South Carolina Football: Shane Beamer says transfer portal addition will play against North Carolina in season opener
By Kevin Miller
South Carolina football coach Shane Beamer spoke to the media after the team’s practice on Tuesday, and the third-year headman had several very interesting things to say.
One of the notable quotes from Beamer was about the newest Gamecock, defensive lineman transfer Drew Tuazama who just joined the team this week after graduating from UAB.
When asked about when Tuazama would be ready to suit up for South Carolina football, Beamer stated, “Realistically, we expect him to play next Saturday night against North Carolina.”
The statement comes as a bit of a surprise considering Tuazama just joined the team a few days ago. He previously played at Syracuse, East Mississippi Community College, and UAB but still has two years of eligibility remaining due to a redshirt and the “Covid redshirt,” so there is no rush to get the defensive lineman on the field.
However, the Gamecocks are thin at the EDGE spot, particularly with hand-in-the-dirt defensive ends. At 6’5″ and 275 pounds, that is exactly where Tuazama best fits in the Carolina defense.
7th-year senior Jordan Strachan, Syracuse transfer Jatius Geer, 6th-year senior Tyreek Johnson, and true freshman 4-star Desmond Umeozulu appear to be the top-4 players at the position right now, but only Strachan has played meaningful snaps in the SEC, and he is coming off of an ACL tear suffered last season.
Tuazama could be a candidate to slide inside to defensive tackle in certain situations, but the Gamecocks have more proven depth at that position. In fact, several defensive tackles (especially Tonka Hemingway and Elijah Davis) have been rumored as candidates to play some end in run-stopping situations. Tuazama’s size, if he is ready to play, could help prevent that from becoming necessary.
The Raleigh, North Carolina native put up modest numbers for most of his career until last season at UAB. In 2022, he had 5 sacks and 6.5 tackles for loss for the Blazers.