Football season in Columbia, South Carolina is fast approaching. But with sophomore wide receiver Jayden Sellers and redshirt senior wide receiver Jayden Gibson out for the 2026 season with lower-body injuries, the question now becomes who can replace the two pass catchers this fall?
An explosive secondary playmaker
As a freshman, Jayden Sellers came to life during the second half of the 2025 season with 22 catches for 337 yards and a touchdown. Despite seeing little action, he became one of the struggling offense’s most productive receivers down the stretch and provided good after yardage catch.
"[He] had such a solid summer and was having a good preseason and you hate to see anybody get hurt," said football head coach Shane Beamer .
Sellers emerged as an explosive secondary playmaker, giving redshirt junior quarterback LaNorris Sellers another option on the field alongside redshirt junior wide receiver Vandrevius Jacobs (now at the University of Miami) and senior wide receiver Nyck Harbor.
The closest player to be a one-on-one replacement for Jayden Sellers would most likely be junior wide receiver Mazeo Bennett Jr. who was competing for slot receiver snaps. With Sellers gone for the season, Bennett has a much clearer path to becoming the primary slot receiver.
Another potential replacement for Jayden Sellers is sophomore wide receiver Donovan Murph. Murph played all 12 games as a true freshman in 2025, catching 14 passes for 197 yards and a touchdown. His in-game experience and athleticism have the potential to generate big plays and provide the Gamecocks with a larger target down the field.
Another secondary receiver option could be junior wide receiver Nitro Tuggle. Tuggle hails from Purdue, bringing 34 passes for 500 yards and four touchdowns from the 2025 season. Tuggle could give South Carolina another receiver who has already demonstrated his ability as a legitimate target down the stretch.
A dangerous deep threat
Measuring 6-foot 5, Gibson served as a big-bodied vertical player and explosive-play specialist during his time at Oklahoma. His large frame and downfield ability allowed the Sooners to stretch opposing defenses, creating chunk plays while giving the offense a dangerous deep threat capable of changing a drive with a single reception.
In 2023, Gibson turned 14 receptions into 375 yards and five touchdowns, averaging 26.8 yards per catch.
"He [Jayden Gibson] put so much into getting healthy, getting back out on the field," Beamer said. "And then to see the trajectory he was on and then get hurt, it's just heartbreaking."
Gibson was supposed to give South Carolina someone who didn’t need six to eight catches per game to affect the defense. Gibson’s replacement needs to be someone who can give the Gamecocks a combination of vertical stretching, size, contested-catch ability and touchdown potential.
The first person that comes to mind for Gibson’s role is Harbor. He is 6-foot-5, 239 pounds and recorded 30 receptions for 618 yards in the 2025 season. Harbor is more than likely already going to have a starting spot, but instead of outright replacing Gibson, he would instead absorb more of Gibson’s deep shots, go routes and one-on-one opportunities.
After an amazing last season, Harbor said he's excited to continue on the team.
"I unlocked a new level of being a receiver, being a deep threat that everybody said I can be," Harbor said. "Now, the team needs me to be an all-around threat so that's what I'm working on."
Another name to keep an eye on is redshirt freshman wide receiver Malik Clark. Gibson’s injury could create an opportunity for Clark to go from developmental depth to a player who gets 10-15 meaningful snaps per game.
A wildcard option as a replacement for Jayden Sellers or Gibson is redshirt senior wide receiver DJ Black, who transferred back to South Carolina after catching 22 passes for 273 yards and two touchdowns at the University of Central Florida in 2025. Black combines experience with speed and already has chemistry with LaNorris Sellers, meaning he could absorb some of the vertical routes and explosive play opportunities that would have gone to J. Sellers or Gibson.
Replacing Jayden Sellers and Gibson will likely require a group effort from South Carolina’s receiving corps. With several players potentially facing expanded roles, the Gamecocks will rely on a mix of experience, speed and young talent to make up for the production they lost. How quickly those receivers step up could be the key to success of South Carolina’s offense in 2026.
"It's good to have a room like that where pretty much anybody can go at anytime," LaNorris Sellers said. "It's a next man mentality, like one guy goes down like we still have to play football, still have to be ready for the season and all that."