Shane Beamer has made one thing clear this spring: there is no depth chart at South Carolina in April. And with the 2025 season opener still over four months away, why would there be?
Earlier this month, the Gamecocks head coach went on a passionate, nearly four-minute response to a media report that suggested the team had already sorted out its first, second, and third-string offensive lines. That came as news to Beamer, who emphasized that spring practices are about competition—not set roles.
Still, despite his usual stance against early depth chart assumptions, Beamer dropped a surprising clue after the team’s spring game.
“Coming out of the spring, as you would say, here’s a depth chart little nugget,” Beamer said. “You’d say that Boaz Stanley, coming out of spring, would probably be the starting center for us.”
That doesn’t lock Stanley in as the Week 1 starter on August 31 in Atlanta—but it’s a strong sign of the Troy transfer’s early impact in Columbia. With the departure of Vershon Lee, who started all 13 games at center in 2024 and has now exhausted his eligibility, the center position is a major focus for the Gamecocks.
Stanley, who started seven games at center for Troy last season, has already earned the respect of his quarterback, LaNorris Sellers.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen him down. He’s always smiling. No matter what, if it’s good or bad,” Sellers said. “He just knows what he’s doing. He has a lot of experience at the college level.”
Heading into his second year as the starter, Sellers knows the value of having strong chemistry with his center. He had it with Lee, and early signs suggest he’s developing the same with Stanley.
Interestingly, Stanley and Sellers didn’t actually share snaps during the spring game. Due to a draft that split players between the Garnet and Black teams, Rodney Newsom Jr. ended up as Sellers’ center on the night.
Newsom, a sixth-year lineman who transferred from Western Kentucky in January—just like Stanley did from Troy—started all 13 games for the Hilltoppers in 2024. However, center wasn’t his primary position, and it showed.
He committed two false starts and delivered a high snap that went over Sellers’ head.
“I just think it was a mistake on his part,” Sellers said about the bad snap. “I mean, it happens. First game in Williams-Brice, stuff like that. So I understand.”
Sellers only played two series with the Black team, finishing 4-of-7 for 53 yards and taking two “sacks”—though those came behind a mixed offensive line, far from the unit he’d typically have in a real game setting.
“We just kind of said, not drawn out of a hat, but let’s just get seven on both sides,” Beamer explained. “Seven on the Garnet, seven on the Black, and make sure we got enough tackles and we got five starters and two backups and just mix it up as well.”
While Stanley may have the inside track at center, the rest of the line remains in flux. Cason Henry and Josiah Thompson return at tackle, but the guard spots remain open with last year’s starters gone. Fortunately, time is on their side.
“The month of May and the summer were critical for our offensive line last year,” Beamer said. “It’s going to be critical for our offensive line this year, as those guys just continue to gel and come together as well.”
