Sep 30, 2023; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Shane Beamer before the game against the Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

Shane Beamer’s time as South Carolina Gamecocks head coach has been very up and down through the first three seasons.

The 47-year-old has amassed a 20-18 record in his three years in Columbia and has led the team to two bowl games, but a 5-7 finish last season and the SEC getting tougher with the additions of the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners may be cause for concern for Beamer and the ‘Cocks.

One potential bright spot for South Carolina this season, though, is former Arkansas Razorbacks running back Rocket Sanders, who transferred to the Gamecocks last December.

Sanders injured his shoulder in the spring and has been rehabbing the injury, but with South Carolina less than two weeks away from its season opener against the Old Dominion Monarchs, it seems that Sanders is ready to go, participating in South Carolina’s 7-on-7 scrimmage on Saturday.

“In the preseason game last week, we did some seven-on-seven before the scrimmage started and he participated in that. We just didn’t put him in the actual playing part of it. Today we did,” Beamer told the media after Saturday’s practice, via On3.

Sanders’ 2022 season with Arkansas landed him on the All-SEC first team, as the back rushed for 1,443 yards and 10 touchdowns. If he can replicate that production this season, there’s a great chance Beamer and the Gamecocks will be in a bowl game for the third time in four seasons.

[On3]