The days continue to go by, and South Carolina is still waiting for an answer on Rahsul Faison in his eligibility case. It’s been an eight-month waiting game for the Gamecocks, who are running out of time to hear back from the NCAA before the season begins.
If Faison isn’t cleared for the Aug. 31 season opener, it would be a tough blow for South Carolina since the transfer running back figured to be Rocket Sanders’ replacement.
In the meantime, the Gamecocks will look to others if Faison is ultimately unable to go. They do have one internal option who’s been a lead running back before and is still preparing as if he’s potentially going to be one now.
“I attack every year like it’s my last,” Oscar Adaway III said. “I attack like I’m going to get those carries in the preseason, regular season, summer, spring. I attack it all like that just so I can be prepared for it.”
Of all the running backs in the room, Adaway brings the most experience. Before transferring to South Carolina last year, he spent four seasons at North Texas, where he averaged 113 carries in his last three years with the program. He’s one of a few college football players left whose first season was in 2019.
“This is year seven,” Adaway said. “Everybody is looking at me like, ‘Bro, what up, unc?’ And I’m like, ‘Psh.’ But I accept it. I just go out there and just do what I can do and just try to improve, get better and better and better every single day.”
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Adaway spent last season as the Gamecocks’ backup running back and logged 77 carries for 295 yards and three touchdowns. His production was mostly limited, but he had his opportunity to do more towards the end of the year.
With Sanders skipping the team’s bowl game, Adaway stepped into the lead back role and delivered a solid performance. He had over 100 all-purpose yards, including a 36-yard touchdown run, as South Carolina fell 21-17 to Illinois in the Citrus Bowl on Dec. 31.
Little did anyone know, but Adaway was “nowhere near” healthy going into that start. In the days leading up to the game, he was dealing with an ankle injury that put him in a walking boot.
“I was in a boot, like three days prior,” Adaway said. “Then, right before we did Gamecock Walk, I was in a boot. I took my boot off just so I could walk. … I had to take medicine and everything just to get out there and be what I was.”
So in a way, the full extent of Adaway’s abilities hasn’t been shown yet in Columbia. Now back to feeling healthy again, he’s focused on getting himself right ahead of this season.
Adaway said he’s gotten his body fat down from 11 to around eight or nine percent. He added that he’s been running at 21-22 miles per hour.
“I knew I had to get faster, I had to get stronger, because I know it’s gonna be a lot of load on me this year,” Adaway said. “So it’s been good. Coach (Mike) Shula sees it, and it’s a good thing when you put a lot of work in and somebody sees it.”
Ultimately, Adaway hopes Faison will be cleared and able to play when the season begins. If not, he’ll be ready to take on a heavier load if that’s what South Carolina requires from him.
“It’s a blessing and an honor just to come out here and run football for the University of South Carolina. It’s different running for that ‘C’ with a Gamecock in the middle of it,” he said. “I want to give it all. My 130 percent, 127 percent, everything.”
