South Carolina lands commitment from Arkansas transfer Rocket Sanders
Less than a week after it seemed South Carolina’s running back room was young and depleted following the shocking news tailback Mario Anderson decided to hit the transfer portal, the Gamecocks answered back.
Coach Shane Beamer did not just patch up his running backs room with a knife and spackle. He rolled up with a bulldozer and repaired it with sturdy, trusted steel.
The appetizer was North Texas transfer Oscar Adaway III, who the Gamecocks nabbed out of the portal. The entree is perhaps Beamer’s best transfer portal addition aside from Spencer Rattler.
USC add a commitment Wednesday evening from Raheim “Rocket” Sanders, the Arkansas transfer tailback who immediately elevates South Carolina’s 2024 offense. Sanders announced his decision through social media.
Though he was hampered last season with a knee injury that kept him out of six games, he’s already proven his potential. As a true sophomore in 2022, the Florida native was one of the best tailbacks in the SEC, barreling his was to 1,443 yards and 10 touchdowns while picking up 6.5 yards a carry.
Sanders visited South Carolina this past weekend, posting pictures on his Instagram story of his decked out in the all-black South Carolina uniform sporting No. 5.
The fact South Carolina even got Sanders — widely regarded as one of the top running backs in the transfer portal — on a visit should not have been a huge surprise. During Sanders first two seasons at Arkansas, the Razorbacks tight ends coach was current USC offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains.
Connection or not, Beamer and his staff pulled it off. They lost top-tier talent (Anderson and Juice Wells) to the transfer portal and found top-tier talent of their own.
They found one of the best running backs in America. They upped their ceiling for 2024. They just supplied a young LaNorris Sellers with one heck of a weapon. They just proved the non-stop chatter about culture and joy can resonate with the best players in the country. They also proved — after weeks of speculation of South Carolina’s NIL capacity — the Gamecocks aren’t limited in who they can go after.
All of a sudden, Loggains has two new toys to tinker with, to build a Rattler-less offense around. He has a 1-2 punch that can compete in the SEC — a short-and-shifty back in Adaway (5-foot-10, 219 pounds) and a dude in Sanders (6-2, 242 lbs) who looks like he was carved for a running backs museum. Sanders is an all-everything back, capable of running through you, past you, around you, whatever.
And, in Loggains’ system, running backs can succeed. Last season, his first in Columbia after transferring in from Division-II Newberry College, Anderson rushed the ball for nearly 750 yards and became a more-productive player as the season wound down.
Like Anderson, Sanders brings experience.
He will arrive at USC with just one year of eligibility remaining (He started college in 2021 and doesn’t have a Covid year) and will be a veteran presence in what will be a youth-laden offense. The Gamecocks are expected to start Sellers, a redshirt freshman, at quarterback. He’ll be protected of an offensive line full of underclassmen and portal acquisitions. And South Carolina’s top returning wide receiver is Nyck Harbor, who’s will be a sophomore.
This story was originally published December 13, 2023 at 8:15 AM.
