Darius Rucker will serve as the celebrity guest picker for ESPN’s “College GameDay” Saturday, the artist announced Thursday.

“GameDay” will broadcast live from Charlotte for the South Carolina-North Carolina season opener. Rucker, the South Carolina native who sang lead for Hootie & the Blowfish before pursuing a solo career, will also sing the national anthem before the game.

During the “GameDay” broadcast, Rucker will predict the winners of select games -- including USC-UNC -- along with the show’s mainstay personalities.

The last time USC actually hosted “College GameDay” in Columbia was 2014, with country music star Kenny Chesney as the guest picker.

The Gamecocks were about to play Missouri in their fifth game of the season. Lee Corso donned the head of USC’s mascot Cocky alongside Chesney. But South Carolina lost 21-20 on the way to a 7-6 finish that year.

Conversely, Corso is 3-1 in betting against the Gamecocks, with his lone blemish coming in South Carolina’s upset over Alabama in 2010.

Tennessee great Peyton Manning, Oregon women’s basketball alum Sabrina Ionescu, Texas golf alum Jordan Spieth, actor and Kansas alum Rob Riggle and North Carolina native and country star Luke Combs were among last year’s guest pickers.