Why South Carolina football’s seniors won’t be honored at game against Clemson
South Carolina football is making another change for the 2025 season. And no, it’s not to the coaching staff.
Ahead of the Gamecocks’ game against Coastal Carolina at home Saturday, the team announced it would honor 23 seniors prior to kickoff versus the Chanticleers. USC usually honors its seniors during the last home game of every season — meaning the Gamecocks are pushing their senior ceremony up a week this year, instead of honoring the players before the Nov. 29 season finale against Clemson.
USC head coach Shane Beamer said he moved the ceremony to shake things up against the Tigers.
“Before I came here, I think senior day was always the week before the Clemson game. And when I came in, I moved it back to the Clemson game,” he said Wednesday on the SEC teleconference. “More and more I thought about it ... We haven’t played great against Clemson at home in my first two seasons when Clemson came here. So I just thought it might be good to just shake it up.”
Beamer is 0-2 against Clemson and head coach Dabo Swinney at Williams-Brice Stadium, with losses in 2021 and 2023. Beamer is also undefeated against the Tigers when playing in the Upstate (2-0). He went on to clarify it’s less about the on-field play and more about the emotions that come with playing Clemson.
“Not so much because of Clemson, just to do it differently,” Beamer said. “Rivalry weekend is extra emotional already ... when you do senior day along with it, certainly that adds to the motion.”
Shaking up USC’s rivalry game against Clemson
This is the earliest the Gamecocks have played Clemson at Williams-Brice Stadium in Beamer’s five-year tenure. USC hosted the Tigers in 2021 and 2023 for 7:30 p.m. kickoffs, and played its final home games of 2022 and 2024 against Tennessee and Wofford at 7:00 p.m. and 4 p.m.
Clemson’s last two home games against USC were both noon kickoffs. When the Tigers play their home finale against South Carolina, they also push their senior day back a game to the second-to-last home game (this happened in 2024).
While the tradition is new for Beamer, it’s not completely different for USC. Former Gamecock head coach Will Muschamp, who coached the team from 2016-20, made a point to honor his seniors the home game before Clemson in seasons USC hosted the Tigers. The games which held the senior ceremonies in that time never kicked off at noon, and USC played Clemson just once at noon under Muschamp in 2019.
“Doesn’t mean we’re necessarily going to play great next week against Clemson,” said Beamer, whose team is 3-7 and out of bowl game contention. “Really just felt like we’ll shake it up and do something different this year.”
USC will honor its seniors at 3:50 p.m. Saturday before the 4:15 p.m. kickoff.
“There’s some special young men in that group that have given a lot to Gamecock football,” Beamer said. “Some guys that were here before I even got hired as the head coach, that have now been here for five seasons with me alone, plus one with Coach Muschamp.”
South Carolina 2025 senior honorees
- Oscar Adaway III, RB
- Nick Barrett, DT
- Jared Brown, WR
- Colin Bryant, LB
- Demon Clowney, edge rusher
- Andrew Colasurdo, LB
- Jordan Dingle, TE
- Luke Doty, QB
- Bradley Dunn, RB
- Rahsul Faison, RB
- Monkell Goodwine, DL
- Jatius Geer, edge rusher
- Nathan Harris-Waynick, RB
- William Joyce, K
- Buddy Mack III, DB
- Chase McCracken, RB
- Rodney Newsom Jr., OL
- Cole Rasmussen, LS
- Eriq Rice, WR
- Larry Scott, RB
- DQ Smith, DB
- Chase Sweigart, OL
- Bryan Thomas Jr., edge rusher
This story was originally published November 19, 2025 at 12:56 PM.
