Pair of Gamecocks earn SEC Player of the Week honors after Week 1 win

South Carolina is off to a 1-0 start following Sunday’s 24-11 win over Virginia Tech in Atlanta. It’s the fourth time in five years under head coach Shane Beamer that the Gamecocks have won their season opener.

The day after the win, two Gamecocks who played critical roles in leading South Carolina to a victory earned recognition from the SEC.

Sophomore linebacker Fred “JayR” Johnson was named the conference’s Defensive Player of the Week. Junior defensive back Vicari Swain, who started at punt returner on Sunday, earned Special Teams Player of the Week honors.

Johnson finished with a team-leading 10 tackles, one pass breakup and an interception. His interception came midway through the first quarter as he picked off Hokies quarterback Kyron Drones in the end zone. On the play, however, Johnson ran out to the two-yard line, which then led to LaNorris Sellers taking a sack for a safety two plays later.

READ HERE: What happened on Fred Johnson’s interception? Johnson, Shane Beamer explain

Swain also had a mistake of his own as he muffed a punt in the first quarter that he managed to fall on. But he made up for it later on in the game as he had an 80-yard punt return touchdown at the start of the fourth quarter to give the Gamecocks a nine-point lead.

READ HERE: South Carolina needed a game-changer on Sunday. It just happened to be Vicari Swain

For Swain, it was his first start as the team’s punt returner. Head coach Shane Beamer said Jalon Kilgore, who served as the punt returner last year, was probably going to start there this week. But he had been dealing with a hamstring injury that allowed Swain to step in.

Swain returned three punts for 80 yards and had one tackle at defensive back.

South Carolina will host SC State in its home opener at Williams-Brice Stadium on Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. The game can be streamed on ESPN+ and SEC Network+.

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