South Carolina players share their favorite moments of 2024 regular season

The South Carolina football team’s 2024 season is not over yet. The Gamecocks still have a Citrus Bowl matchup against Illinois, set for New Year’s Eve, to play before they transition into the offseason.

But in the three weeks since South Carolina last took the field in a competitive game, the Gamecocks have gotten the chance to reflect on the defining moments of their season. Select players shared what they considered to be the team’s top plays, as well as their significance, during a media availability on Friday.

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Nick Emmanwori said his signature play was one that ultimately did not happen – his called-back pick-six against LSU. The play’s result, and subsequent outcome of the game, is not what Emmanwori will remember most about it. Rather, his key takeaway from the non-interception was his ability to adapt in the moment to make a big play.

“It was a heartbreaking call. But that was probably my favorite play, because, when you watch the film, I was talking to OD (O’Donnell Fortune), and I kind of changed our defense on the fly. We didn’t really talk about that. We practiced it, but that wasn’t in the game plan. So, it was just an IQ play of mine,” Emmanwori said.

“I communicated to OD and, if you watch the film, I told him to do a certain technique, and it just worked. He (Garrett Nussmeier) threw it, and it was just the craziest play. We talk about that every practice, every chance we get. I took it back for the pick-six, and that would’ve been a great way to end the game.”

Another Emmanwori interception later in the season served as a defining moment for Demetrius Knight Jr. This pick-six, which came in South Carolina’s 35-9 win over Oklahoma, concluded a 21-0 scoring run in the opening six minutes of the game.

The Gamecocks’ dominant win over the Sooners, in turn, kicked off a six-game winning streak that lasted through the rest of the regular season. South Carolina later tacked off wins against Texas A&M, Vanderbilt, Missouri, Wofford and Clemson.

“Starting games off like that, starting hot, is something you don’t forget, especially at that point in the season. We just came off a heartbreaking loss at ‘Bama, so we’re looking for a spark,” Knight said. “Nobody knew where that game was really going to go. Of course, we knew that we were going to come out swinging, not hold back – and this really started that run that we went on.”

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That season-ending victory against Clemson came down to the wire, with an interception from Knight with 12 seconds remaining sealing that deal. Alex Huntley said the moment was South Carolina’s most notable of the 2024 campaign.

“I think that’s one of those plays that’s almost like a movie ending – just, an ending to a great story,” Huntley said. “D-Knight’s pick was, probably, just the play that’ll be the most memorable.”

There was still one play that three players – LaNorris Sellers, Tonka Hemingway and Debo Williams – cited when considering season-defining moments. Sellers’ 20-yard rushing touchdown, which gave the Gamecocks a 17-14 lead late in their win over Clemson, is what immediately came to mind.

“It was third-and-16. We started the season not as great as we wanted to be – we were 3-3,” Williams said. “And then, for him to go out and score on that play, us being undefeated in the last six or seven games – I would definitely say that’s probably the closest thing I could say to our season.”

Sellers, not one to talk about himself, did not dissect the play in exhaustive detail. But he did admit that he has re-watched it on multiple occasions since Nov. 30.

“It pops up to my phone a good bit still to this day,” Sellers said. “So, I watch it a good bit.”

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