Before he gave them a full highlight reel, Hampton McIver’s grandparents collected snippets of their grandson’s fame.
On Thanksgiving, two days prior to ESPN and Twitter combining to give him a new nickname, McIver was home in Jackson, South Carolina. He was then just a sophomore student equipment manager for the USC football team happy to have a few free moments on a holiday.
McIver’s family is deeply rooted in Gamecock fandom. Growing up, McIver watched every game on television with his father until they scored season tickets in 2013. Carolina is important to them, so when one of their own could be seen every Saturday on the Gamecocks’ sideline, they wanted it documented.