With 29 days until South Carolina football kicks off the 2025 season, a look back at No. 29 Elliott Fry

South Carolina football will take the field for the first time in the 2025 season on August 31st when the Gamecocks take on the Virginia Tech Hokies in Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. That means kickoff is just 29 days away.

No. 29 has been worn by many players over the years, but one stands above them all. The smallest player on this countdown to kickoff, Elliott Fry had a great career in garnet and black. In fact, Steve Spurrier recently referred to the thin Texas native as “the best kicker I ever coached.”

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Fry joined the South Carolina football team as a walk-on after turning down scholarship offers to become a Gamecock. The 150-pound newcomer beat out several older returners and was the team’s starting kicker in the season opener. He had a strong freshman campaign in which he went 15-for-18 on field goal attempts, including four field goals in a one-possession win over the Florida Gators. For his efforts, Fry earned Freshman All-SEC honors and set a new freshman kicking record for total scoring.

His sophomore season was the third-highest scoring season in program history as he made 18 field goals and was a perfect 51-for-51 on PAT tries. He made the All-SEC squad in 2014 and had two more really good years in 2015 and 2016, but his total numbers suffered a bit due to poor offenses.

Fry made two game-winners during his South Carolina playing days. The first came during his freshman season to cap off Connor Shaw’s “Miracle in Missouri.” Then, in the season opener as a senior, Fry banged through a 55-yard boot in the final minute to knock off the Vanderbilt Commodores. That kick is still tied for the second-longest ever by a Gamecock.

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In total, three of the top nine Gamecock single-season point totals belong to Elliott Fry. At the time of his graduation, Fry was the career record-holder for total points scored in a USC career. Parker White eventually surpassed Fry’s mark, though White did have an extra season to accumulate his points. No one has ever made more than his 161 PATs; he made 155 of them in a row. Fry also holds places in the record books for the second-most field goals made in a season (20), third-most field goals made in a career (66), and third-best field goal percentage (75%). He accomplished all of that while battling Type 1 Diabetes.

Following his South Carolina career, Fry didn’t catch on in the NFL. However, the Head Ball Coach came calling a couple of years later. With the AFL’s Orlando Apollos, Spurrier and Fry reunited, and the team had the league’s top record when the league folded for financial reasons. His strong performance with the Apollos netted Fry an NFL opportunity with the Chicago Bears. He went on to play for five seasons, most recently with the Denver Broncos. He announced his retirement in 2024.

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