Why South Carolina has a large group of NFL hopefuls playing in the Citrus Bowl

South Carolina will play against Illinois in the Citrus Bowl. According to head coach Shane Beamer, the Gamecocks will be without Nagurski Trophy winner and consensus All-American Kyle Kennard. An NFL Draft announcement from national Comeback Player of the Year Rocket Sanders followed, but his status for the game hasn’t been addressed further.

However, on Friday, a long list of Gamecocks hoping to hear their names called in the NFL Draft made known their intentions to play in the New Year’s Eve bowl game.

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Senior linebacker Demetrius Knight is one such NFL Draft hopeful. The transfer portal addition made it very clear he will play in the Citrus Bowl. Knight said he is, “looking forward to a couple more weeks with the guys…[not being in the College Football Playoff] is heartbreaking.” He added, “I’ve got kids,” so he feels that he doesn’t want them to bring up him not playing in the bowl game as an excuse for them not finishing something they started.

Fellow linebacker Debo Williams said one of the main reasons he and his teammates want to play in the bowl game is the pursuit of history. South Carolina football has won 10 games just four other times (1984, 2011-2013). “This means everything…we want to leave our mark,” he shared. The senior leader reiterated his preseason hope that the defense could “go for donuts” against Illinois.

One of the highest-projected Gamecocks in next year’s draft is Nick Emmanwori. The future professional safety quickly shot down any speculation that he wouldn’t join his South Carolina teammates in Orlando. “I’m going to be in the bowl game,” he told the media on Friday. The Columbia-area native cited the College Football Playoff Selection Committee’s snub of USC as a motivating factor in his decision. “[We] want to make a statement,” he said. Emmanwori added that Carolina doesn’t want to end up like Florida State last year. The Seminoles got blasted 63-3 in the Orange Bowl after being left out of the CFP field. Though he made no definite statement on his future, Emmanwori left the door open for a 2025 return to USC.

Defensive tackles Boogie Huntley and Tonka Hemingway also will play in the bowl. Said Huntley, “It’s another opportunity to go out there and have fun and show the nation—the world—who South Carolina is.” Likewise, Hemingway revealed that he is “really excited to put on the garnet and black, to play for the name on the front and the back.” Both fifth-year seniors have played a lot of football in Columbia and could be late-round picks in April’s NFL Draft.

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South Carolina will travel down to Orlando following a short break for Christmas. The Gamecocks and Illini will kick off at 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday, December 31st. ABC will broadcast the game, and ESPN+ will make it available for streaming.