Why Shane Beamer wants South Carolina’s final stay-or-go roster decisions made ‘ASAP’
South Carolina football is full speed ahead on 2026.
After a disappointing 4-8 season, USC has made quick work of moving on and looking forward to next season as the offseason months get underway. The Gamecocks signed their 2026 recruiting class, hired three new offensive assistants and are gearing up for the start of spring practice and the transfer portal’s opening in January.
But there’s a slight obstacle keeping the Gamecocks from fully turning the page to next season: They still need to know where their three best players — LaNorris Sellers, Nyck Harbor and Dylan Stewart — plan on being next fall.
The transfer portal is open Jan. 2-15, and the deadline to declare for the NFL Draft is Jan. 14. USC defensive backs Jalon Kilgore and Brandon Cisse already said they’ll enter their name for the draft, and six players have already announced their intentions to transfer.
But Sellers, Harbor and Stewart — at least publicly — have been silent about their own futures since the season ended.
USC head coach Shane Beamer said he hopes anyone with decisions to make firm up their plans “ASAP.”
“I’ve told them, ‘We want you here, but we can’t sit around and wait forever,’” Beamer said, speaking generally about any potential leftover decision-makers.
The key word here is “announce.” Beamer may know what certain players’ plans are already, but the player hasn’t made any public declaration. Some still have yet to make a decision at all.
“I’ll leave it to them as far as when they want to make an announcement,” Beamer said. “There are guys who’ve agreed to come back and worked out rev share details that just haven’t been announced. There are guys that still have decisions to make.”
Beamer said his concern is the rest of the program being left in limbo rather than being able to turn all focus toward preparing for next season.
“There’s a portal that’s getting ready to open up,” Beamer said. “Let’s be real. There’s a financial aspect of it. If you’re not coming back, that’s a financial aspect that’s now available to others to either bring in or to keep in our own program that I want to reward.”
“The longer this thing goes, it’s not good.”
Despite any worries these holdups might cause, USC’s new offensive coordinator Kendal Briles spoke at his introductory press conference Friday as if he expected Sellers to return.
“Once it got where we knew this thing was pretty much done, I had an opportunity to speak with him on the phone,” Briles said of Sellers. “We’re going to build the offense around him and the rest of the personnel ... we’re going to do the things that he feels really comfortable with. I’m excited to work with him. He seems like a great kid.”
Sellers and Harbor have both the option to enter the portal or forgo their remaining eligibility to enter the draft. Stewart, a sophomore, is not draft-eligible but could enter the transfer portal.
Beamer said he hasn’t set a hard deadline with any player yet to decide, but he is ready to leave the 2025 season behind him.
“Have I put a hard deadline on anyone? No. I’m on to 2026 and doing everything I have to do for 2026,” he said. “You’re either with us or you’re not.”
This story was originally published December 12, 2025 at 11:55 AM.
