{"id":318626,"date":"2025-08-26T09:23:13","date_gmt":"2025-08-26T09:23:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/318626\/"},"modified":"2025-08-26T09:23:13","modified_gmt":"2025-08-26T09:23:13","slug":"national-reactions-to-rahsul-faison-being-cleared-to-play-this-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/318626\/","title":{"rendered":"National reactions to Rahsul Faison being cleared to play this season"},"content":{"rendered":"

After nearly nine months of waiting, Rahsul Faison<\/a> has his answer. South Carolina\u2019s transfer running back will indeed play in 2025.<\/p>\n

The NCAA finally came to a decision<\/a> Monday afternoon to clear Faison, who enrolled at South Carolina in early January, to play this season. He will now be able to suit up when the Gamecocks take on Virginia Tech on Sunday in Atlanta.<\/p>\n

In the wake of the news, there have been plenty of online reactions to Faison being cleared. <\/p>\n

Of course, starting with Faison himself, he took to X, formerly known as Twitter, saying, \u201cThank you God\u201d with three praying hands emojis. Earlier in the day, before the news broke, he had made a post on X with five praying hands emojis, foreshadowing what was to come. <\/p>\n

\ud83d\ude4f\ud83c\udffe\ud83d\ude4f\ud83c\udffe\ud83d\ude4f\ud83c\udffe\ud83d\ude4f\ud83c\udffe\ud83d\ude4f\ud83c\udffe<\/p>\n

\u2014 Rahsul faison\ud83d\udd0b (@__sul3) August 25, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

Shortly after that, the South Carolina football X page (@GamecockFB) had a special post ready to go, which has since blown up with more than 220,000 views. In a 14-second video, a team staffer hangs up a black jersey in a locker. When that staffer walks away, it\u2019s revealed to be Faison\u2019s No. 1 jersey, with Kanye West\u2019s \u201cGod Is\u201d from his 2019 album Jesus is King playing in the background.<\/p>\n

South Carolina athletics director Jeremiah Donati also chimed in with a post on his X account.<\/a> <\/p>\n

\u201cI applaud the NCAA for looking at all of the facts in Rahsul Faison\u2019s appeal and making the right decision today,\u201d Donati wrote. \u201cHe 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. #GoGamecocks<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sign up for GamecockCentral today \u2013 $1 for the first week, plus a complimentary year of access to The Athletic included.<\/a><\/p>\n

Faison\u2019s lawyer, Darren Heitner, who\u2019s been the driving force in helping him get to this point, wrote on his X account, \u201cCONFIRMED. RAHSUL FAISON IS ELIGIBLE. #FREESUL<\/a>\u201d when the news became official.<\/p>\n

Under that post, Heitner shared his gratitude for Erin Abbey, who works as the senior associate athletics director at South Carolina.<\/p>\n

\u201cErin Abbey is one of the best there is in Compliance,\u201d Heitner said. \u201cI worked with her on the eligibility cases for Myles Stute and Rahsul Faison. Her hard work, attention to detail, and dedication to South Carolina athletes deserve praise from the entire fan base.\u201d<\/p>\n

Abbey currently serves as the compliance liaison for the football and men\u2019s and women\u2019s basketball programs. She oversees the day-to-day operations of the Office of Compliance Services, as well as providing rules education and interpretations to coaches, student-athletes and staff. <\/p>\n

Heitner, who also helped South Carolina men\u2019s basketball guard Myles Stute gain an extra year of eligibility in May, \u201cquote-tweeted\u201d a May 7 post from Faison, saying, \u201cI\u2019m gonna be cheering for you every Saturday.\u201d<\/p>\n

Faison\u2019s agent, Bryan Miller of The Familie sports agency, made a statement, which was posted by Matt Zenitz from CBS Sports.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cFirst and foremost, I want to thank everyone at the University of South Carolina, attorney Darren Heitner, the NCAA and everyone here at The Familie who has been on this lengthy journey together,\u201d Miller\u2019s statement reads.<\/p>\n

\u201cGod makes no mistakes and I am beyond grateful that Rahsul has been approved to play. His resilience and determination never wavered! Despite the uncertainty, Rahsul never stopped working and he\u2019s been locked in since the moment he got to Columbia. We all know how much this means to him and we are all excited to see against the Hokies in game 1. #SULFREE.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before transferring to South Carolina, Faison spent the last two seasons at Utah State, where he rushed for 1,845 yards and 13 touchdowns on 316 carries. One of the outlets that covered him during his time there was The Aggship, which covers Utah State football and basketball. <\/p>\n

\u201cCouldn\u2019t be happier for Rahsul,\u201d wrote Patrick Mayhorn, the creator of The Aggship, on X.<\/a> \u201cI thought it said a lot about him that he battled through injuries to finish out the 2024 season at USU when a lot of players would have called it a day. He deserves the chance to play, especially after the NCAA spent months jerking him around.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many others shared their reactions and thoughts on social media as well.<\/p>\n

Transfer RB Rahsul Faison getting cleared to play is huge news for South Carolina.<\/p>\n

No. 5 RB in ESPN\u2019s portal top 100 finally gets some good news. He\u2019s a 25-year-old 7th-year senior. https:\/\/t.co\/to7BrFa7cu<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Max Olson (@max_olson) August 25, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

Rahsul Faison timeline<\/p>\n

Committed to Marshall Feb 2019
Freshman season: grayshirted (2019)
Redshirt freshman: did not play (2020)
Redshirt Sophomore: attended Snow College (Juco, 2021)
Redshirt Junior: played at Snow College (Juco, 2022)
Redshirt senior: played 13 games at Utah\u2026 https:\/\/t.co\/2rc0cQsDwr<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 CFB Home (@CFBHome) August 25, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

South Carolina opens its season on Sunday against Virginia Tech at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 3 p.m. on ESPN. <\/p>\n