Small-school transfers ready to prove themselves among Gamecocks running back group

Oscar Adaway and Jawarn Howell want to prove they’re ready for the rigors of playing in the Southeastern Conference. They’ll have that opportunity this spring.

The South Carolina transfer running backs will get their share of playing time this spring as Raheim “Rocket” Sanders, another transfer, continues to rehab a shoulder injury. Sanders, a perceived favorite to be USC’s starter in the fall, is expected to miss at least the first part of USC’s spring practices that start March 19.

Those extra reps should help Adaway and Howell as they make the jump from smaller colleges to the SEC. Adaway spent the last four years at North Texas, a small FBS school in Conference USA, while Howell is coming off a big freshman season at FCS South Carolina State.

Adaway was the first tailback transfer commitment for the Gamecocks and spent just a week looking for a new home. He entered the transfer portal on a Wednesday and was on a flight to Columbia the next day, he said.

On the plane, Adaway met Sanders, the former Arkansas back, about possibly playing in the SEC together. He loved what he saw during his Columbia visit and committed to coach Shane Beamer a week later.

“I called Coach Beamer. He was about to get on a plane somewhere and I said, ‘Let’s do this,’ ” Adaway said. “A day later, Rocket committed and a lot of people started committing. South Carolina is going to be different this year.”

Adaway was a productive back at North Texas, gaining almost 2,000 yards in his four years there. He missed the 2021 season because of an ACL injury and will have two years of eligibility with the Gamecocks.

While he loved his time at North Texas, the opportunity to play in the SEC and increase his profile by coming to USC was too much to pass up. He joked to reporters about them not being able to name what city North Texas University is located. (It’s in Denton, Texas.)

“I feel like it was better for my career, better for my name to get out to a big stage,” Adaway said. “I pray to God I am ready and I am prepared for it. But we will know game one against Old Dominion for sure.”

While Adaway is in his fifth year of college ball, Howell only spent one season at S.C. State in Orangeburg, where he earned freshman FCS All-American honors. He rushed for 809 yards and seven touchdowns for the Bulldogs.

Howell earned FCS National Player of the Week honors after rushing for 283 yards and three touchdowns against Howard University.

But S.C. State went through a coaching stage with Buddy Pough, who announced in August that he would retire after the season as the school’s all-time winningest coach. Howell didn’t wait until Pough’s replacement, Chennis Berry, was named the new coach before deciding to transfer.

Howell entered the portal on Dec. 2, five days before Berry was named the new coach. He made up his mind that he wanted to see if he could play football at a higher level.

Howell said he always felt he was overlooked coming out of Mooresville High School in North Carolina, with most of his offers coming from Division II schools.

“Me, I want to go to the NFL and play at the highest level and I feel that is every college player’s dream,” Howell said. “I feel like me being at this school and a bigger caliber school will help me get to the next level easier with the resources they have.

“If you can play ball in the SEC, you can play at the next level. The SEC is the biggest competition stage for college football. If I can achieve here and grow here as a player and teammate, I can go to the next level.”

With Adaway, Howell and Sanders now in the fold to go along with JuJu McDowell, the team’s lead returning rusher, the Gamecocks are hoping for bigger things from their running backs this season.

The Gamecocks (85.1 yards a game) ranked last in rushing in the Southeastern Conference last season and were 126 out of 130 Football Bowl Subdivision schools.

“The SEC can be ready for a shock,” Howell said. “Just to know how many talented running backs we got in the room. And how we can really just run the ball repeatedly and catch the ball coming out of the backfield. We can take a hit, lay a hit.”

South Carolina running backs

Scholarship backs on campus for spring practice

• Oscar Adaway III (5-10, 220) grad student

• Juju McDowell (5-9, 185) senior

• Raheim Sanders (6-2, 225) senior

• Jawarn Howell (6-1, 210) sophomore

• Djay Braswell (5-11, 208) sophomore