Vicari Swain’s TD return was a ‘game-changer’ for USC. A gutsy decision set it up
Vicari Swain knew “somebody had to be a game-changer” in South Carolina’s season opener Sunday against Virginia Tech. When he woke up that morning, there was no indication he would be that somebody.
The Gamecocks defeated Virginia Tech 24-11 in the Aflac Kickoff game, but the final score doesn’t capture how tense the matchup truly was.
Until the fourth quarter, USC led 10-8 and had punted on five of six drives.
It took Swain’s 80-yard, punt-return touchdown to ignite the South Carolina sideline and propel the team to victory at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
“It’s so many Virginia Tech games where offense is ugly and special teams finally says, all right, we’re tired of watching this. We’re just going to go score ourselves, and that’s what we did,” Gamecocks coach Shane Beamer said.
As of the morning of the game, Jalon Kilgore was expected to be the punt returner. A nagging hamstring issue prompted Beamer and his staff to swap Swain for Kilgore. During pregame warmups, Swain wasn’t with the defensive first-stringers. But an injury to Judge Collier on the first Virginia Tech drive of the game created a need for Swain in the secondary rotation.
The opportunity allowed him to return the first punt for a touchdown for the program since 2013, as well as record a solo tackle and make key plays in the Gamecock secondary.
“It just happened to be me,” Swain said. “I embraced it, and ball came to me, and I scored. It was just that.”
The return would’ve never happened had there not been an illegal formation called on the Hokies punt unit. Beamer said he used the advice of an old special-teams coach — it wasn’t his father, Frank Beamer — and opted for a re-kick rather than take the penalty and an extra five yards after a fair catch.
“I had that voice in my head: ‘Nothing good ever comes after a re-kick,’ ” Beamer said. “So I was thinking of that, but really it was just that. We really feel like we had an advantage on when they punt the football with our people out there.”
Swain wasn’t expecting the decision, but knew it was another opportunity for him.
“I was kind of surprised when he wanted to re-kick, but when I saw they were backed up, the ball was going to be kicked deep,” hes said. “I trusted my guys up front to make the blocks.”
The return sent the USC sideline and crowd into a frenzy. The Gamecocks added another score from junior wideout Nyck Harbor in the fourth quarter. Harbor expressed his excitement for Swain’s big moment.
“That was an amazing play by that boy. I was screaming for joy,” Harbor said. “It might not seem like that, but I’m like, ‘Is he going to get it? Is he going to get it?’ I’m like, ‘Yes! Man, he got it.’ ”
Swain said his play gave him confidence he can continue to be that game-changer for South Carolina again in 2025.
“I’m just going to give it my best, my all every single time I’m out there, make the most of my ability every time I’m out there,” he said.
