USC football added six freshman WRs for 2025. Which of them will actually play?
Who needs a redshirt?
The trend of elite freshmen playing early in their college football careers is on the rise, and players like Jeremiah Smith, Ryan Williams and South Carolina’s own Dylan Stewart have helped usher the trend into the 2020s.
Despite the prospect of bringing in veteran talent from the transfer portal, the Gamecocks and head coach Shane Beamer committed to bringing in fresh faces, particularly in the wide receiver room. USC signed six freshman receivers and zero transfers to its 2025 recruiting class. Beamer intends for those newcomers to follow the trend and make early impacts.
“When we signed those freshman receivers, we signed them with the intention of getting them ready to play early,” Beamer said Wednesday.
Gamecocks offensive coordinator Mike Shula said Thursday he felt more young receivers could get in the game Sunday against Virginia Tech than he would’ve initially expected. Beamer agreed with that assessment, and added that all of them might get playing time on offense or special teams.
“There’s a small group of them that will play a lot on Sunday,” Beamer said. “And there’s a chance that you see all of them play a little bit.”
Two of the first-year pass catchers, Brian Rowe Jr. and Donovan Murph, seemed to have caught the eye of their teammates and garnered praise from multiple players in weekly media sessions. While the Gamecocks didn’t release an official depth chart this week, a projected depth chart from GamecockCentral lists the pair as the second-string outside receivers behind Nyck Harbor and Jared Brown.
“The one that stands out to me the most is Brian Rowe ... He’s a guy we can trust,” backup QB Luke Doty said. “Donovan Murph has been outstanding.”
Outside of Rowe and Murph, USC also signed Malik Clark, Jordon Gidron, Lex Cyrus and Jayden Sellers (the younger brother of starting QB LaNorris Sellers) in its 2025 recruiting class.
Murph (Irmo), Clark (Rock Hill), Gidron (Ridge View) and Sellers (South Florence) were all in-state signees, while Rowe (from Concord, NC outside Charlotte) was a regional pickup.
The freshman class of receivers has turned heads as a whole. Harbor said he couldn’t pick a favorite and acknowledged the group’s drive to earn early snaps.
“They ain’t come in to play around,” he said. “They came in to take spots.”
Defensive back and NC State transfer Brandon Cisse said all the freshmen have been tough covers.
“They’ve got a lot more polish than a regular wide receiver,” Cisse said.
Rotating six freshmen, alongside the Gamecocks’ veteran wide receivers, is a delicate balance. But Shula said having a surplus of talent only helps his scheme.
“It helps more so than anything, to have some young guys come in with the eagerness and attention to detail that those guys have... those are [things] you want to see,” Shula said. “Our job is to put guys in positions to do what they do best, and once we get them in those positions, hopefully they go out there and succeed and get some confidence.”
