South Carolina offensive lineman Jaxon Hughes enters NCAA transfer portal

South Carolina offensive lineman Jaxon Hughes has entered the NCAA transfer portal according to On3’s Pete Nakos.

Hughes spent the first four seasons of his college career with the Charlotte 49ers, converting from a defensive lineman at the high school level to an offensive lineman early in his career at the college level.

After redshirting in his freshman season, he appeared in three games during his sophomore year making the shift to the offensive line. Inserting himself into the starting lineup in 2021 where he started in seven games and missed five games with injury. Flashing some versatility as he made starts at both left and right tackle for the 49ers.

Hughes played and started in 11 games at left tackle in his senior season before transferring to South Carolina. Joining the Gamecocks as a walk-on with starting experience under his belt at the Group of Five level. After arriving in Columbia in the summer of 2023, Hughes appeared in just two games last year for South Carolina. Receiving snaps at tackle against North Carolina and Vanderbilt as an injury sidelined him for the majority of the season.

Hughes played high school football at Northern Guilford High School in Greensboro (NC) where he was an unranked, unrated in the 2019 cycle according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

He enters the portal as a graduate transfer with 18 career starts under his belt, as the 6-foot-6, 295-pound offensive tackle will now look for a new program to call home in the final season of his collegiate career.

Hughes represents a loss at a position that the Gamecocks were looking to improve ahead of the 2024 season. Which Mike Uva of GamecockCentral recently spoke on in a recent episode of Andy Staples On3.

“I mean, that was a position that had their blemishes last year, but a lot of that had to do with injuries,” Uva said. “Because of that at the time, you’re looking at the glass half empty at the moment, but now fast forward to the spring, you’re looking at it as half full and a lot of those players. I mean, there were two true freshmen that had to start on the offensive line in the SEC. That’s not ideal. However, you get through the season, you’re like well those guys have experience now.”

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire.