The South Carolina Gamecocks fell short in their final football game of the 2024 season in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl. While it was a rough way to end the season, the Gamecocks head into this off-season prepared for an even bigger blow, the exit of many key players from this year’s roster. Whether it was through graduation or the transfer portal, the departures will have a major impact on the program. It is a difficult task to restructure the roster to build on this year’s success. However, South Carolina has already begun bringing in new players through the transfer portal. Here is our analysis of the Gamecock’s transfer portal acquires.
Key Transfer Portal Additions for South Carolina
Offensive Additions
It was a blooming start to quarterback LaNorris Sellers‘ college career. What moves can the Gamecocks make to build his supporting cast this offseason?
Quarterback, Air Noland – Ohio State
Air Noland was the definition of a high school standout, throwing for over 10,000 yards at Langston Hughes (Fairburn, GA), including a 2023-24 season in which he threw for over 4,000 with a touchdown to interception ratio of 55:4. While it’s unrealistic for those stats to continue in his collegiate career, it’s safe to say he knows what it’s like be successful as the No. 7 QB in his class.
After not playing in his freshman season with the Buckeyes, he’s still got a lot of time to develop at age 19. The biggest question now is how much of the field he’ll see as a Gamecock.
Right now, this seems like a choice based on development preference, and a hope to be the starter in a few years. However, there is an outside chance he can compete with current starting quarterback LaNorris Sellers for the starting job over the summer. If nothing else, he’ll pressure Sellers to perform well in camp but don’t be shocked if he makes a huge impact in Columbia in the coming years.
Running Back, Rahsul Faison – Utah State
Rahsul Faison is a game-changer coming out of the transfer portal for South Carolina. With the loss of Raheim “Rocket” Sanders to the NFL draft, the Gamecocks need help to fill a major hole that fueled the offense this season. The team jumped from 2.8 yards per rush in 2023 to 4.4 this season, partially due to Sanders’ tough running and an ode to the health of his offensive linemen in front of him.
While it won’t be easy to replace Sanders, Faison is a great start. He tallied 1,109 yards and eight touchdowns while rushing for an absurd 5.6 yards per carry, close to a yard more than Sanders had.
Tight End, Jordan Dingle – Kentucky
Jordan Dingle didn’t produce much at the University of Kentucky last year. He only had one touchdown and 71 yards receiving last season. He’ll likely serve as a backup after the departure of South Carolina’s leading pass catcher on the season, Joshua Simon.
Offensive Recap
Overall, South Carolina could’ve targeted more pass-catchers through the portal for Sellers. However, they did make sure that was accomplished in high school recruiting. Yet, the one thing they did secure, was the running back spot.
The move for Faison is so important because of how much the Gamecocks leaned on the run game last season. If the Mike Shula system is anything like the Dowell Loggains one, Faison could be running all over the field.
Defensive Portal Additions
The defense was one of the best in the country last season, but is that sustainable with so many starters leaving the program? Here are a couple players that could help the defense return to form:
Cornerback, Brandon Cisse – NC State
Brandon Cisse is being credited as one of the top cornerbacks in this year’s portal. He is classified as a four-star player. His 91.19 rating is good for 90th in the nation and 11th at the cornerback spot for transferring players, according to on3.com. Cisse finished last year at North Carolina State with 15 solo tackles and 28 total.
Standing at 6-feet, 182 pounds, Cisse is quick, and comes from his track background. He ran a 4.45-second 40-yard dash time back when he was a senior in high school, and he also ran the 100 and 200 yard events. In the 100 meter (≈110 yards), he finished with 11.12, 11.13, and 11.14 in the spring of 2022. In the 200 meter (≈219 yards), his times were 22.09, 22.11, and 22.32. He was also a high school basketball star.
In addition to his speed, he has strong hands, and is able to use those to effectively disrupt a receivers catch process. Cisse doesn’t just know defense, though. He played two ways all throughout high school.
In his famed senior year, Cisse tallied 42 catches for 764 yards and eight touchdowns. In total, he had 1,220 all-purpose yards to go along with 37 tackles, one interception, and two forced fumbles on the defensive side of the ball.
His play as CB1 for the Wolfpack earned him the opportunity to come back to his home state of South Carolina. Cisse grew up in Sumpter, SC, less than an hour outside of Columbia.
Linebacker, Justin Okoronkwo – Alabama
After playing high school football in Germany, Justin Okoronkwo set out his sights on a collegiate career. He spent a majority of his rookie season at Alabama on the bench, only finishing with 14 tackles over eight games played.
Okoronkwo’s 6-foot-3, 228-pound build provides potential upside, and his speed could make him an impact player. He ran his 40-yard dash in just 4.49 seconds. He is another transfer that won’t immediately be a starter, but could potentially be valuable latter.
Defensive Line, Davonte Miles – Bowling Green
Both starting interior defensive linemen for South Carolina have announced their commitment to the NFL draft, meaning a fresh start will be coming for the position group. One depth player will be Davonte Miles, a 6-foot-5, 275-pound nose tackle. Despite not seeing the field much at Bowling Green, he was a former three-star recruit a season ago, and has potential in him.
Key Transfer Portal Additions for South Carolina (Part 2)
Since the writing of this article, South Carolina has added multiple players through the portal who are now Gamecocks. We’ve added them to this article for your viewing below.
Offensive Line, Boaz Stanley – Troy
Boaz Stanley started every game for the Trojans this season. He played seven of those at center and five at right tackle. Stanley only allowed two sacks in 405 passing situations, and he was not called for a penalty all season. Stanley is a three-star transfer prospect according to On3, ranked as the 77th interior offensive linemen.
Offensive Line, Rodney Newsom – Western Kentucky
Rodney Newsom spent two and a half seasons at Memphis (redshirting his freshman year) and left the team midway through his third year.
He enrolled in JUCO at Itawamba Community College where he played all nine games in his only season.
The following season is where Newsom really made a name for himself. Transferring to Western Kentucky, he started 11 of the Hilltoppers’ 13 games. He received the fourth-highest grade among all Conference USA guards in 2023 and earned the second-highest pass-blocking grade in the conference according to Pro Football Focus (PFF).
Although he will turn 24 over the summer and has already played five years of college ball, Newsom still has a year of eligibility due to the new NCAA rule that states JUCO does not count towards your given four years.
Offensive Line, Nick Sharpe – Wake Forest
Rounding out the interior offensive line transfers, is Nick Sharpe. He enters South Carolina as a fifth-year senior, building his experience at Wake Forest.
He failed to be a difference maker with the Demon Deacons until last season. Sharpe started 10 games and played in all 12, accumulating 665 snaps at right guard (he also played on the field goal unit). He had the fourth-best grade of any offensive player according to PFF at 72.5 who played at least 100 snaps.
Cornerback, Myles Norwood – Ball State
Myles Norwood was a captain of both his football and track teams as a high school senior, helping to lead both to Missouri state championships. As a college freshman, he ran track at Iowa Western Community College.
The following year, he committed to football and took his talents to Iowa. After not seeing much action in two seasons, he hit the transfer portal heading into his redshirt junior season. Originally a New Mexico State commit, he flipped his decision to Ball State where he played in all 12 games for the Cardinals. His team-leading 10 pass breakups, 38 tackles (two for loss), and a fumble recovery are impressive for a cornerback.
Defensive Line, Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy – Texas A&M
At Lakeland (FL) High School, Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy recorded 18 tackles, 14.0 tackles for loss, 7.0 sacks and 13 QB hurries. A five-star rated prospect, consensus top-4 defensive tackle in his class, and 2022 Under Armour All-American is only the football side of his resume. He also won a state title at the 4A state track meet in the discus and finished second in the shot put as a junior.
After three years at Texas A&M where he recorded a combined four tackles–three for a loss–in eight games, he now comes to the Palmetto State with high hopes. He shouldn’t have trouble finding his role as the Gamecocks sent both starting interior defensive lineman–Tonka Hemmingway and TJ Sanders–to the NFL draft this year.
Edge, Jaylen Brown – Mizzou
After a freshman season without much playing time at Missouri, Jaylen Brown redshirted and has hit the portal to enroll at South Carolina. In high school, he tallied 62 total tackles with nine TFL and seven sacks as a senior at James Clemens. This earned him Alabama 7A Region 4 first-team all-region honors, and he was tagged as a four-star recruit according to On3.
Linebacker, Shawn Murphy – Florida State
Shawn Murphy was rated as a 95.4/100 prospect and was the No. 1 high school inside linebacker in the nation in 2021, according to ESPN. As a high school senior at Unity Reed (VA), he had 113 tackles, 20.0 TFL, six sacks, and two interceptions, earning him Virginia second-team all-state honors. Murphy committed to Alabama in the fall of 2021 but only ended up playing five games and redshirted.
The following season, his playing time increased as he found a role on special teams, appearing in 13 games.
In his redshirt sophomore year, Murphy went to Florida State where he accumulated 13 tackles, 1.5 for loss, and recovered a fumble in just four games. Murphy left FSU for the portal after the program’s 2-10 season which was the worst ever by a preseason top-10 team.
Now at South Carolina through the transfer portal, the former top recruit has a lot to prove with the Gamecocks. The biggest question is, will he finally solidify his spot in the rotation at his third school in four years?
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