SerpApi.Org
South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer and his Gamecocks were one of the four teams for the second round of 2026 SEC Media Days in Tampa (Fla.) on Wednesday.
The Gamecocks are one of the nine SEC opponents Arkansas will play this season, the first time facing them in five seasons and second since 2017. The two squads joined the SEC together in 1992 and squared off every year from then through 2013.
Offensive coordinator Kendall Briles will be one of the new additions for South Carolina when the Gamecocks come to Razorback Stadium on Nov. 14. Briles held the same position when the Hogs piled up 457 yards on the Gamecocks in 2022, en route to a 44-30 early season victory.
Running back Raheim “Rocket” Sanders, who finished his college career under Beamer at South Carolina, gashed the South Carolina defense for 156 yards and 2 touchdowns and quarterback KJ Jefferson completed 18 of of his 21 passes in the triumph.
The production from that single game played a role in Beamer hiring Briles away from TCU during the offseason.
“I remember what KJ Jefferson and Rocket Sanders did that day, and, they were a hard offense to stop,” Beamer recalled. “But, certainly, Kendall, I knew who he was. Didn’t know him personally, going into that day. What he did that day was impressive, the way that that offense operated and how efficient they were.
“Watching the tape of that game on my computer back in December when I was going through this process of hiring an offensive coordinator did nothing but reaffirm that Kendall was somebody that I wanted to get in our program.”
Arkansas’ offense finished that 2022 campaign with a Top 6 offense in the SEC while averaging 471.2 total yards per game.
Nyck Harbor, the leading returning receiver for the Gamecocks, loves the independence Briles’ offense provides.
“Coach Briles is letting us play free, He’s letting me play free,” Harbor said. “A lot of things I do is off of what I see now. So everybody knows what the TCU offense was and how Coach Briles ran his offense. It’s fast-paced. It’s high octane. It’s exciting. But he just lets us play free.
“And I think that’s just the best thing for us. That’s the best thing for me. When I can run a route off of what I see and not just off a piece of paper, then I feel like it’s gonna be really dangerous.”
Arkansas has a 14-10 advantage over the Gamecocks in the all-time series between the two programs.
__Subscribe to HawgBeat now for just $1, visit our homepage to sign up today! This includes complete access to all On3 and Rivals national content, plus The Trough premium message board. __
