Good morning. Yesterday, we met Sahnya Jah, and today, we’re getting to know Gamecock women’s basketball freshman Tessa Johnson! Find out how she’s feeling about South Carolina’s weather, why she chose Columbia, and get her hot takes on dipping sauce.

Here’s what’s new in today’s Brew ⤵️

🏈 X-Factor
😴 Don’t sleep
🤙 And much, much more

🎥 GAMECOCKS+

X-Factor. A couple of SEC analysts have the Week 3 South Carolina-Georgia clash circled on their calendars. Jordan Rodgers and Joe Tessitore both mentioned the match-up as one of the more intriguing early-season games.

“It typically comes because you have outlier, X-factor plays like special teams. Pete Lembo is the best special teams coordinator in the country. Let me repeat that. We don’t talk enough about the coordinators in this league enough,” Tessitore said. “Lembo…is why Clemson is not in the College Football Playoff. They are capable, with what they do on special teams, to have those X-factor, outlier plays that can change a game and find upsets.”  

Let’s throw it back to one of our favorite moments from the gridiron of the 2022 season: Xavier Legette’s electrifying house call, and the Gamecocks+ film room session that shows how it all happened.

📈 STOCK UP

🔼 Brooms Out. It’s always a good time to reflect on how dominant the Gamecocks have been over Clemson in recent years! South Carolina has won five straight Palmetto Series trophies with the Garnet & Black finishing out the 2022-23 year going 8-5 in all head-to-head competitions against the Tigers. Bonus: In the four major sports, it was a complete Gamecock sweep!

🔼 Don’t Sleep. It’s never too early to look ahead to the 2024 NFL Draft! Senior Bowl Executive Director Jim Nagy’s got his eye on one Gamecock in particular as a potential draft sleeper.

“If NFL free agency has taught us anything this offseason it’s how much front offices value athletic DTs who can rush the QB,” Nagy tweeted. “Same applies to how teams value that third-down skill-set in (the) draft so one sleeper name to remember for next April is DT Tonka Hemingway.”

Check out Nagy’s full breakdown of Hemingway here.

🔼 Stock Up. Coming back to Columbia for another season paid off for James Hicks, Braylen Wimmer, and Noah Hall. All three Gamecocks improved their MLB draft stock with another season in the Garnet & Black: Hicks went from Round 16 to Round 13, Wimmer from Round 18 to Round 8, and Hall from Round 20 to Round 7!

🔼 Preseason Praise. The preseason accolades continue to pour in for Juice Wells! The star receiver earned a spot on On3’s first-team preseason All-SEC squad with the publication noting:

“Wells joined South Carolina this past season as one of the top FCS transfers and showed no issues adjusting to FBS play. He was a big part of the Gamecocks’ upsets against Tennessee and Clemson to close the season with a combined 20 catches for 308 yards and two touchdowns.

Overall, Wells finished just shy of 1,000 yards on the season to lead South Carolina with 68 catches for 928 yards and six scores. With both him and quarterback Spencer Rattler returning, the Gamecocks have a chance to take another leap forward after finishing 8-5 a year ago.“

🤔 GAMECOCK TRIVIA

Countdown: 45. During the Shane Beamer era, South Carolina’s single-game passing record is 453 yards. Against what opponent did the Gamecocks do it?

Got your guess? Scroll down to the bottom of this email for the right answer!

📬 STICK WITH US

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🎉 TRIVIA ANSWER

Answer: Tennessee

No surprises here as the South Carolina passing game against the Vols was a work of art with Rattler finishing the day with an 81.1% completion percentage and six touchdowns.

Have a good Wednesday, y’all.