SEC’s best: Conference names Kennard top defensive player, Sellers top freshman
As expected, the man named the top defensive player in the country, winning the Bronco Nagurski Award on Monday, was also recognized as the top defender in the SEC by the conference’s coaches.
Kennard, who transferred from Georgia Tech last offseason, led the SEC this season with 11.5 sacks and 15.5 tackles for loss. He is also a finalist for the Lombardi Award, awarded to the top lineman in college football. The ceremony is on Wednesday in Houston.
Though Kenanrd spent just one season at South Carolina, he etched his name as one of the best defensive linemen in program history and will have his picture in the Gamecocks’ facility forever as the only USC alum to win the Nagurski Award and just the second Gamecock (Jadeveon Clowney was the first) to win SEC Defensive Player of the Year.
In addition to Kennard, quarterback LaNorris Sellers was honored as well, named the SEC Freshman of the Year.
The redshirt freshman quarterback was spectacular in his first season starting, leading the Gamecocks to six-straight wins down the stretch, capped off by a miraculous performance in a win over Clemson.
Despite battling injuries early in the season, missing the entire game against Akron, Sellers threw for 2,274 yards and 17 touchdowns while adding 655 yards and seven scores with his legs.
Perhaps the surprise of the SEC balloting was the Vanderbilt’s Clark Lea beat out Shane Beamer for SEC Coach of the Year.
While Lea helped lead Vanderbilt to bowl eligibility and a win over No. 1 Alabama, Beamer’s South Carolina squad was picked to finish 13th in the conference and, instead, the Gamecocks finished tied for the fourth-best record in the SEC (9-3, 5-3 SEC) and were in the mix to make the College Football Playoff.
And Beamer — who was voted the SEC Coach of the Year by the AP — deserves high praise for the turnaround. He added a number of high-impact transfers — EDGE Kyle Kennard, LB Demetrius Knight Jr., OL Toricelli Simpkins III, RB Rocket Sanders — and rallied his team on a six-game winning streak to finish the season.
Beamer is the third South Carolina head man to be voted the AP’s SEC Coach of the Year, joining Steve Spurrier (2005) and Lou Holtz (2000).
SOUTH CAROLINA ALL-SEC SELECTIONS
FIRST TEAM
EDGE Kyle Kennard
S Nick Emmanwori
P Kai Kroeger
SECOND TEAM
RB Rocket Sanders
THIRD TEAM
QB LaNorris Sellers
OL Torricelli Simpkins
This story was originally published December 11, 2024 at 3:23 PM.
