Pair of South Carolina specialists earn spots on Freshman All-SEC team

On Thursday, the SEC announced its coaches-selected Freshman All-SEC team, and a pair of South Carolina specialists made the cut. Both punter/holder Mason Love and kickoff specialist Max Kelley found their names on the postseason honor list.

Love averaged 45.1 yards per punt in his first year of action. That was good for third overall in the SEC and second nationally among freshmen.

Kelley averaged 61.6 yards per kickoff, and the Gamecocks were a top 30 national kick coverage unit.

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From the South Carolina Athletics release:

COLUMBIA, S.C. (December 11, 2025) – A pair of South Carolina special teams performers, punter Mason Love and kickoff specialist Max Kelley, earned spots on the Coaches’ Freshman All-SEC team, the Southeastern Conference office announced today.

Love, a 6-1, 191-pound redshirt freshman from Riverside, Mo., ranked third in the SEC with a 45.1-yard average. He placed 16 punts of his 53 punts inside the 20 with just four touchbacks and had 13 punts of 50 yards or more, including a long of 61 yards. He posted the nation’s second-best punting average among all freshmen.

Kelley, a 6-2, 223-pound true freshman from Gallatin, Tenn., boomed 47 kickoffs for a 61.6-yard average with 17 touchbacks in his first year with the Gamecocks. Carolina ranked 27th in the country in kickoff return defense, as opponents returned 21 kickoffs for a 17.5-yard average.

2025 SEC All-Freshman Team Presented by Allstate

Offense

QB

Cutter Boley, Kentucky

RB

Chauncey Bowens, Georgia

Tory Blaylock, Oklahoma

WR

Vernell Brown III, Florida

Braylon Staley, Tennessee

TE

Kaleb Edwards, Alabama

OL

David Sanders Jr., Tennessee

Michael Carroll, Alabama

Kobe Branham, Arkansas

Dontrell Glover, Georgia

C

Kail Ellis, Auburn

AP

Vernell Brown III, Florida

Defense

DL

Jayden Woods, Florida

Elijah Griffin, Georgia

Lance Jackson, Texas

London Simmons, Alabama

LB

Edwin Spillman, Tennessee

Elijah Melendez, Auburn

Tyler Lockhart, Mississippi State

DB

Dijon Lee Jr., Alabama

Courtland Guillory, Oklahoma

DJ Pickett, LSU

Ty Redmond, Tennessee

Special Teams

PK

Scott Starzyk, Arkansas

P

Mason Love, South Carolina

RS

Vernell Brown III, Florida

KOS

Max Kelley, South Carolina

LS

Silas Hall, LSU

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