Western Kentucky transfer OL Rodney Newsom signs with South Carolina

Former Western Kentucky offensive lineman Rodney Newsom will transfer to play for South Carolina this upcoming season, On3’s Pete Nakos reported. Newsom spent just one season with the Hilltoppers and will have two years of eligibility remaining.

The 6-foot-3 offensive lineman played in all 14 games at WKU this past season. He joined the team in the offseason after spending one year at Itawamba Community College in Mississippi.

Newsom played high school football at Briarcrest Christian (TN), where he was a three-star recruit in the 2020 class. He ranked as the No. 2,256 overall player and No. 158 interior offensive lineman in the cycle according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Newsom began his college career at Memphis and played two seasons with the Tigers prior to going to Itawamba. As a transfer, he ranks as the No. 119 overall player and No. 11 interior offensive lineman according to On3’s Transfer Portal Player Rankings.

Rodney Newsom is the seventh commitment in the Gamecocks’ transfer portal class, joining EDGE Jaylen Brown (Missouri), interior offensive lineman Nick Sharpe (Wake Forest), tight end Jordan Dingle (Kentucky), defensive tackle Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy (Texas A&M), LB Shawn Murphy, and QB Air Noland (OSU).

The portal officially opened on Monday, Dec. 9, 2024. More than 2,800 FBS scholarship players entered their names into the NCAA’s transfer database during the 2023-24 school year. Removing those who withdrew or went pro, the final total sat at 2,707 transfers.

So far this cycle, 2,160 players have entered the transfer portal with 676 of those already having committed to new schools.

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

The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.

LaNorris Sellers signs new NIL deal with South Carolina for 2025 return

South Carolina star quarterback LaNorris Sellers has inked a new NIL deal with the Gamecocks’ NIL collective Garnet Trust, securing his return to Columbia for the 2025 season. Sellers holds an On3 NIL Valuation of $2.7 million.

His new deal now secures his return for 2025. Sellers put together an impressive 2024 season after taking over as South Carolina’s starting quarterback. He threw for 2,274 yards and 17 touchdowns in the air while adding 655 rushing yards and seven touchdowns on the ground.

Those numbers helped lead the Gamecocks to a 9-3 record, including a six-game win streak to end the year to just miss out on the College Football Playoff.

South Carolina had to hold off suitors for Sellers, as multiple schools made efforts in recent weeks for the quarterback to jump in the transfer portal. Garnet Trust declined to give specifics on the agreement but sources told On3 it’s on pace with other top quarterback deals in college football.

“Ever since the LSU game, he’s been having programs reach out to his people,” a Power 4 personnel staffer recently told On3 about the LaNorris Sellers situation. “Then as he kept balling out he’s only had more and more programs reach out. I mean he had playoff-caliber teams blowing up his phone like crazy before the Clemson game. After? That shit hasn’t stopped ringing.”

On3’s Pete Nakos contributed to this report.