August is here, which means college football is almost back after months off. With the season nearing its start, Gamecock football coach Shane Beamer is closely watching multiple position groups to determine who will start day one.

“I really do believe there’s multiple,” Beamer said. “We met as a staff this morning and I talked about all the things that really excite me about this team, which there’s a lot, but then all of the things that are, I don’t want to say concerns, but are questions that we have to answer. And there’s multiple.”

Many of those questions involve who will start in important positions come week one. Current position battles include fights for kicker, cornerback, linebacker, offensive line and receiver.

Many of these spots were opened in the rotation after the departure of many of the team’s key players from last season. The team is looking to replace the production of NFL first-round pick wide receiver Xavier Legette, sixth-round pick Marcellas Dial and kicker Mitch Jeter, who transferred to Notre Dame as a grad student.

“We still have a lot of work to do in the month of August as we head into the first game on August 31st, but there’s no doubt we’ve grown and gotten better as a team since the spring game,” Beamer said.

Two positions on the offensive side of the ball will have a lot of eyes paying attention to see who steps up. The offensive line and wide receiver groups have struggled for the Gamecocks in the past, and with some of the team’s most consistent pieces like Legette and center Nick Gargiulo gone, the team will have to find someone to replace that production.

“Everybody wants to talk about the offensive line and the receiver position,” Beamer said. “Not that we don’t have capable people because we do, but we’ve got more depth and athleticism and competition than last year on really every position, but particularly on the offensive line and at the receiver position. It’s the truth that if you ask me today, what will the starting five look like on the offensive line game one and who are your top six receivers game one? It really, truly is still to be determined.”

The Gamecocks are returning four starters from the offensive line, but the team also brought in six new players to try and strengthen a line that gave up the 13th most sacks in the country last year.

Kamaar Bell, Torricelli Simpkins and Aaryn Parks all have playing experience and could earn a starting spot. Bell and Simpkins were both starters at their previous schools, Florida Atlantic and North Carolina Central. Simpkins was named 2023 First-Team HBCU All-America and a two-time First-Team All-MEAC selection in 2022 and 2023.

At receiver, the team lost nearly all of its top targets. Aside from Legette, the undisputed No. 1 option last season, Antwane Wells Jr., the top target from 2022 who battled injuries all year, and three other receivers departed the program. The receiving room is also under new command after the team hired Mike Furrey as the new position coach.

One returning receiver expected to contribute this year is sophomore Nyck Harbor. He has been absent from team workouts in the spring and summer due to his commitment to the track team and chasing his Olympic dreams. While he did not achieve that goal this year, it allows him to be with the team now as they begin preseason practice.

“He was on the practice field with us when it didn’t interfere with track, not practicing, but at least out here with us,” Beamer said. “He was not going to pursue the Olympic thing this year and he was ready to start focusing on football. I think says a lot about what he’s about, and then, the thing for him is Nyck’s just got to continue to work.”

South Carolina has just over three weeks to get everything together and set its opening-day lineup. While the team feels it has the depth to play with multiple lineups, the fight for playing time will continue to heat up as players get more comfortable and the season gets closer with every minute on the line.

“From May when they came back until now, we’ve gotten stronger. There’s no question about it,”  Beamer said. “Every coach in America would say this, but the summertime is just so critical because that’s really when you’re forming so much of your team from a leadership standpoint and the mental toughness.”