When South Carolina opened fall camp two weeks ago, fans and media quickly noticed a new face lined up with the quarterbacks. Wearing the traditional green non-contact jersey and the unusual No. 34, the mystery passer sparked an immediate question: Who is he?
That player is Brandon Cunningham, a true freshman walk-on from T.L. Hanna High School. He graduated in May and officially joined the Gamecocks this summer, becoming the sixth member of the quarterback room.
Cunningham first caught the eye of head coach Shane Beamer at a South Carolina football camp last summer. Beamer liked what he saw at quarterback, but also envisioned Cunningham thriving elsewhere on the field.
“We talked to him about,” Beamer explained, “‘With your size and the way that you run, not saying that you can’t play quarterback at the next level, but we really think you could potentially be a receiver or defensive back, because you’re tough, you’re athletic, you’re a good football player, you can run.’”
Still, Cunningham was determined to stick with quarterback. At T.L. Hanna, he started under center, earned all-region honors, and excelled as a track star with blazing personal bests of 10.5 seconds in the 100m and 21.5 in the 200m, ultimately earning Upper State Athlete of the Year recognition.
Beamer later learned Cunningham had been accepted into South Carolina but wasn’t initially planning to play football. That’s when the head coach picked up the phone.
“So then I immediately called him up. I think it was his graduation day, actually, and I called him up,” Beamer said. “I’m like, ‘Hey, bud. If you’re coming here and you want to play football, we’d love to have you. That conversation that I had with you last summer has not changed. We think that ultimately you’re a receiver or a defensive back, but if you’re interested, do that.’”
Cunningham didn’t hesitate. He scrapped his summer plans, enrolled in classes, and jumped straight into workouts with the team.
“He was probably planning on just having a heck of a summer hanging out in the Upstate,” Beamer joked. “And then a week later, he’s getting his face blown off by Coach (Luke) Day out here at summer workouts. So proud of him from that standpoint.”
On South Carolina’s roster, Cunningham is officially listed as an “athlete,” a designation he shares only with Luke Doty. For now, though, he’s practicing exclusively at quarterback, giving the Gamecocks another arm for depth behind LaNorris Sellers, Cutter Woods, Air Noland, Jimmy Francis, and Doty.
Beamer hasn’t ruled out a position switch in the future but values Cunningham’s current role.
“I do think long-term, his position is probably receiver or defensive back,” Beamer admitted. “… Obviously, we’ve got Luke, we’ve got LaNorris, we’ve got Cutter, we’ve got Air, we’ve got Jimmy Francis. But when you start talking about, we get into the season and all that as well, we need more than five. We’d like to have six arms. So he’s working as a quarterback right now.”
For now, Cunningham is simply embracing his unexpected opportunity — a late addition who may prove to be a versatile asset in South Carolina’s future.
Would you like me to give this article a headline that highlights Cunningham as the “mystery QB turned walk-on story” (more intriguing for casual fans) or one that focuses on his potential long-term position switch (receiver/DB angle)?
