South Carolina football: John Dixon enters transfer portal

South Carolina football will be without a 6th starting DB in 2021.

Earlier this afternoon, the Gamecocks learned that starting safety Jammie Robinson intends to enter the transfer portal and break ties with the program. Robinson was the fifth member of the South Carolina secondary to either opt out or hit the portal, leaving the defensive back room extremely thin.

Well, just a few short hours later, the team learned that that number is growing to six. Wednesday evening, cornerback John Dixon announced that he, too, intends to leave the university. Dixon, who began the season as a reserve, was thrust into the lineup following the opt outs of starters Israel Mukuamu and Jaycee Horn.

He appeared in 10 games throughout the year, making 34 tackles and breaking up five passes. He also recovered a fumble and made a handful of starts.

With the departure, it appears that South Carolina’s secondary will look completely different in 2021 than it did in the year prior. The top six performers are now exiting the program, leaving just Jaylin Dickerson, Cam Smith, and Jaylan Foster as defenders with any significant game action.

An already thin group was forced to move running back ZaQuandre White to the safety position midway through the season, and it’s now looking like he may need to stay there. At the moment, the Gamecocks barely have enough members to fill out the secondary.

Freshmen Joey Hunter, O’Donnell Fortune, and Dominick Hill will be relied on heavily in 2021, and new head coach Shane Beamer is going to have his work cut out for him finding replacements on the recruiting trail.

In this case, the poor get poorer, and it’s becoming evident that this rebuild could take longer than first anticipated.