What former South Carolina football player will get his jersey retired next?
The list is long. Ten pages. Small font. Row after row of unfamiliar names with legends sprinkled in.
It is South Carolina’s running log of every former student-athlete eligible to have their number retired. Key word: eligible.
Back in 2018, when then-athletic director Ray Tanner began revamping the retired jersey imitative, the South Carolina athletic department created criteria. Any student-athlete to be considered had to fit in one of these categories:
1. University record holder;
2. A consensus All-American;
3. A consensus national player of the year, or national freshman of the year (Naismith, Wooden, Heisman, Outland, Golden Spikes, etc.);
4. An Olympic medalist while at USC;
5. An All-SEC first- or second-teamer for three years;
6. Conference Player of the Year (or conference freshman of the year);
7. Team MVP of a national championship team;
8. Postseason MVP, leading to national championship.
At the moment, 53 former football players fall into at least one of those categories.
Of those, four guys — DB Dick Harris (‘69-’71), DB Ko Simpson (‘04-’05), WR Sidney Rice (‘05-’06) and Deebo Samuel (‘15-18) — meet two parts of the criteria. And three more — QB Steve Taneyhill (‘92-’95), DL Eric Norwood (‘06-’09) and RB Marcus Lattimore (‘10-’12) — are listed in three different categories.
But being eligible simply gets you on the ballot. From there, a committee that meets infrequently (once a year ... maybe) looks at the list of all eligible student-athletes. They each write down names to consider. Then USC executive AD Charles Bloom sorts through the names listed on numerous ballots. He then creates a separate ballot that the committee discusses.
The actual committee includes everyone from head coaches to former basketball star Alex English to Jay Phillips of 107.5 The Game to Liz McMillan, who runs South Carolina’s marketing for Learfield.
Beyond that, there is a limit of six jersey retirements across the athletic department in a given year and a maximum of one per sport, per year. Per Bloom, there are a number of former USC student-athletes whose jerseys have been approved for retirement though there’s been no public release.
None of those jerseys, though, are former football players.
A reminder: This is supposed to be a select group. This is not like the Baseball Hall of Fame, where voters list 10 names annually and anyone receiving 75% of votes gets inducted. More time does not always mean there’s more of a chance that your number will hang from the rafters.
So, it should not be a surprise that the last two Gamecock football players to have their numbers retired — Jadeveon Clowney (2022) and Alshon Jeffery (2023) — were unanimous selections by the committee.
It also means that all other South Carolina football players, aside from those who finished their career within the last five years, have not received enough support for the honor.
That includes those like Lattimore (arguably the greatest USC running back outside of George Rogers), Connor Shaw (the winningest QB in South Carolina history) and Samuel (who has the most receiving yards in a season).
So who will be the next Gamecock football player to have their number retired?
“Well, I wish Marcus Lattimore didn’t have that serious injury that kind of finished his career,” former coach Steve Spurrier told The State this summer. “He was certainly a key factor in (our success).”
Indeed he was. Though Lattimore’s 2010 freshman season remains the best from a South Carolina running back outside of Rogers’ 1980 Heisman campaign, he only finished his career appearing in 29 games.
Is that enough to have his jersey retired forever? Fans can debate.
If there were odds on such a thing, the favorites would include Lattimore, Shaw and, perhaps, current quarterback LaNorris Sellers.
It might be a while until another number sits among Jeffery’s No. 1, Sterling Sharpe’s No. 2, Clowney’s No. 7, Rogers’ 38, Mike Johnson’s No. 56 and Steve Wadiak’s No. 37. Who’s to say the next honor isn’t bestowed in a decade, perhaps after Sellers has set records and maybe guided USC to the playoff?
25 QUESTIONS FOR THE 2025 SEASON:
No. 25 — What South Carolina positions have the most question marks heading into season?
No. 24 — A Gamecocks victory over Va. Tech would be biggest season-opening win since when?
No. 23 — How will South Carolina’s QB room shake out in 2025 and beyond?
No. 22 — If USC beat Bama or LSU in ’24, would national conversation be different right now?
No. 21 — Can the Gamecocks’ offensive line take a step forward in 2025?
No. 20 — What former South Carolina football player will get his jersey retired next?
No. 19 — Can South Carolina get to the LSU game undefeated?
No. 18 — Will Fred Johnson be South Carolina’s next great LB?
No. 17 — What’s the most important stretch in USC’s 2025 schedule?
No. 16 — Can South Carolina’s defense stay elite despite all its roster turnover?
No. 15 — What South Carolina school records could be broken in 2025?
No. 14 — What’s the ceiling for USC’s running backs, with or without Rahsul Faison?
No. 13 — Can South Carolina’s special teams get back to Beamer Ball standard?
No. 12 — Have Gamecocks found right balance of high school football talent, transfers?
No. 11 — How will Shane Beamer go viral this year with South Carolina?
No. 10 — Is South Carolina too young at wide receiver?
No. 9 — Is this South Carolina’s easiest schedule in the Shane Beamer era?
No. 8 — Will there be noticeable changes in Mike Shula’s offense at South Carolina?
No. 7 — Can South Carolina football stay relatively healthy again in 2025?
No. 6 — Is this the last year for Williams-Brice Stadium as we know it?
No. 5 — What does a path to the playoff look like for South Carolina?
No. 4 — What happens if South Carolina football is no longer an underdog?
No. 3 — How would a 10-win season in 2025 shape Shane Beamer’s legacy in Columbia?
No. 2 — Can Dylan Stewart have a better season than Jadeveon Clowney did in 2012?
No. 1 — Can LaNorris Sellers become the best QB in South Carolina history?
This story was originally published June 30, 2025 at 7:00 AM.
