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.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) – Two South Carolina women have been convicted after pleading guilty to charges related to the trafficking of three minors.

Monesha Tatayana Lapri Gary, 24, of Clinton, and Rebecca Melanie Perry, 30, of Columbia, pleaded guilty to human trafficking conspiracy in federal court in Columbia.

Evidence presented in court showed both women worked with co-defendants Antonio Marquis Nicholson and Terrell Counts to exploit the three minors in the commercial sex trade from at least December 2022 through August 2023.

Officials said Nicholson and Perry recruited one minor victim who was a runaway at a hotel and drove her across state lines, told her that she was going to work in commercial sex, bought her lingerie, took photos of her, advertised her for commercial sex on the internet, and arranged for customers to exploit her at hotels in the Columbia area and elsewhere in the state.

According to a press release, two minors were recruited near a high school.

Officials said members of the conspiracy used the internet to advertise the victims and carry out the crime.

Nicholson is accused of setting prices, collecting proceeds, deciding which minor victims would receive some portion of the proceeds, and how much they would receive.

Gary reportedly chatted with customers as if she was a minor victim, took a minor to another city to be exploited, collected proceeds, and turned them over to Nicholson all while the minor was multiple states away from her family. Perry helped similarly.

One victim was allegedly physically assaulted, and several of the members of the conspiracy carried guns and distributed drugs around the victims.

Under a plea agreement, Gary and Perry agreed to pay restitution to the victims.

United States District Judge Sherri A. Lydon accepted the guilty plea and will sentence Gary and Perry. An indictment is pending against Nicholson and Counts.

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Every South Carolina native knows the impact and weight of the South Carolina-Clemson rivalry. As a well-known rivalry nationwide, it just means more around here.

The Gamecocks currently hold a commanding 4-0-2 lead in this year’s Palmetto Series. To put it into perspective, they went undefeated in the fall semester against their in-state rival.

Here’s how South Carolina has gotten its wins over Clemson so far.

Volleyball

After both soccer teams — men’s and women’s — tied in their two matchups with the Tigers, the volleyball team got the winning going in the Palmetto Series with a 3-0 shutout on Sept. 20.

Riley Whitesides led the team with 18 kills, including big swings in sets one and three to lock in the win, 34-32, 25-16, 25-23. The Gamecocks were able to move to 9-2 on the year with that win and finished their season 16-12 with a trip to the NCAA Tournament.

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Women’s basketball

Women’s basketball earned a big win in the series on Nov 20. Head coach Dawn Staley had hoped to set the winning tone for other sports to follow.

“I mean it’s always great. When I first came here, I said we’ll take a UConn win over a Clemson win any way and then people started going crazy,” Staley said. “I’ll take a win against Clemson, obviously for the rivalry, for the Palmetto point, for hopefully opening the winning ways for men’s basketball as well as football.”

Previously ranked No. 1 South Carolina did just that. Handling the Tigers on their home court in dominant fashion to win 77-45, South Carolina’s defense held Clemson to just six points in the second quarter.

Just 10 days later, the Gamecocks defeated Clemson as the underdog on the Tigers home field. The Palmetto Bowl was a highly anticipated game with Clemson ranked No. 12 and South Carolina at No. 15. There were also possible playoff hopes for both teams on the line.

South Carolina’s 17-14 comeback win held a lot of weight for head coach Shane Beamer and the Gamecocks.

“What about our team, to overcome some of the stuff that we had to overcome,” Beamer said. “So much of it self-inflicted and to just find a way to win at the end is really, really special.”

Men’s Basketball

South Carolina men’s basketball overcame adversity and found a way to win over No. 25 Clemson. The Gamecocks beat the Tigers 91-88 in overtime at Colonial Life Arena on Tuesday.

For head coach Lamont Paris, beating Clemson meant more for the large crowd of fans in attendance.

“I was really happy with the crowd and really there’s a part of you that wants to really win the game, it’s a small part. The rest of it’s for all these other reasons, but you also want to win for your fans — you do,” Paris said. “They made the effort, there’s plenty of things they could have been doing. They came, they cheered, they’re exhausted, they rode the highs and the lows with you for 45 minutes. You want to win badly for that fan base.”

Sophomore forward Collin Murray-Boyles led the Gamecocks with 22 points on the night. Murry-Boyles said his fuel for this game came from passionate fans in the crowd.

“Shoutout to all the fans that were here supporting us,” Murray-Boyles said. “They really kept my energy high, and I feel like they kept the team’s energy high.”

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Upcoming matchups

Women’s golf: February 2-4; February 16-18

Men’s tennis: Feb. 7 (@ Clemson)

Women’s tennis: Feb. 11 (@ Clemson)

Baseball: February 28 (@ Clemson); March 1 (Greenville); March 2 (Columbia)

Softball: March 25 (Columbia); April 15 (@ Clemson)