2017 South Carolina Gamecocks football team

American college football season

2017 South Carolina Gamecocks football

Outback Bowl champion
Outback Bowl, W 26–19 vs. Michigan
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Division	East Division
Record	9–4 (5–3 SEC)
Head coach	Will Muschamp (2nd season)
Offensive coordinator	Kurt Roper (2nd season)
Co-offensive coordinator	Bryan McClendon (2nd season)
Offensive scheme	Spread
Defensive coordinator	Travaris Robinson (2nd season)
Base defense	Multiple 4–3
Home stadium	Williams-Brice Stadium
Seasons← 2016 2018 →

2017 Southeastern Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Eastern Division
No. 2 Georgia x$^	7	–	1	13	–	2
South Carolina	5	–	3	9	–	4
Kentucky	4	–	4	7	–	6
Missouri	4	–	4	7	–	6
Florida	3	–	5	4	–	7
Vanderbilt	1	–	7	5	–	7
Tennessee	0	–	8	4	–	8
Western Division
No. 10 Auburn xy	7	–	1	10	–	4
No. 1 Alabama x#^	7	–	1	13	–	1
No. 18 LSU	6	–	2	9	–	4
No. 19 Mississippi State	4	–	4	9	–	4
Texas A&M	4	–	4	7	–	6
Ole Miss*	3	–	5	6	–	6
Arkansas	1	–	7	4	–	8
Championship: Georgia 28, Auburn 7
# – College Football Playoff champion ^ – College Football Playoff participant $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant * Ole Miss ineligible for postseason due to NCAA sanctions Rankings from AP Poll

The 2017 South Carolina Gamecocks football team represented the University of South Carolina in the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Gamecocks played their home games at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina and competed in the East Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They were led by second-year head coach Will Muschamp. They finished the season 9–4, 5–3 in SEC play to finish in second place in the East Division. They were invited to the Outback Bowl, where they defeated Michigan.

Led by quarterback Jake Bentley, the Gamecocks' nine wins were the most since 2013. It was the first winning season since 2014, and seventh nine-win season in school history.

2017 recruiting class

College recruiting information (2017)
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Jamyest Williams CB	Loganville, GA	Grayson	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	173 lb (78 kg)	Aug 27, 2016
Jamyest Williams CB	Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 86
Shi Smith ATH	Union, SC	Union	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Jun 11, 2016
Shi Smith ATH	Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 83
OrTre Smith WR	Mount Pleasant, SC	Wando	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	217 lb (98 kg)	Sep 11, 2016
OrTre Smith WR	Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 81
M.J. Webb DE	Madison, GA	Morgan County High	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	271 lb (123 kg)	Aug 19, 2016
M.J. Webb DE	Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 81
Aaron Sterling DE	Tucker, GA	Tucker High School	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	259 lb (117 kg)	Feb 1, 2017
Aaron Sterling DE	Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 81
Javon Kinlaw DT	Goose Creek, SC	Jones County Junior College	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	300 lb (140 kg)	Feb 1, 2017
Javon Kinlaw DT	Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 81
Will Register TE	Chapin, SC	Chapin	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	240 lb (110 kg)	Nov 11, 2016
Will Register TE	Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 81
Keisean Nixon CB	Compton, CA	Arizona Western College	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Dec 14, 2016
Keisean Nixon CB	Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 83
Chad Terrell WR	Dallas, GA	North Paulding	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Nov 11, 2016
Chad Terrell WR	Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 79
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 16 Rivals: 16 247Sports: 21 ESPN: 19
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

Schedule

South Carolina announced its 2017 football schedule on September 13, 2016. The 2017 schedule consists of 7 home games, 4 away, and 1 neutral site game in the regular season. The Gamecocks hosted SEC foes Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, and Vanderbilt, and traveled to Georgia, Missouri, Tennessee, and Texas A&M.

The Gamecocks hosted three of its four non–conference games which are against Clemson from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), Louisiana Tech from Conference USA and Wofford from the Southern Conference and travel to Charlotte, North Carolina for the Belk Kickoff against NC State from the ACC.

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 2	3:00 p.m.	vs. NC State*		Bank of America Stadium Charlotte, NC (Belk Kickoff Game)	ESPN	W 35–28	50,367
September 9	7:00 p.m.	at Missouri		Faurot Field Columbia, MO (Mayor's Cup, SEC Nation)	ESPN2	W 31–13	55,023
September 16	7:30 p.m.	Kentucky		Williams-Brice Stadium Columbia, SC	SECN	L 13–23	82,493
September 23	3:30 p.m.	Louisiana Tech*		Williams-Brice Stadium Columbia, SC	SECN	W 17–16	71,821
September 30	7:30 p.m.	at Texas A&M		Kyle Field College Station, TX	SECN	L 17–24	96,430
October 7	4:00 p.m.	Arkansas		Williams-Brice Stadium Columbia, SC	SECN	W 48–22	79,416
October 14	12:00 p.m.	at Tennessee		Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN (rivalry)	ESPN	W 15–9	98,104
October 28	4:00 p.m.	Vanderbilt		Williams-Brice Stadium Columbia, SC	SECN	W 34–27	78,992
November 4	3:30 p.m.	at No. 2 Georgia		Sanford Stadium Athens, GA (rivalry)	CBS	L 10–24	92,746
November 11	12:00 p.m.	Florida		Williams-Brice Stadium Columbia, SC	CBS	W 28–20	79,727
November 18	4:00 p.m.	No. 7 (FCS) Wofford*		Williams-Brice Stadium Columbia, SC	SECN	W 31–10	74,742
November 25	7:30 p.m.	No. 3 Clemson*	No. 24	Williams-Brice Stadium Columbia, SC (Palmetto Bowl / SEC Nation)	ESPN	L 10–34	82,908
January 1, 2018	12:00 p.m.	vs. Michigan*		Raymond James Stadium Tampa, FL (Outback Bowl)	ESPN2	W 26–19	45,687
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings after October 31 released prior to game All times are in Eastern time

Schedule Source:

Roster

2017 South Carolina Gamecocks football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
WR	`1`	Deebo Samuel	Jr
WR	`3`	K. C. Crosby	Jr
QB	`4`	Darius Douglas	Fr
RB	`5`	Rico Dowdle	So
WR	`6`	Terry Googer	Jr
WR	`8`	Randrecous Davis	Fr
WR	`9`	Jerad Washington	So
QB	`10`	Jay Urich	Fr
QB	`12`	Michael Scarnecchia	Jr
WR	`13`	Shi Smith	Fr
QB	`15`	Drew Dinsmore	Fr
QB	`16`	Bailey Hart	Fr
QB	`17`	Danny Gordon	Jr
WR	`18`	Ortre Smith	Fr
QB	`19`	Jake Bentley	So
WR	`24`	Garrett Frederick	Fr
RB	`25`	A. J. Turner	So
RB	`27`	Ty'Son Williams	So
RB	`31`	Slade Carroll	Fr
RB	`32`	Caleb Kinlaw	Jr
RB	`34`	Mon Denson	So
RB	`36`	C. J. Freeman	Fr
TE	`39`	Parker Rankin	Fr
TE	`40`	Jacob August	Jr
TE	`41`	Caleb Jenerette	Fr
OL	`50`	Sadarius Hutcherson	Fr
OL	`51`	Cory Helms	Sr
OL	`55`	Christian Pellage	So
OL	`60`	Chandler Farrell	Fr
OL	`61`	Cameron Johnson	Fr
OL	`63`	Blake Camper	Jr
OL	`66`	Will Putnam	Fr
OL	`67`	Ryan Green	So
OL	`69`	D. J. Park	Sr
OL	`70`	Alan Knott	Sr
OL	`71`	Eric Douglas	Fr
OL	`72`	Donell Stanley	Jr
OL	`73`	Summie Carlay	Fr
OL	`74`	Dennis Daley	Jr
OL	`75`	Jordan Carty	Fr
OL	`76`	Jordan Rhodes	Fr
OL	`77`	Malik Young	Jr
OL	`78`	Zack Bailey	Jr
OL	`79`	Trey Derouen	So
WR	`80`	Shemar Glenn	So
TE	`81`	Hayden Hurst	Jr
TE	`82`	Evan Hinson	Fr
WR	`83`	Chavis Dawkins	So
TE	`84`	Kyle Markway	So
WR	`85`	Devin Dingle	So
WR	`86`	Chad Terrell	Fr
TE	`87`	Kiel Pollard	So
TE	`88`	Will Register	Fr
WR	`89`	Bryan Edwards	So

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
DB	`3`	Chris Lammons	Sr
LB	`4`	Bryson Allen-Williams	Sr
DL	`5`	Keir Thomas	So
LB	`6`	T. J. Brunson	So
DB	`7`	Jamarcus King	Sr
DL	`8`	D. J. Wonnum	So
DB	`9`	Keisean Nixon	Jr
LB	`10`	Skai Moore	Sr
LB	`11`	Eldridge Thompson	Jr
DB	`12`	Kaleb Chalmers	So
DL	`15`	Aaron Sterling	Fr
DB	`16`	Rashad Fenton	Jr
DB	`17`	Javon Charleston	So
DL	`19`	Brad Johnson	Fr
DB	`21`	Jamyest Williams	Fr
DB	`22`	Steven Montac	Jr
DB	`23`	Korey Banks	So
DB	`24`	D. J. Smith	Sr
DB	`26`	Jaylin Dickerson	Fr
DB	`28`	Tavyn Jackson	Fr
LB	`29`	Antoine Wilder	So
LB	`30`	Damani Staley	Fr
DB	`33`	Zay Brown	Fr
DB	`34`	Scott Grant	Jr
DL	`35`	Daniel Fennell	So
LB	`36`	Sean McGonigal	Fr
DB	`39`	Demetrius Smalls	Sr
DB	`40`	Jason Senn	So
LB	`44`	Sherrod Greene	Fr
LB	`45`	Spencer Eason-Riddle	Fr
DB	`47`	Jaylan Foster	So
DL	`50`	Griffin Gentry	Fr
LB	`53`	Mitch Langford	Jr
LB	`54`	Davonne Bowen	Fr
DE	`57`	Jazunne Outlaw	Fr
LB	`58`	Cole Davis	Fr
LB	`59`	Alex DeLoach	Fr
DL	`61`	Javion Duncan	Jr
DL	`90`	Taylor Stallworth	Sr
DL	`91`	Shameik Blackshear	So
DL	`93`	Ulric Jones	Sr
DL	`94`	M. J. Webb	Fr
DL	`95`	Dante Sawyer	Sr
DL	`96`	Aaron Thompson	Fr
DL	`97`	Kobe Smith	So
DL	`99`	Javon Kinlaw	So

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
K/P	`20`	Joseph Charlton	So
K	`42`	Alexander Woznick	Fr
K/P	`43`	Parker White	Fr
LS	`45`	Ben Asbury	Jr
LS	`46`	Harrison Freeman	Fr
K/P	`47`	Austin Snow	Fr
LS	`49`	Matthew Smith	Fr
K	`62`	Brandon Chiazza	Fr

Head coach

Will Muschamp

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Roster

Rankings

Further information: 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Final
AP	—	RV	RV	—	—	—	—	RV	RV	RV	RV	—	RV	—	—	RV
Coaches	—	RV	RV	—	RV	—	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV
CFP	Not released									—	—	—	24	—	—	Not released

References

"2017 Southeastern Conference Year Summary". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved November 27, 2024.
"Jake Bentley". University of South Carolina Athletics. June 22, 2018. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
^ "South Carolina Gamecocks College Football History, Stats, Records". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
"Gamecock Football Schedule Announced" (Press release). University of South Carolina Department of Athletics. September 13, 2016. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
"2017 South Carolina Football Schedule". FB Schedules. Retrieved January 4, 2017.

v t e South Carolina Gamecocks football
Venues	Old State Fairgrounds (1894, 1896–1898) Shandon Park (1895) College Park/Davis Field (1899–1925) Melton Field (1926–1934) Williams–Brice Stadium (1934–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Clemson Georgia North Carolina Tennessee
Culture & lore	Spurrier Cocky "The Fighting Gamecocks Lead the Way" Mighty Sound of the Southeast "Sandstorm" The Brawl University of South Carolina steroid scandal
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders NFL draftees
Seasons	1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025

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