Examining what South Carolina gained and lost via transfer portal

South Carolina football coach Shane Beamer and his staff have put together another strong transfer portal class this winter. While more movement is possible (the Gamecocks will get a visit from elite wide receiver Trey Wallace this weekend) and a spring portal window will come later, classes have started at USC. That means the majority of portal activity for the winter period has already happened.

At the time of this writing, the Gamecocks have added 13 players but lost 17. Let’s take a deeper dive into things.

South Carolina Transfer Portal Resources:

• South Carolina Portal Headquarters (The latest news in one place!)
• Portal tracker (Commits and Exits)
• On3 National Portal Ticker 
• Get portal news notifications with the App

South Carolina Transfer Portal Exits

• Bangally Kamara: Rotational redshirt senior linebacker who left mid-season then became national transfer portal’s first public commitment; signed with Kansas Jayhawks
• Jamaal Whyce: Redshirt sophomore defensive tackle who didn’t play much; hasn’t signed anywhere publicly
• Mo Kaba: Redshirt senior who has multiple years of eligibility remaining following injuries but didn’t play much in 2024; hasn’t signed anywhere publicly
• Tyshawn Russell: Sophomore wide receiver who didn’t play in 2024 following rotational role in 2023; signed with Syracuse Orange
• Reid Mikeska: Redshirt freshman tight end who didn’t play in 2024; signed with Florida Atlantic Owls
• Djay Braswell: Sophomore running back who didn’t play in 2024 following rotational role in 2023; signed with Georgia State Panthers
• CJ Adams: Redshirt freshman wide receiver who didn’t play in 2024; hasn’t signed anywhere publicly
• Connor Cox: Sophomore tight end who didn’t play much; signed with North Carolina Tar Heels
• Debron Gatling: Freshman wide receiver who didn’t play in 2024; signed with Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
• Elijah Caldwell: Redshirt freshman wide receiver who didn’t play in 2024; hasn’t signed anywhere publicly
• Nick Elksnis: Redshirt senior tight end who didn’t play much in 2024; signed with UNLV Runnin’ Rebels
• Robby Ashford: Redshirt senior quarterback who was LaNorris Sellers’ backup and also a one-game starter in 2024; signed with Wake Forest Demon Deacons
• Elijah Davis: Senior defensive lineman who didn’t play much after practicing at both end and tackle; hasn’t signed anywhere publicly
• Payton Mangrum: Redshirt senior (former walk-on) wide receiver and special teamer who didn’t play much on offense but was important on coverage units in 2023; hasn’t signed anywhere publicly
• Aaryn “AJ” Parks: Redshirt senior offensive lineman who didn’t play because of injury; signed with Southern Miss Golden Eagles
• Ni Mansell: Redshirt senior walk-on offensive lineman who didn’t play much in 2024; signed with South Alabama Jaguars
• Daniel Lester: Redshirt sophomore walk-on kicker who didn’t play in 2024; hasn’t signed anywhere publicly
• Tanner Bailey*: Redshirt sophomore quarterback who didn’t play much at USC; signed with Auburn Tigers

*Entered the transfer portal in 2023 after two years at South Carolina but didn’t play football anywhere in 2024; not one of the 17 portal defections this cycle but worth mentioning

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What the Gamecocks Are Losing

Frankly, South Carolina did a tremendous job with player retention during the transfer portal cycle. No players expected to make a major impact in 2025 (other than Bangally Kamara, a special case) left the program. Below are the outgoing players’ snap totals from 2024 via PFF.

LB Bangally Kamara: 70 (defense) in four games; would have been out of eligibility had he not left mid-season
DT Jamaal Whyce: 9 (defense), 1 (special teams)
LB Mo Kaba: 11 (defense), 15 (special teams)
WR Tyshawn Russell: 0
TE Reid Mikeska: 0
RB Djay Braswell: 0
WR CJ Adams: 0
TE Connor Cox: 19 (offense), 3 (special teams)
WR Debron Gatling: 0
WR Elijah Caldwell: 0
TE Nick Elksnis: 23 (offense), 18 (special teams)
QB Robby Ashford: 129 (offense)
DE/DT Elijah Davis: 1 (defense)
WR Payton Mangrum: 80 (offense)
OL Aaryn “AJ” Parks: 0
OL Ni Mansell: 7 (offense)
K Daniel Lester: 0

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South Carolina Transfer Portal Additions

