Huggins-Bruce’s departure leaves the team’s #1 jersey unused (at least on offense; defensive back DQ Smith wears it on the other side of the ball). According to Gamecock SID and associate athletic director Steve Fink, with the new number availability, transfer quarterback Robby Ashford claimed Huggins-Bruce’s old jersey and will wear #1 this fall. He previously had been #4, but wide receiver Tyshawn Russell (who wore #21 last season) will wear the jersey vacated by Ashford.
The new jersey numbers could take some getting used to for South Carolina football fans, and they aren’t the only new ones on the roster. Senior defensive back Nick Emmanwori shifted his number from 21 to 7 this offseason, and redshirt senior EDGE Gilber Edmond (after a year at Florida State) will wear #55, the number he wore as a true freshman with the Gamecocks before shifting to #8. Redshirt freshman cornerback Vicari Swain is moving from #16 to #4 (the defensive version of the number).
Among the newcomers who could be in the two-deep this fall, some notable jersey numbers for fans to remember for this season include #3 (wide receiver Mazeo Bennett), #5 (running back Rocket Sanders and EDGE Kyle Kennard), #6 (EDGE Dylan Stewart), #7 (wide receiver Gage Larvadain), #14 (wide receiver Jared Brown), #15 (wide receiver Dalevon Campbell), #16 (defensive back Jalewis Solomon), #17 (linebacker Demetrius Knight), #18 (linebacker Bangally Kamara), #19 (wide receiver Vandrevius Jacobs), #20 (tight end Michael Smith), #23 (defensive back Gerald Kilgore), #24 (kicker/punter Mason Love), #27 (running back Oscar Adaway), #44 (defensive tackle Monkell Goodwine), #52 (offensive lineman Kamaar Bell), #74 (offensive lineman Josiah Thompson), #76 (offensive lineman Torricelli Simpkins), #87 (tight end Brady Hunt), and #99 (defensive tackle DeAndre Jules).
Melvin Ingram, Pharoh Cooper, Tommy Moody headline loaded South Carolina Gamecocks Hall of Fame class
South Carolina Gamecocks legends Jadeveon Clowney and Melvin Ingram meeting to sack Clemson Tigers quarterback Tajh Boyd / Daniel Shirey-USA TODAY Sports
The University of South Carolina Lettermen’s Association Hall of Fame is enshrining a loaded 9-person class this year. South Carolina Gamecocks legends from football, basketball, baseball, softball, and track and field will be honored as Melvin Ingram, Pharoh Cooper, Tommy Moody, Tiffany Mitchell, Jocelyn Penn, Jason Richardson, Bob Kaczka, Dana Fulmer, and Shalonda Solomon will be inducted officially on November 1, 2024 and recognized the next day at the South Carolina-Texas A&M football game.
Ingram and Cooper are two of the best players ever to come through the South Carolina football program. Ingram was an All-American in 2011 as the defensive tackle/defensive end hybrid was the top player on, arguably, the best defensive line in school history. Cooper made the All-SEC 1st team both years he started at wide receiver for USC, and his work as a wildcat quarterback helped him become one of the most well-rounded statistical performers ever to wear garnet and black.
Tommy Moody, who played for the South Carolina baseball team under Bobby Richardson, was one of the most beloved broadcasting figures around Gamecock land. While he contributed his efforts across the athletic department, he is best remembered for his work with the baseball team and the football team.
Two of the greatest guards to play for the Gamecocks in history, Tiffany Mitchell and Jocelyn Penn, are each ranked in the top six in terms of career points scored. For Dawn Staley’s South Carolina basketball team, Mitchell earned SEC Player of the Year twice, beginning a run of five consecutive and seven of ten years in which a Gamecock took home the honour (together with A’ja Wilson three times and Aliyah Boston twice). As a senior, Penn earned an All-American and broke the all-time record most steals in Carolina.
Shalonda Solomon, Bob Kaczka, and Jason Richardson were all track players for the Gamecocks who won SEC titles. Richardson, an Olympic silver medallist, is a seven-time All-American hurdler, four-time SEC champion, and a fixture on the top five school record lists for hurdle events. Despite competing more than 50 years ago, Kaczka, an eight-time ACC champion in cross country and track, still has the top five records in school history in the 800- and 1000-meter events. Solomon, who scored in ten different events during her three years as a Gamecock, was an 11-time All-American and among the most versatile female runners in SEC history.
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