Mario Anderson takes you in his helmet for two marquee plays

South Carolina transfer running back Mario Anderson has started to make his presence felt in the last two weeks.

After playing sparingly in the first three games of the season, Anderson has started to earn more snaps and has been the Gamecocks leading rusher in the last two.

It all started two weeks ago against Mississippi State when South Carolina focused heavily on the running game with Anderson emerging as the focal point, rushing for 88 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries.

[Become a GamecockCentral member for $1]

“I feel like that game, it was kind of like my debut game, my coming out game,” Anderson said this week on The Garnet Trust Hour on 107.5 The Game. “The coaches and my teammates, they put their trust and faith in me to be able to run the ball, and credit to the O-line because it was a tough physical game that day. I believe I had 26 touches. We had about 38 total, something like that, around there roughly. So it was a very physical game up front, and I wouldn’t be able to do it without those guys, especially the touchdown.”

The touchdown Anderson is referring to came with just over nine minutes to go in the game and pushed Carolina’s lead to 10 points.

Anderson took the toss to the left, made a couple of people miss, then powered forward before his teammates slammed him into the end zone.

It was a fitting exclamation point to Anderson’s first big game at South Carolina as he was presented a game ball by Shane Beamer in the locker room after the 37-30 win.

“They were able to pile up and push me in there, but just being able to have that trust and faith from my teammates and my coaches and me, the game ball from Coach Beamer, that meant a lot,” Anderson continued. “So I appreciate that, and I’m blessed to have the opportunity to showcase my talent and to be able to go out there and compete every day.”

[Win South Carolina-Florida football tickets]

After the big game against Mississippi State, Anderson earned his first career start as a Gamecock this past week against Tennessee.

The former Newberry standout, who transferred to South Carolina this past offseason, rushed for 101 yards, including a 75-yard touchdown, on 10 carries.

Anderson shared a breakdown of the long run, which showed he has breakaway speed that plays even at the SEC level.

“At first, just before the play broke, just being able to read the defense and seeing how they were lined up and how the secondary guys were flowing,” Anderson said. “Credit to them. It was a great defense, most importantly. Great team. But just how they were flowing and everything and just knowing that I was going to have to read my keys, where I was going to hit it at, where I was going to read. And just after I seen the hole and just able to drive my knees, it was like it was lights out for me. The next thing I remember, I was in the end zone, celebrating with my coach and my teammates and everything.”

[Get the On3 app! Stay connected with GC!]

The 5-foot-9, 208-pound Anderson set a Newberry school record last season with 1,560 yards and 19 touchdowns on 211 carries on his way to first-team A.P. All-America honors.

During his career at Newberry, the Summerville, S.C. native accumulated 3,301 yards rushing, third in school history, with 35 rushing touchdowns.

Anderson entered the transfer portal after last season, took a visit to Columbia, and quickly committed to the Gamecocks before enrolling in January.

Anderson and the Gamecocks are currently on their bye week but will return to action next weekend with a home matchup with Florida.

Scroll back up to the video to listen to the full Garnet Trust interview with Mario Anderson.

Discuss South Carolina football on The Insiders Forum!

The post Mario Anderson takes you in his helmet for two marquee plays appeared first on On3.