South Carolina running back Rahsul Faison was finally deemed eligible by the NCAA to play in 2025, the school announced Monday.
The transfer from Utah St. was a second-team All-Mountain West Conference selection last season when he ran for 1,109 yards and eight touchdowns while averaging 5.6 yards per carry. Faison also had 22 catches for 99 receiving yards.
After transferring to Utah St. from a junior college ahead of the 2023 campaign, Faison produced 736 rushing yards, five TDs and a 6.2 YPC average for the Aggies.
“I applaud the NCAA for looking at all of the facts in Rahsul Faison’s appeal and making the right decision today,” South Carolina AD Jeremiah Donati said in a post on his X account. “He has been patiently waiting for this decision, and we share in his excitement to have one more year of eligibility and be a member of our football team this year.”
The Diego Pavia case paved the way for Faison to apply for another year of eligibility. He was at Snow College in Utah in 2021 and 2022, but he also took online classes at Lackawanna College in Pennsylvania in 2020.
According to ESPN Research, Faison forced 98 missed tackles in his two years at Utah St., the second-most among MWC RBs behind only Ashton Jeanty.
In the six games last season in which Faison was given more than 15 carries, he ran for at least 109 yards five times. He’s looking to replace the production the Gamecocks lost from RB Rocket Sanders, who had 881 rushing yards, 11 TDs and a 4.8 YPC average in 2024. Sanders also had 27 catches for 316 yards and two TDs.
Phil Steele’s National Unit Rankings have South Carolina #47 at the RB position. Oscar Adaway will be Faison’s backup. After rushing for 1,893 yards and averaging 5.6 YPC in four seasons at North Texas from 2020-23, Adaway had 295 yards, three TDs and a 3.8 YPC average for the Gamecocks last year.
As of early Tuesday afternoon, most books had South Carolina installed as a 7.5 or eight-point favorite vs. Va. Tech in its opener Sunday afternoon in Atlanta at 3:00 p.m. Eastern.
FanDuel has Faison’s odds for an anytime TD against the Hokies at -145. He has +380 odds to score two or more TDs (rushing or receiving).
The Hokies will be in trouble if it’s a one-possession game on Sunday. Brent Pry, who has an abysmal 16-21 straight-up record during his tenure in Blacksburg, has gone 1-12 on 13 one-possession game. Furthermore, Va. Tech is 0-6 against non-conference Power-Four opponents on his watch, and that doesn’t even include non-conference defeats at ODU and at Marshall.