While the South Carolina football team is set to kick off its season on Aug. 31, there are several former Gamecocks who are preparing for their own seasons to begin in the National Football League.
The NFL is now three weeks through the preseason with the regular season kickoff looming on Sept. 4. Of the 40 Gamecocks playing in training camp, 15 of them are rookies who played during the 2024-25 season. The NFL roster size cuts down to 53 players on Aug. 26, with many of those South Carolina alumni fighting to make their respective teams.
There isn't a team with more of a South Carolina concentration than the Carolina Panthers, who have five former players suiting up. Three of those former Gamecocks are set to start, including cornerback Jaycee Horn, wide receiver Xavier Legette and linebacker DJ Wonnum. Running back Rico Dowdle is in the mix to get a handful of touches in the backfield, while linebacker Bam Martin-Scott is fighting to make the final roster. Martin-Scott has logged four solo tackles in two games for the Panthers in the preseason.
Staying in the NFC South division, the New Orleans Saints have three Gamecocks on the roster, including offensive lineman Torricelli Simpkins III and punter Kai Kroeger, who are both rookies. Simpkins is safe bet to make the team after a stronger preseason up to this point after going viral on August 10 for blocking a pair of defensive lineman protecting his quarterback, former Gamecock Spencer Rattler.
Kroeger seems to be in a battle with fellow Saints punter James Burnip to make the roster. Jeff Nowak of WWL Radio Sports described the punter battle as "50/50" after the first preseason game.
The Los Angeles Chargers have three rookies from South Carolina playing in the preseason in wide receiver Dalevon Campbell, edge Kyle Kennard and running back Raheim Sanders. It would be a surprise if Kennard missed the roster after being drafted in the fourth round, but Campbell and Sanders are both in limbo.
Michael Peterson of Yahoo Sports reported that Sanders is in a battle with running back Kimani Vidal to make the roster. Campbell was not mentioned in Peterson's story, while ESPN ranks Campbell as the twelfth wide receiver on the official depth chart, which would be far from the cut.
There are a handful rookies from South Carolina similar to Kennard who are safe bets to make the NFL roster based alone on being drafted. That list includes Seattle Seahawks second round safety Nick Emmanwori, Buffalo Bills second round defensive tackle TJ Sanders, Cincinnati Bengals second round linebacker Demetrius Knight Jr., Kennard and Las Vegas Raiders fourth round defensive tackle Tonka Hemingway.
Tight end Joshua Simon is playing preseason football for the Atlanta Falcons after leading the Gamecocks with 519 receiving yards this past season. Simon caught just two passes for nine yards for Atlanta in the preseason, and is currently projected to miss the final roster according to Falcons senior reporter Tori McElhaney.
Moving north, cornerback O'Donnell Fortune is on the outside looking in for a spot on the New York Giants roster. In January, Fortune did his best to boost his stock as a prospect after scoring a 60-yard pick six in the 2025 East-West Shrine Bowl, earning Defensive MVP of the game. He is slotted as the fourth left outside cornerback on the Giants' depth chart, putting him in a difficult spot to make the roster with roster cuts less than a week away.
In Miami, defensive lineman Alex Huntley is listed as the third right defensive end on the depth chart, which is also toeing the line of making the team. Alain Poupart of Sports Illustrated projects the Dolphins to cut Huntley, keeping six defensive tackles. Poupart described keeping more defensive lineman as "a luxury the team probably can't afford."
Wide receiver Gage Larvadain has made a case for himself to make the Cleveland Browns roster. Larvadain had five catches for 66 yards in the preseason with Cleveland and saw first-team reps in training camp before the games began.
The last former Gamecock rookie is offensive lineman Vershon Lee, suiting up for the Minnesota Vikings. Lee is listed as the fourth left tackle on the official depth chart, which hurts his chances to make the roster.
While many of those rookies might be in roster limbo ahead of final roster cuts, each NFL team can keep up to 17 players on their respective practice squads where a player can get claimed by any team at any point in the season.
Rookies aside, there are several former Gamecocks fans can expect to suit up in the starting lineup to begin the NFL season, including Washington Commanders wide receiver Deebo Samuel, Seattle Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV and Green Bay Packers cornerback Keisean Nixon.
What's Next?
Check out many of these former Gamecocks and more when the NFL season officially kicks off on Sept. 4, when the Philadelphia Eagles take on the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday Night Football.