South Carolina football: Deion Sanders’ son, Shilo, enters transfer portal

South Carolina football will be without another DB in 2021.

South Carolina parted ways with Will Muschamp in mid November, sparking a run of decommitments and opt outs of players that had been loyal to the former Gamecock head coach. Another name can now be added to that list, as safety Shilo Sanders has announced his intention to transfer from the university ahead of the 2021 season.

Sanders, a redshirt freshman from Cedar Hill, Texas, earned the first start of his career in 2020, cracking the opening lineup in the Gamecocks’ week four upset of Auburn. He tallied a career-high 10 tackles in that matchup, and ended the year with 32 total takedowns and a pass breakup.

Recruited as a member of the 2019 class, he was rated by 247 Sports as a three-star product, the 665th best player in the country, and the 83rd best prospect in the Lone Star State. He committed to play for the Gamecocks over several big time offers, including one from his dad and Hall of Fame cornerback Deion’s alma mater, Florida State.

What does Sanders’ transfer mean for South Carolina football?

Sanders now becomes the third member of the South Carolina starting secondary to announce his plans to leave the program, joining Jaycee Horn and Israel Mukuamu, who made their decisions to opt out of the season’s final three games in order to prepare for the 2021 NFL Draft. Fellow safety RJ Roderick also opted out of the year early, but he’s yet to make an announcement regarding his future plans.

With three, maybe four starters gone from the 2020 defensive backfield, the Gamecocks will be asked to rely on youth at the position next year. Cam Smith and John Dixon saw an uptick in playing time over the second half of the season, and performed well while adding much needed experience. Youngsters Joey Hunter, O’Donnell Fortune, and Dominick Hill will be expected to contribute in 2021.

This move could also result in the Gamecocks’ new head coach, Shane Beamer, either scouring the transfer portal for a replacement, or hitting the JUCO ranks hard in the 2021 recruiting class.

While it’s not technically a certainty that Sanders won’t be in Columbia next season, as players do have the option to return to their original school after entering the portal, most are pegging the safety to end up at FCS program Jackson State, where his father just landed the head coaching gig. His brother, Shedeur, is also committed to the university.