• Jaylen Brown: Rising sophomore EDGE from Missouri; former 4-star prospect in class of 2024 with four years to play three
• Nick Sharpe*: Rising redshirt senior offensive lineman from Wake Forest; has starting experience; could have two years of eligibility remaining
• Jordan Dingle: Rising redshirt senior tight end from Kentucky; has starting experience; has one year of eligibility remaining
• Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy*: Rising redshirt junior defensive tackle from Texas A&M; former 5-star prospect in class of 2022 who could have three years of eligibility remaining
• Shawn Murphy*: Rising redshirt junior linebacker from Florida State; former 4-star prospect in class of 2022 who could have three years of eligibility remaining
• Air Noland: Rising redshirt freshman quarterback from Ohio State; former 4-star prospect in class of 2024 with four years of eligibility remaining
• Rodney Newsom*: Rising redshirt senior offensive lineman from Western Kentucky; has starting experience; could have two years of eligibility remaining
• Myles Norwood*: Rising redshirt senior defensive back from Ball State; has starting experience; could have two years of eligibility remaining
• Boaz Stanley*: Rising redshirt junior offensive lineman from Troy; has starting experience; could have up to three years of eligibility remaining
• Rahsul Faison: Rising redshirt senior running back from Utah State; has starting experience; has one year of eligibility remaining
• Justin Okoronkwo: Rising sophomore linebacker from Alabama; has four years left to play three
• Davonte Miles: Rising redshirt junior defensive tackle from Bowling Green; has two years of eligibility remaining
• Brandon Cisse: Rising junior defensive back from NC State; has starting experience; has three years left to play two

*Players with an extra year of eligibility pending the NCAA’s handling of a medical redshirt or junior college year

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What the Gamecocks Are Getting

• Jaylen Brown: Didn’t play a ton at Missouri in 2024 but has a bright future as an EDGE player; 4-star prospect out of high school; four years to play three remaining
• Nick Sharpe: Starting guard for Wake Forest this fall; could play any interior offensive line position; possible two years left
• Jordan Dingle: Primary starter at tight end for Kentucky the past three years; well-rounded tight end whose receiving production has lessened each year since 2022; one year of eligibility remaining
• Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy: Hasn’t played much for Texas A&M because of injuries; athletic defensive tackle when healthy; 5-star prospect out of high school; up to three years of eligibility remaining
• Shawn Murphy: Rotational linebacker for Florida State after injuries kept him out early in 2024; 4-star prospect out of high school; could have three years left to play
• Air Noland: Dual-threat quarterback who didn’t play at Ohio State this season; 4-star 2024 prospect; four years left to play
• Rodney Newsom: Starter at guard for Western Kentucky in 2024; received some All-Conference USA recognition; could have two years remaining
• Myles Norwood: Starting cornerback at Ball State in 2024; spent most of his time out wide but has some experience in the slot; has the possibility of two years of eligibility remaining
• Boaz Stanley: Former junior college All-American who started at right tackle for Troy for five games in 2024 before becoming the starting center; has up to three possible years of eligibility remaining
• Rahsul Faison: All-Mountain West running back at Utah State; rushed for 1100 yards in 2024; one year of eligibility left
• Justin Okoronkwo: Saw limited action at linebacker for Alabama but played a lot of special teams; was viewed as a future starter for the Crimson Tide; has four years left to play three
• Davonte Miles: Former Michigan commitment who ended up at Bowling Green; rotational defensive tackle; two years left to play
• Brandon Cisse: Two-year starter at NC State; former Freshman All-American and ACC Rookie of the Year in 2023; played just over half of his snaps at outside corner and bounced around Wolfpack defense; also played a lot of special teams; three years to play two remaining

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The Verdict

South Carolina football ranks 17th in On3’s team transfer portal rankings. That number comes in spite of On3 including departure penalties in their rankings.

The Gamecocks’ average commitment rating is better than four of the teams ranked ahead of them, too. Only six teams have earned more 4-star pledges than USC’s three (Cisse, Faison, and Noland).

South Carolina’s portal work this offseason also has been efficient. Just one of the team’s departures (Kamara; who wouldn’t have been eligible in 2025 anyway without redshirting and then leaving mid-season) ranks inside On3’s top 300 transfers. In contrast to that number, the Gamecocks have four andditions inside the top 177.

247Sports is even higher on the class’ efficiency than On3. The outlet includes Kamara in its top 650 but no other USC defections. 10 Carolina commits are inside 247’s top 388 transfers.

In all, with the possibility of a few more additions by the time the spring comes and goes, the 2025 transfer portal class has been a major success for South Carolina. The Gamecocks filled several holes on the roster and added some immediate-impact players and future contributors.

In 2025, every portal addition other than Air Noland will compete for a starting job. All 13 pledges seem destined for two-deep or rotational roles. Almost all of them have multiple years of eligibility available to them, as well.

The 2022 and 2024 transfer portal classes played huge roles in 8-win and 9-win seasons. The 2025 group is good enough to push the Gamecocks to another strong showing next fall.

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