South Carolina running back Raheim Sanders has shown in recent weeks why he’s earned the nickname “Rocket.” When Sanders gets up to speed, he’s hard to stop.
“When I see that green grass, I think, ‘Man, lovely,’” Sanders said after rushing for 126 yards and scoring two touchdowns in a 28-7 win at then-No. 24 Vanderbilt on Saturday.
The now No. 23-ranked Gamecocks (6-3, 4-3 Southeastern Conference) are hoping Sanders’ impressive performances continue as they face No. 24 Missouri (7-2, 5-2) on Saturday.
Against the improved Commodores, Sanders averaged 8.2 yards per carry. He scored on runs of 33 and 1 yard, plus he caught a 43-yard touchdown pass from LaNorris Sellers, helping South Carolina become a team that few in the SEC want to face right now.
This was just the latest in a series of strong performances for Sanders, an Arkansas transfer who ran for 1,443 yards and 10 touchdowns two years ago, finishing second in the SEC in rushing.
This season, Sanders has scored five of his 10 touchdowns in South Carolina’s last three wins: at Oklahoma (35-9) and against ranked teams in then-No. 10 Texas A&M (44-20) and Vanderbilt.
He had a season-high 144 yards rushing against Texas A&M.
“The key thing is trusting it, on the field, trusting it and being very coachable has helped me out a lot,” Sanders said.
For Sanders, the game is finally coming back to him after struggling to stay on the field in 2023. He had hoped to build on his All-SEC season but was limited to just six games due to injuries.
After the season, Sanders wanted a fresh start, so he reconnected with South Carolina offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains, who had been in the same role at Arkansas when Sanders played there.
At South Carolina, Sanders found a rising, young dual-threat quarterback in Sellers, who keeps defenses guessing, and an offensive line that has stayed mostly healthy and played well together.
“I feel like the key thing is talking to them every day,” Sanders said. “I feel more comfortable talking to them every day outside of football as well. That’s what’s making us a better unit.”
“When you work as a unit,” Sanders added, “the sky’s the limit.”
Loggains said in the offseason that Sanders may have gained too much weight, reaching over 240 pounds, which might have contributed to some injury problems. Now, Sanders is back to a quicker 230 pounds.
“If I hadn’t had the year away from him the two years we spent together at Arkansas, it feels and looks like that same player that has juice, that has size, that is a professional,” Loggains said.
The hard work has paid off for South Carolina’s running game. The Gamecocks are now fifth in the SEC, averaging over 180 rushing yards per game—almost 100 more yards per game than last year when they were last in the league with just 85.1 yards per game.
South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer said that improvement comes from several factors: Sellers’ versatility, the development of the offensive line, and the offensive staff coming up with creative ways to use Sanders’ strengths.
Sanders seemed to start hitting his stride in September when he rushed for 143 yards and two touchdowns in a tough 36-33 loss to then-No. 14 LSU, despite the Gamecocks leading 17-0. But Sanders injured his ankle in that game and had just nine carries in the next two games, including a 27-3 loss to Mississippi.
Gradually, Sanders relied on his strong offseason work ethic to return to form and play at the level he and his coaches knew he could.
“He’s just been very convicted and driven to do the things that he needed to do to be a great player,” Beamer said. “It’s good to see him having the success that he’s having right now.”
