With 94 days until South Carolina football kicks off 2026, a look at No. 94 Preston Thorne

South Carolina football will take the field for the first time in 2026 on September 5 against Kent State. Williams-Brice Stadium will play host to the Gamecocks and Golden Flashes at 12:45 p.m., just 94 days from today.

The number 94 hasn’t been worn by a ton of notable players at USC. However, one man who wore the number has made an impact beyond the gridiron. Former defensive tackle Preston Thorne had 94 across his back when he was in garnet and black from 2000 to 2004.

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Thorne, a Palmetto State native and product of Summerville High School, joined Lou Holtz’s Gamecocks following an 0-11 season. He played rotationally at defensive tackle on some fun teams in 2000 and 2001, sharing the room in his career with future NFL players like Cecil Caldwell, Cleveland Pinkney, Shaun Smith, Darrell Shropshire, and Langston Moore, with whom he developed a long-term friendship.

A serious knee injury took Thorne’s junior season away from him. Even so, he bounced back to become a starter and team captain as a redshirt senior in 2004.

In his final season as a graduate student, Thorne got in on 14 tackles and forced a fumble. He also earned the Brad Davis Community Service Post-Graduate Award for his commitment to bettering himself, his team, and his community.

During his time as a Gamecock, Thorne made two Academic All-SEC squads, showcasing a commitment to education and learning that continued beyond his playing days.

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After graduating, Thorne didn’t play football professionally. Instead, he spent a year working on an AmeriCorps crew, helping with disaster relief efforts after Hurricane Katrina. He then used his University of South Carolina education and history degrees to get into teaching.

Thorne coached and taught in the state for about a decade. He also co-authored multiple children’s books (Just a Chicken, Just a Chicken Little, and Usta Wuz a Rooster) with Langston Moore and illustrator Kev Roche. He has traveled the southeast, promoting childhood literacy and encouraging parent-child reading relationships.

Thorne’s “go pro in reading, writing, and speaking” moniker emphasizes the correlation between educational growth and personal growth. “If you have these three skills, you can do anything,” he has said.

Alongside Moore, Thorne also helped start EAT2WIN, a series of camps that he describes as being “devoted to eliminating child obesity nationwide by exposing young people to healthy eating and physical fitness.”

These days, Gamecock fans can hear Thorne on the radio on 107.5 The Game’s “The Early Game” show. He has also worked at his alma mater as a student success coach and outreach coordinator.

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