Who Could Shane Beamer Take With Him To SEC Media Days?
In what has seemed like the blink of an eye, we are less than two weeks away from SEC Media Days and less than two months from the 2023 college football season kicking off. SEC Media Days is the crescendo of the offseason that gets fans into the mood for college football.
At SEC Media Days, each head football coach is tasked with bringing three of their players with them. Last year at SEC Media Days, then-wide receiver Dakereon Joyner, offensive lineman Jovaughn Gwyn, and defensive lineman Zacch Pickens were the player representatives for South Carolina.
Who could represent South Carolina at this year's media days in Nashville?
QB Spencer Rattler
This one might be the most obvious choice of them all. After finding a groove late in the 2022 season, Rattler announced in January that he would return to Columbia for another season. It's been reported that Rattler has not only grown in terms of his confidence within the offense but he's also grown tremendously as a team leader. With the Oklahoma departure now long behind, it won't be as much of a media fiasco as it would've been last Summer.
DT Tonka Hemingway
One thing to note about Shane Beamer to this point in his career is that he's never taken a player to SEC Media days that wasn't a fourth or fifth-year senior. Due to that trend, and the role this South Carolina native could play this Fall, Tonka Hemingway makes a ton of sense here. The pride of Conway had a breakout season in 2022, as he obliterated multiple career highs and became a real difference-maker on the Gamecocks' defense. Combine that with the likelihood he'll be at the next level in 2024, and this would be a good and well-deserved experience for Tonka.
CB Marcellas Dial
Speaking of guys who've earned the right to go to SEC Media Days, Marcellas Dial is another who ranks very highly on this list. Dial is coming into his third season in the program and will be a crucial player for the Gamecocks this Fall, filling in for the departing Cam Smith and Darius Rush in the defensive secondary. His progression on and off the field and his decision to come back for a fifth season makes him an easy choice.
Other potential choices: DT Alex "Boogie" Huntley and P Kai Kroeger
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