Parker White announces his plans for the 2021 season. (Hint: It’s good news for USC)
On a day where the transfer portal claimed two from the South Carolina football roster, the Gamecocks got some good news.
Senior starting kicker Parker White announced on Twitter and Instagam he will return for another season, a move made possible with the NCAA waiving a year of eligibility because of the COVID pandemic.
White posted this to his Instagram page Wednesday night: “Jason Aldean said it best, ‘We Back.’ 2021 let’s get it, here’s to a better year, it’s only up from here.”
He can do this because of an NCAA rule change during the pandemic that gave every player another year of eligibility. He walked on senior day, which often indicates a player will not return.
A product of Mount Pleasant, near Charleston, White has been the program’s starting kicker for almost four full seasons. He hit 56 percent of his field goal attempts this season while dealing with a hip issue.
With 290 career points, Fry ranks third all-time on the program’s scoring list. He sits 69 points behind Elliott Fry on the list, and is coming off a 59-point season.
This year, he was 11-for-19, but 0-for-4 on kicks 50 yards or longer. He hit better than 81 percent of his kicks as a redshirt sophomore and junior.
He redshirted during the 2016 season, then moved past a struggling Alex Woznick to take the starting spot in 2017.
South Carolina roster tracker
Not coming back, or likely not coming back
Declared for the NFL Draft
Israel Mukuamu — junior cornerback
Jaycee Horn — junior cornerback
Ernest Jones — junior linebacker
Shi Smith — senior wide receiver
Sadarius Hutcherson — senior offensive lineman
Seniors or juniors who walked on Senior Day
Will Register — tight end
Chandler Farrell — tight end/defensive lineman
Adam Prentice — fullback
Keir Thomas — defensive lineman
Transfers out
Makius Scott — freshman defensive lineman (going to Georgia Tech)
Shilo Sanders — redshirt freshman defensive back (going to Jackson State)
Transfer portal
Jammie Robinson — sophomore defensive back
John Dixon — sophomore defensive back
Could be coming back (12)
Opt-outs (4)
Randrecous Davis — junior wide receiver
OrTre Smith — junior wide receiver
Mark Fox — redshirt freshman offensive lineman
R.J. Roderick — junior defensive back
Seniors who didn’t walk on Senior Day (8)
Collin Hill — quarterback
Jaylan Foster — defensive back
Spencer Eason-Riddle — linebacker
Jabari Ellis — defensive lineman
Aaron Sterling — defensive lineman
Damani Staley — linebacker
Sherrod Greene — linebacker
Nick Muse — tight end (Note: Muse participated in Senior Day activities, but when asked if he planned to return, he said he wasn’t sure and added that if position coach Bobby Bentley returned, he would too.)
Seniors who announced they will return (1)
Parker White — kicker (Walked on senior day)
This story was originally published December 23, 2020 at 8:56 PM.
