SEC Network’s Roman Harper emphasizes South Carolina's defense facing Kyron Drones in Week 1

South Carolina’s opening-week contest against Virginia Tech takes center stage on Sunday, Aug. 31.

Many enter the Aflac Kickoff Classic between the Gamecocks and Hokies with their eyes focused on LaNorris Sellers and the opening of his potential Heisman Trophy campaign in 2025.

However, SEC Network’s Roman Harper has his eyes on Virginia Tech quarterback Kyron Drones and the Gamecock defense of him in Week 1.

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“All we’ve heard all offseason (is) how great Sellers is, all the Heisman talk. Well, South Carolina won a lot of games because of its defense last year,” Harper said to host Alyssa Lang during Aug. 14’s SEC Now show.

When asked who he had winning by Lang, Harper chose the Hokies in an upset over the Gamecocks.

“This young man, Kyron Drones of Virginia Tech, is a young ball player that’s been in this system two, three years,” Harper said. “This is a team that believes they can do things.”

Drones, who transferred to Virginia Tech from Baylor in 2023, comes off a 2024 season that saw him take a step back statistically. As a junior, he threw for 1592 yards, over 500 yards less than he had in 2023. The senior also threw only 10 touchdowns alongside six interceptions in 2024. As a sophomore in 2023, Drones threw for 17 touchdowns and three interceptions.

Although he picked the upset, Harper’s point about South Carolina’s defense leading to wins is backed by the Gamecocks’ statistics in 2024. If Drones wants to walk out of Mercedes-Benz Stadium a winner, he will have to defeat a strong defense.

South Carolina’s defense allowed an average of 204 passing yards per game in 2024, 11.6 per completion. The numbers ranked the Gamecocks No. 44 in the nation, eighth in the SEC. Additionally, the Gamecocks tied for fourth in interceptions and were one of four teams to record two pick-sixes in 2024.

South Carolina’s secondary returns with high confidence, looking to continue to force turnovers in 2025.

“We’re deep as ever in secondary room. Everybody has confidence; it’s great competition in there,” Judge Collier said. We lost Nick (Emmanwori) last year, but we have a lot of guys that came in. So I feel like we’re in a great spot.”

South Carolina also generated strong pressure on the quarterback, ranking third in the SEC in sacks, tied for sixth nationally.

Head coach Shane Beamer hopes that when kickoff comes, it’s a sea of garnet and black he sees in the stands.

“Obviously, Labor Day weekend, a lot going on, but no better way to spend it than on Sunday afternoon in Atlanta, watching us take on a really good Virginia Tech team as well,” Beamer said in July. “So we’ll need all the Gamecock fans in Atlanta that day and encourage people.”

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