Gamecock offensive line seeing improvements, but will it lead to less sacks?

At last, there was consistency. Injuries were a detriment to South Carolina’s offensive line in 2023, with a different starting combination in each of the first nine games. But that changed the following year.

The Gamecocks, who managed to stay relatively healthy up front in 2024, had the same starting five in 12 of 13 games. It made a big difference when they went consecutive weeks without allowing a sack in early November. But it didn’t change the fact that there were still some real problems.

As much as the offensive line showed improvement at times, the end result wasn’t much different than the previous season. South Carolina allowed 41 sacks in 2024, the same amount as 2023.

The number could’ve been far higher if not for LaNorris Sellers’ ability to improvise and escape any potential trouble. Heading into this season, though, the goal is to give Sellers ample protection and bring the sacks as a whole down.

“I think that in any offensive line room in America, you try to strive for zero sacks, zero pressures, anything like that,” Cason Henry said. “And I think that we’ve strived longer and harder this year.”

Join GamecockCentral now for $1 your first week and enjoy a complimentary year of The Athletic – included with your membership.

Henry, who started all 13 games at right tackle in 2024, is one of two returning starters, along with left tackle Josiah Thompson, on the offensive line. Both players will have to earn their starting spots again this year, but the Gamecocks will be replacing their starting center and both guards.

This is now Henry’s fourth season with the program, and he’s been around for a lot of the offensive line’s lower points in recent years. But he feels confident about where the group is at as fall camp rolls on.

“As a cohesive unit, I think that we’re smarter,” he said. “We’re playing faster. We’re diagnosing defenses faster. We’re getting the ID calls faster. We’re making combo calls faster. Guys know what they’re doing at a faster rate. I think when you can play fast, you play better as an offensive line.”

Henry has seen the group continue to improve in the first few weeks of practice. Most notably, he pointed out that the pass protection has been a step in the right direction, especially when going up against some of South Carolina’s better players on the defensive line.

“We’ve been more successful in protection, even in practice, against guys like Dylan (Stewart) and (Bryan Thomas Jr.) and all those good guys that we have up on the defensive line,” Henry said. “So I’m impressed with how our group has been playing in pass pro, and I think that we’re just going to continue to get better with the system that (Mike) Shula has in place and what Lonnie (Teasley)‘s doing.”

A lot of the offensive line’s improvement this summer has to do with spending time working out together, which is something the players did last year when they decided to stay in Columbia. They’ve also been grading their practices to get a better idea of where progress is being made and where to improve.

“You grade blocks, you grade how many blocks you won, you lost. All of our GAs do that,” Henry said. “So you get block rates for every practice, and every single guy in our o-line room has improved measurably over the first three practices, first two practices, and then the last three. We’ve gotten measurably better as an offensive line and individually as a whole group.”

The other thing that’s helped is the well-developed chemistry. Henry, who’s one of the older guys in the room, has seen firsthand how bought in everyone, including the new players, is to being better in 2025.

“I think that this is probably one of the closest groups that I’ve been around since I’ve been here,” he said. “We talk so much, we hang out so much, we do so much with Lonnie (Teasley) and outside of the building. It’s a really good-natured, close-knit group of guys. … I think that we played really well together so far, and I’m excited to see what we do this season. I think it’s gonna be fun.”

Discuss South Carolina football on The Insiders Forum!