South Carolina football: EJ Jenkins named top impact transfer

South Carolina football added an impact transfer ahead of the ’21 season.

Shane Beamer arrived to Columbia last winter, landing his first head coaching gig as he looks to lead the Gamecocks in the 2021 season. He inherited a roster that was very much depleted, with the program having lost a number of contributors through either the NFL Draft or transfer portal. To make up for those losses, the coaching staff hit the transfer market hard, landing a number of highly sought after prospects that were looking for a chance to play in the Southeastern Conference.

Those incoming transfers included the nation’s reigning sack leader Jordan Strachan, FCS All-American signal caller Jason Brown, and Georgia Tech record setter Ahmarean Brown. While those additions will all make immediate impacts next season, an SEC football source has tabbed a different newcomer as one of the league’s top transfers.

Michael Bratton of Saturday Down South recently unveiled his top impact transfers ahead of the ’21 season. He predicts that wide receiver EJ Jenkins will be a difference maker on the field for the Gamecocks next year.

Jenkins comes to South Carolina after playing two seasons at the FCS level for St. Francis University. The 6-foot-7 pass catcher hauled in 44 passes for 831 yards with the Red Flash, and was a preseason all-conference selection ahead of his junior year. Unfortunately, that campaign was postponed due to COVID, resulting in Jenkins’ transfer.

He’s expected to immediately step into the wideout rotation next season, the thinnest and most unproven position group on the offense. South Carolina lost top pass catcher Shi Smith to the NFL this April, after the senior accounted for a third of the team’s receiving production. No other wideout on the roster tallied more than 115 yards.

Jenkins’ size makes him an intriguing prospect. At 6′ 7″ and weighing nearly 250 pounds, he could slide into a role on the outside, or could be used as a hybrid player that lines up at tight end or out wide. The Virginia native snagged a touchdown in last month’s Spring Game. South Carolina will hope there’s more to come when the season opener comes around this September.