Vandrevius Jacobs Emerges as South Carolina’s Leading Receiver
Heading into 2025, much of the talk around South Carolina’s wide receiver group centered on Nyck Harbor and Mazeo Bennett. Both were pegged as likely go-to targets for the Gamecocks. In fact, every GamecockCentral contributor who joined a preseason statistical leaders roundtable picked one of the two to finish the year with the most receiving yards.
So far, things haven’t unfolded that way. Through five games, Harbor sits second among wideouts with 220 yards and a touchdown on 11 catches, while Bennett has just five receptions for 40 yards.
Instead, the team’s top receiver is redshirt sophomore Vandrevius Jacobs, a Florida State transfer who has quickly become South Carolina’s most reliable target. That development doesn’t surprise Shane Beamer.
“I would say that it wouldn’t shock me,” Beamer said after Saturday’s 35-13 win over Kentucky. “I know people on the outside are quick to say, ‘Okay, this is your top guy. Here’s your next guy. These two guys are going to be leading receivers.’ It’s not as simple as that.”
Jacobs flashed potential in 2024, recording 12 catches for 181 yards in a crowded receiver room. His best outing came in the opener against Old Dominion, when he tallied 59 yards on two grabs.
This fall, Jacobs’ role has grown considerably. After going without a catch against Virginia Tech, he picked up 87 yards on six receptions across games against South Carolina State and Vanderbilt, including his first touchdown as a Gamecock on a 35-yard strike from LaNorris Sellers.
His breakout came against Missouri, where he hauled in a 49-yard score and finished with 128 yards — still the highest single-game total by a Gamecock receiver this season. He followed that up with another strong performance against Kentucky, posting 108 yards on five catches, including a 59-yard reception, the team’s longest offensive play of the night.
“Dre did a great job tonight,” Beamer said. “We made him a captain tonight because all that kid does is just work.”
Jacobs now leads the team with 18 receptions, 323 yards, and two touchdowns — all career bests. Beamer believes the sophomore’s success speaks to the depth of South Carolina’s wide receiver unit.
“I mean, looking at this stat sheet, Nyck caught one, Dre caught one. And then, two tight ends caught one — and one of those was on a fake punt,” Beamer said. “Certainly, there’s a lot of receivers that I didn’t name that are in that room that we have a lot of confidence in. [We] got to continue to get those guys involved, for sure”.
