Greg McElroy defends leaving South Carolina off Top 10 defenses in college football list

South Carolina shocked college football fans last season when it rattled off a 9-3 record in the regular season. The Gamecocks’ success was largely thanks to their stellar defense. While ESPN’s Greg McElroy doesn’t believe South Carolina will have a top-10 defense in the country in 2025, he named the Gamecocks an honorable mention.

“I just don’t know how they’re going to be able to replace the amount of senior production that was lost off last year’s team in South Carolina,” McElroy said. “But, if you look at where they were last year, Clayton White, their defensive coordinator, has done an amazing job.

“He does such a solid job of making sure that his defensive backs are extremely physical, his safeties are really versatile, and he allows those defensive linemen to pin their ears back and get after the opposing quarterback. He’s been there for five years. He understands exactly where he is. He’s constantly in the running for the Broyles Award, and rightfully so. The guy’s outstanding.”

South Carolina only allowed 316.6 yards per game last season, the 16th-least in the nation. It is the least yards per game South Carolina has allowed since White took over the team’s defensive operations in 2021.

Nonetheless, it won’t be easy for the Gamecocks to repeat last year’s defensive success. Most notably, the Gamecocks lost EDGE Kyle Kennard to the NFL Draft.

Kennard was unbelievable in the 2024 campaign, tallying 28 tackles, 11.5 sacks, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. For his efforts, he was named the SEC Defensive Player of the Year and a consensus All-American.

Along with Kennard, South Carolina suffered significant losses on its interior defensive line this offseason, including TJ Sanders, Tonka Hemingway, Boogie Huntley and DeAndre Jules. Of course, South Carolina is returning one of the most promising defensive pieces in college football: Dylan Stewart.

“He was a massive breakout star as a true freshman, was extremely disruptive and, at times, was completely un-blockable by the opposing team,” McElroy said. “He gave some of the best tackles in college football all they wanted. The problem is we had Dylan Stewart on one side, but you had Kyle Kennard on the other.

“Kyle Kennard was one of the best defenders that we’ve seen in the SEC in quite some time. He has since departed. So, more of the attention from the offense will go toward slowing down Dylan Stewart. Can Dylan Stewart still take over the game?”

A significant portion of South Carolina’s success next season will depend on the answer to McElroy’s latter question. Gamecocks fans won’t have to wait much longer to find out.

On Aug. 31, South Carolina kick off its season with a showdown against Virginia Tech at 3 p.m. ET. The game will air live on ESPN.