COLUMBIA — No. 25 South Carolina wasn’t sure how well its kicking game would hold up with all-Southeastern Conference kickerpunter Ryan Succop off to the NFL.

So far, Spencer Lanning has barely missed a beat, or a kick, for the Gamecocks.

“I’m pretty excited just to be out there on the field,” Lanning said. “You have no idea what a rush it is.”

Especially this season for the former walk-on coach Steve Spurrier once called “the man with two last names.”

Lanning missed his first try of the season at North Carolina State. He’s made everything since, hitting his last 10 straight as the Gamecocks (4-1, 1-1 SEC) prepare for Kentucky (2-2, 0-2) on Saturday.

His 10 field goals are tied for first in the SEC and sixth most in the Football Championship Subdivision. Lanning is five kicks away from Colin Mackie’s South Carolina all-time mark of 15 straight set in 1987 and 1988.

Lanning handled punting chores last season, averaging better than 42 yards a kick, so Succop, a standout at both disciplines, could concentrate solely on place-kicking in his final year. Succop, the NFL draft’s Mr. Irrelevant as the final player selected last April, is starting for Kansas City.

South Carolina’s kicking game looks just fine in the Lanning’s confident right leg.

“It’s funny how they say that everything works out for a reason,” Lanning said this week. “It’s kind of wild that I ended up here.”

Lanning was a rising soccer player at York High School when a knee injury restricted his movement — and finally got him to listen to then football coach Steve Boyd to kick for the team.

“We always knew he was athletic and we thought he could help,” Boyd said, now the school’s athletic director.

Lanning was an allstate selection as a senior and kicked the winning field goal for the North in an 11-10 victory at the state’s North-South All-Star Game. Lanning chose to walk on at South Carolina, despite knowing he’d have to wait behind Succop.

“That probably turned to be a big advantage for Spencer,” said Boyd, his high school coach.