South Carolina football coach Shane Beamer brought in nine players on scholarship from the NCAA Transfer Portal last season and most of them made a significant impact on the program in 2022. There’s no doubt that the Gamecocks (8-4) are going to dive deep into the portal again this season looking for players to supplement next season’s roster.
The need for impactful players isn’t quite as dire this year as last, but there are certainly some key areas where the Gamecocks will look to find replacements. Emphasis on positions is still somewhat being determined as current players weigh entering the transfer portal and also making decisions on the NFL Draft.
VIP: Transfer Portal targets to keep an eye on | Coaches go in-home with top targets
Beamer has always made sure to recognize that he’s not going to shy away from upgrading any position on the roster, though. No position is marked off the list as far as where the staff may look for next season, but there are spots that need addressing more than others.
Linebacker, offensive line, tight end and wide receiver all seem to be of premium importance, but one certainly can’t mark out defensive line and the secondary as well. Depending on departures, some spots may increase in significance.
In this story, we’ll take a look at guys who make sense for South Carolina to take a hard look at in the transfer portal recruiting cycle. This story shouldn’t be confused with Hale McGranahan’s Portal prospects to keep an eye on, which details players that we can confirm the Gamecocks have been in contact with. There is, of course, at least some overlap.
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OL Gunner Britton – Western Kentucky
Britton makes some sense for South Carolina because he’s a veteran guy with a ton of collegiate experience who has been productive at the level he’s played, and he’s a native of the Palmetto State who may be looking to get back closer to home. A two-time All-Conference USA selection, Britton started split time as a starter at both left and right tackle this season. He had a PFF College grade of 80.7, including an 87 pass blocking grade, which ranked fifth nationally among all tackles who played at least 20% of their team’s snaps. The Gamecocks are likely losing at least three starting offensive linemen after this season. Britton would have one season remaining.
LB Mason Cobb – Oklahoma State
The Gamecocks need some help at linebacker, especially an upperclassman, and Cobb fits the bill. Cobb, who would have two years of eligibility remaining, had 96 total stops this season, earning second-team All-Big 12 honors. He had 13 tackles for a loss, which includes 2.0 quarterback sacks, one interception, two pass breakups and a forced fumble. Cobb started all 12 games for Oklahoma State as a junior in 2022. According to Pro Football Focus, Cobb played a team-high 863 of 950 (90.8 percent) defensive snaps this season.
OL Javion Cohen – Alabama
Why not try to go after a decorated SEC player who was once quite attracted to your program? Cohen, once a commitment to South Carolina, earned second-team All-SEC this season as voted on by the league’s coaches. He was a 25-game starter for the Crimson Tide over the course of his career. This season, he graded out with an 80.5 pass blocking and 68.9 run blocking grade in 2022 as a guard. Cohen has two years of eligibility remaining.
OL Ajani Cornelius – Rhode Island
Cornelius makes sense for the Gamecocks, but he makes sense for most programs in the country. He’s good. Florida, Michigan, Penn State, Florida State, and a host of others have all shown interest in the 6-foot-5, 315-pound offensive tackle. He was a two-year starter for the Rams and an all-conference selection this season. Cornelius would have two years of eligibility remaining at his next school.
DB Fentrell Cypress – Virginia
There’s no doubt that Cypress makes sense for South Carolina, but he hasn’t shown interest in the Gamecocks, up to this point. Michigan, Ohio State, Notre Dame and a couple of others seem to be the schools most prominently mentioned for the lockdown corner, who was a second-team All-ACC member this year. He led the ACC with 14 pass break ups and passes defended per game. The 1.56 passes defended per game are the fourth-most in the country. Cypress started all nine of the games in which he appeared and was credited with 39 tackles. He has two more years of eligibility.
TE CJ Dippre – Maryland
Another player who is certifiably desired is Dippre, who has picked up offers from the likes of N.C. State, West Virginia, Ole Miss, Florida State and others. Dippre caught 30 passes for 314 yards and three touchdowns in 12 games in the fall. He was consistent in catching at least on pass in each game, and he had a career-high four catches for 30 yards in a tight loss to Ohio State. The 6-foot-5, 260-pounder has two years of eligibility remaining.
DB Storm Duck – North Carolina
It’s quite possible that Duck doesn’t make sense for the Gamecocks. He was part of a North Carolina defense that was torched repeatedly, so maybe he’s not quite right for South Carolina. But he’s a native of the Palmetto State and began his career with the Tar Heels in 2019, earning nine starts as a true freshman. He was injured in 2020 and didn’t play much in 2021 before taking on another big role this season for the Tar Heels. Duck totaled 46 tackles, three interceptions, had a forced fumble and 10 passes defended. He has one year of eligibility remaining.
WR Grant DuBose – Charlotte
South Carolina landed a tremendous playmaker from James Madison last season, and Charlotte could provide one this season. DuBose, just up the road in Charlotte but a native of Montgomery, Ala., totaled 1679 yards and 15 touchdowns for the 49ers over the past two seasons. DuBose, who was the Conference USA Freshman of the Year in 2021, was a second-team all-conference selection this year. He would have two years remaining to play.
