‘Time flies’: USC football seniors prepare to say goodbye to Williams-Brice Stadium

Sixth-year offensive lineman Eric Douglas has seen the different stages of South Carolina football over the last several years.

Douglas was part of the 9-4 team that defeated Michigan in the Outback Bowl. He’s also played on a 2-8 team in a COVID-shortened season. He even remembers when his primary locker was in Williams-Brice Stadium, and not the Long Family Football Operations Center where it is now.

And now, Douglas is preparing to play his last home game as a Gamecock.

“Being here a long time, you see a lot of stuff,” Douglas said. “It’s amazing where we started and where we are now.”

Douglas and many of his Gamecock teammates will be honored on Saturday at a Senior Day ceremony. The original list of those planning to be honored had 20 players on it, but that can change. Saturday’s 7 p.m. game against Tennessee is USC’s home finale for this season.

Senior defensive lineman Zacch Pickens joins Douglas on the list. He is a true senior, joining the team in 2019.

Pickens didn’t point to specific memories from his games in Williams-Brice Stadium, but the atmosphere and experience of winning games there stick out to him.

“Time flies when you’re here, especially when you play football,” Pickens said. “I’m definitely going to miss Willy B.”

It hasn’t yet fully set in for Josh Vann — a fifth-year wide receiver who walked during USC’s 2021 Senior Day and returned — but he thinks his final game in Columbia will be a special one.

Vann was the team’s leading receiver last year but came back to build his NFL resume. He’s taken on more of a special teams role as the leading punt returner, but has made a few plays in the passing game as well.

Vann’s first season was in 2018. He played in the Tennessee game that year, which happens to be the last time the Gamecocks beat the Volunteers.

“Hopefully, I don’t get too emotional, but it’ll be one to remember,” Vann said.

Redshirt junior Cam Smith was not on the initial list of seniors to be honored, but said Saturday will “more than likely” be his last game at Williams-Brice Stadium. Smith is an NFL prospect and considered one of the best cornerbacks in college football.

Like Pickens, he felt the years have gone by quickly.

“You don’t really think about it because you’re going day to day, you’re thinking about the next workout,” Smith said. “To see it come full fold, and I’m coming to the end of my career, it’s just crazy.”

Douglas remembers older players such as Dennis Daley and Sadarius Hutcherson helping show him the ropes at USC. He said they “laid down a law” for how the game should be played.

Now, Douglas is that veteran leader doing the same thing for South Carolina’s young players.

“We tried to mimic that and we tried to pass that on to the younger guys,” Douglas said. ”That’s the main thing, just helping each other build.”

Head coach Shane Beamer commended the seniors who had a chance to leave after 2021 but opted to return.

A portion of them returned after the Duke’s Mayo Bowl win last season, and they clinched bowl eligibility once again this year.

“These guys did not have to come back,” Beamer said. “They believed enough in what we were doing here as a program that they chose to stay for another year. I’m just so happy for them.”

South Carolina has a pair of games against teams currently ranked in the Top 10 to close out the season. With the first coming at home on Senior Night, the team’s veterans will look to end on a high note.

“It’s gonna be a good game,” Pickens said. “We’re gonna give it all we have, especially since it’s our last time playing at Willy B.”