South Carolina football: most underrated transfer for 2021 season

Which forgotten South Carolina football transfer will make a huge impact?

Shane Beamer hit the transfer portal hard over the offseason, filling voids left from the previous roster. Following the 2020 season, the Gamecocks saw a number of players part ways with the program either to pursue professional ambitions or make a fresh start at a new school. With Beamer taking over as head coach in December, he didn’t have much time to get out and recruit high school athletes as the initial signing period had already passed. The result was bringing in more than a dozen players from either the JUCO or transfer ranks.

Some of these transfers come to Columbia with a list of accolades, while others flew a bit under the radar. Linebacker Jordan Strachan led all NCAA players in sacks last season, wideouts Ahmarean Brown and EJ Jenkins set school records at previous stops, and cornerback Karon Prunty was a freshman All-American last year at Kansas.

What about the players that didn’t come in with all the fanfare, though?

We’re doing our best to identify the transfer that many folks have forgotten about, but will make an immediate impact on the South Carolina football team this Fall. Here’s our best bet.

Carlins Platel comes to South Carolina as a graduate transfer following a three-year career at Assumption College in Massachusetts. Over that time, the defensive back recorded 96 tackles, 30 pass breakups, and seven interceptions. He earned first-team All-NE10 honors in his final season with the Greyhounds, but opted to enter the transfer portal when Assumption shut down the 2020 season amid COVID.

The Gamecocks beat out SEC foe Mississippi State on the recruiting trail for the talented defender, who also fielded interest from Coastal Carolina, South Alabama, and Murray State.

Platel will factor into a secondary that has unanswered questions at every level. The Gamecocks lost their top five defensive backs following the 2020 season, leaving a rather bare cupboard heading into the Fall. South Carolina returns just three players with starting experience in Cam Smith, RJ Roderick, and Jaylan Foster. Smith figures to compete for one of the starting cornerback spots, while Roderick and Foster could find themselves playing in a safety/linebacker hybrid-type role.

Platel seems to have a knack for finding the football as noted by those seven career interceptions. He led his conference with 16 passes defended in his junior season, and is looking to build on that performance during his final year in Columbia. The ball-hawking defender should factor in heavily to the secondary rotation, a could see some time as the team’s second or third option at corner.

The Gamecocks will kick off their 2021 season on September 4th with a home matchup versus Eastern Illinois. It should be the first glimpse of Platel’s abilities on the field, and we’ll get to see just where he’ll factor into the South Carolina secondary.

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