What’s the ceiling for USC’s running backs, with or without Rahsul Faison?
Of all the things that could derail South Carolina’s 2025 football season — injuries, poor officiating, bad luck, the “Chicken Curse” — it’s unfair that Gamecock fans have to worry about possibly getting screwed by bureaucracy.
At some point, the NCAA will have to decide whether it’ll give running back Rahsul Faison an extra year of eligibility. Bracing for that, let’s look at the ceiling for South Carolina’s running backs, with and without Faison.
With Faison
Even if the NCAA follows precedent — to avoid losing another lawsuit — and deems Faison eligible, there are still loads of questions about the USC backfield.
The two leading tailbacks would be 25-year-old Faison and 24-year-old Oscar Adaway III, who transferred to South Carolina from North Texas last year and rushed for 295 yards.
Neither have proved they’re capable of being lead running backs in the SEC. Perhaps that’s simply because they haven’t had the opportunity to be lead tailbacks in the SEC.
Regardless, the best-case scenario is Faison and Adaway becoming a dominant 1-2 punch. Always fresh. Always finding holes. Always working with quarterback LaNorris Sellers to stifle defenses.
“Do we have just a bell cow right now that we would say, ‘That’s the guy,’ like Rocket was last year? I wouldn’t say that,” USC coach Shane Beamer said in late April.. “But I really feel like overall, as a group, that group can do a lot.”
The ceiling is simple: Faison and Adaway are better than expected. Both are upper-echelon SEC players who, late in their career, finally have their opportunity to prove it. Who can beat linebackers to the edge. Who can catch passes out of the backfield. Who can each carry the ball between 10 and 20 times a game and challenge for 700-yard seasons.
Even better would be Faison and Adaway doing all that while one of the younger guys — either Colorado transfer Isaiah Augustave, redshirt sophomore Jawarn Howell or redshirt freshman Matthew Fuller — perform so well with limited carries that the coaching staff has to split the load into thirds.
Without Faison
If somehow the NCAA decides this is the time to put its foot down, and lawsuits don’t override that choice, the Gamecocks are going to be thin at running back.
It will have just five scholarship running backs — including graduate senior Bradley Dunn, a former walk-on who was put on scholarship last August.
Without Fasion, the hope is that Adaway turns into Rocket Sanders. That he is capable of averaging nearly 5 yards per carry (Adaway rushed for 3.8 yards per carry last year). That he is durable enough. to stay relatively healthy all season. That his touchdown run in the bowl game seems possible every few plays, not every few games.
Either that or someone comes takes Faison’s spot in that 1-2 punch. Maybe Augustave was just the transfer portal steal South Carolina needed.
He led Colorado in rushing last season and tried to transfer to Virginia, but reopened his recruitment a month later after some academic credits reportedly didn’t line up. That meant the Gamecocks landed a former four-star tailback with Power-4 experience in mid-June. Perhaps that good fortune leads to better results.
Or maybe Fuller, a nother former four-star, makes the most of additional carries. In his first collegiate season, he ran the ball just eight times.
Aside from Augustave, the Gamecocks’ running backs are all either really young or really old. The better those underclassmen are in 2025, the better USC’s running backs will be this season and beyond.
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 July 8, 2025 at 7:00 AM.