DB Tony Grimes – North Carolina
Stargazers would love this pickup as the former five-star ranked as the No. 28 player in the country is leaving the Tar Heels. Grimes has already had at least 30 schools reach out, according to his father , and the Gamecocks are one of them. Grimes is a two-year starter and earned Honorable Mention All-ACC in 2021. He had seven pass breakups and one forced fumble in 2022. He has two years of eligibility remaining.
WR Ali Jennings – Old Dominion
Jennings has been linked to South Carolina and has put up nice numbers at his previous school. Jennings started his career at West Virginia before heading down a level. Now, as a grad transfer with one year of eligibility remaining, he’s looking to jump back up. Led ODU with 54 receptions for 959 yards and nine touchdowns. Finished third in the country with 106.6 yards per game and first in the Sun Belt with nine touchdowns. South Carolina has not yet offered Jennings, but programs like Pittsburgh, Mississippi State and Virginia Tech, among others, have.
OL Avery Jones – East Carolina
After spending two years at North Carolina, Jones transferred to ECU where he spent three seasons, all as a starter. He initially played guard but has started at center each of the last two years, playing a team-high 852 snaps on offense this past season. He finished the year as the team’s second highest-graded starting offensive lineman with a mark of 63.2. Jones was excellent as a pass-blocker (76.9 grade). He finished with a 59.0 run-blocking grade. Jones has Illinois and Missouri on his list, in addition to the Gamecocks. He has one more year of eligibility.
OL Keiondre Jones – Auburn
Jones is someone that the Gamecocks are monitoring, but he has left the door open to go back to Auburn. He wants to see who new head coach Hugh Freeze hires, he said in his transfer portal post, and the Tigers remain top of his list. But he’s in the portal, and coaches can contact him, and he would make sense for South Carolina. He’s an interior player who played in 11 of the 12 games this season for Auburn, but had only one start. He has two years of eligibility remaining.
RB Jaylan Knighton – Miami
Knighton may not be exactly what South Carolina needs at the running back position as his frame doesn’t suggest he’s a particularly powerful guy. But he’s a guy the Gamecocks, albeit under a previous staff, recruited and he was a starter at Miami as a freshman before falling into a backup role as a sophomore this past season. He played in eight games with six starts in 2021 and rushed for 561 yards and eight touchdowns. A Deerfield Beach, Fla. native, he rushed for 423 yards and a touchdown this past year. Knighton, who had a 0.9530 rating of four stars coming out of high school and was the No. 106 player overall, has two years remaining to play.
WR Dominic Lovett – Missouri
Another player who has produced at the SEC level is Lovett, who finished third in the conference in total receiving yards this season, behind only Jalin Hyatt and Antwane Wells. He had 56 catches for 846 yards, but is also the only wide receiver in the country to not be credited with a dropped pass by PFF while being targeted at least 70 times. Lovett, who will have his pick of schools to choose from, has two years of eligibility remaining.
RB Dominic Richardson – Oklahoma State
A starter for the Cowboys, Richardson finished as the leading rusher with 543 yards and eight touchdowns on 149 carries. He also had 22 receptions for 220 yards. In three seasons with Oklahoma State, he had 272 carries for 1,139 yards and 15 touchdowns, serving as a backup each of his first two years, totaling 44 and 79 carries before vaulting to 149 this year. Richardson, who initially signed with TCU, was a three-star player coming out of high school and has two years of eligibility remaining.
TE Joshua Simon – Western Kentucky
Simon may or may not be what the Gamecocks need at the position, but he would certainly make some sense. He’s been productive at his current level of football catching 84 passes for 1,131 yards and 15 touchdowns in his time at WKU and has earned all-conference honors three times. Simon started his career in 2019 but has two years of eligibility remaining due to the Covid season and a redshirt year in 2021 due to injury. He was a North-South All-Star Game selection out of Crestwood High School.
DB Myles Slusher – Arkansas
Loggains or no Loggains, Briles or no Briles, the defensive back seems to make sense for South Carolina. The reason why he only seems to make sense is because there was drama in his departure, and he served a one game suspension following an arrest alleging disorderly conduct. But he was back for a Week 12 game against Ole Miss. He missed time due to injury in 2022 as well, but was the team’s starting nickel. In three seasons with the Razorbacks, Slusher recorded 93 tackles (9.0 for loss), 2.5 sacks, five pass deflections, two interceptions, two fumble recoveries and a forced fumble. He has two years remaining.
WR Devontez Walker – Kent State
A first-team All-MAC selection this year, Walker led the conference with 921 receiving yards, which was the third-highest in program history. He also had a school record 11 receiving touchdowns, which was 11th-most in the country this season. Walker started his career at North Carolina Central in 2020 before spending the previous two seasons with the Golden Flashes. Ranked as a three-star player coming out of high school, Walker has two years of eligibility remaining and is hearing from several SEC schools, most notably Tennessee. He may just end up following his old head coach to Colorado, though.
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