full speed, just putting in the work each and every day, looking ahead, not looking back,” he said.

For defenders such as redshirt senior linebacker Bryson Allen-Williams, the phrase defines the Gamecocks’ style of play.

“I feel it just goes back to our blue-collar identity. We want to be known as a team that outworks people, we want to go out and outplay people, and that’s something that ‘All gas, no brakes’ symbolizes, that every time we step on the field, we want to make sure we’re the fastest team, we want to make sure we go the hardest, nobody can ever say they outworked us. We’re never going to slow up,” Allen-Williams said.

Sophomore defensive lineman Aaron Sterling echoed that sentiment.

“Just don’t stop, give it your all. Going 100 every time your on the field, anything you do, all gas, no brakes,” Sterling said.

For junior defensive lineman D.J. Wonnum, the motto is a daily reminder of how to approach the sport, especially in practice.

“We break it down after practice, ‘All gas, no brakes,’ repeating that every day. ‘All gas, no brakes’ means going nonstop. You mess up, you keep going. If you feel like you messed a play up, just keep going, nonstop,” Wonnum said.