Head coach Shane Beamer and the South Carolina Gamecocks turned a corner in 2024, winning nine games in a single season for the first time in seven years. Now, a few key members of that team hope to hear their names called during this weekend's 2025 NFL Draft in Green Bay, and it could become an historic weekend for the program.
With 12 players available to be selected this year, South Carolina could set a new program record for players selected in a single draft.
Looking at South Carolina's draft history
The first South Carolina player was drafted into the NFL in 1939, and the program steadily produced a couple of draft picks each year throughout the 1940s and 1950s.
Entering the 2025 Draft, a total of 221 Gamecocks have been drafted into the NFL, including four players last year (wide receiver Xavier Legette, quarterback Spencer Rattler, defensive back Marcellas Dial, and offensive lineman Nick Gargiulo).
South Carolina's biggest draft class ever produced nine selections in 1954.
Player | Round | Team |
|---|---|---|
Clyde Bennett | 3rd | Giants |
Jim Kincaid | 3rd | Rams |
Frank Mincevich | 5th | 49ers |
Gene Wilson | 11th | Washington |
Hugh Merck | 15th | Washington |
Bill Wohrman | 18th | Cleveland |
Bob King | 19th | Giants |
Johnny Gramling | 24th | Cleveland |
Tommy Woodlee | 30th | Philadelphia |
Since then, the Gamecocks have threatened the record four times, with seven players drafted in 2013 and 2009 and six drafted in 2012 and 1988.
Jadeveon Clowney, Alshon Jeffrey, Stephon Gilmore, Jared Cook, and Melvin Ingram are among some of the more notable draft picks the program has produced in the current millennium.
What South Carolina's 2025 NFL Draft prospects have to offer
As mentioned above, there are 12 South Carolina players available for selection throughout the seven rounds of the 2025 NFL Draft. Safety Nick Emmanwori is the top prospect and may even be the first safety selected.
The next likely selections are defensive end Kyle Kennard, defensive tackle TJ Sanders, and running back Raheim "Rocket" Sanders. Kennard displayed his pass-rushing prowess with 11.5 sacks this season after transferring from Georgia Tech. TJ Sanders is coming off a career-best 51 tackles. Rocket Sanders could provide value as a backup running back with starter potential after returning to form in 2024 following injuries.
Those players seem almost guaranteed to be selected this weekend, mostly by the end of Day 2. That means only three more selections would tie the record, and four would set a new program mark. The class includes punter Kai Kroeger, linebackers Bam Martin-Scott and Demetrius Knight Jr, tight end Joshua Simon, defensive tackles DeAndre Jules and Tonka Hemingway, defensive back O'Donnell Fortune, and offensive lineman Torricelli Simpkins III.
Even if the record isn't broken, Gamecocks fans have plenty of reasons to tune into the 2025 NFL Draft on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.