South Carolina Football: Gamecock legacy lands in transfer portal

Yesterday, news of South Carolina football’s first transfer portal defection came to light as it was reported that Donovan Westmoreland would be inserting his name into the portal when it opened next Monday.

There was also plenty of Gamecock-adjacent transfer portal news, as well.

Players like AJ Swann (Vanderbilt quarterback), Ken Seals (Vanderbilt quarterback), Ethan Barr (Vanderbilt linebacker), Max Johnson (Texas A&M quarterback), Raymond Cottrell (Texas A&M wide receiver), Pooh Paul (Arkansas linebacker), Will Rogers (Mississippi State quarterback), and Elijah Green (North Carolina running back) are all players that have previously faced off against the Gamecocks and who are now planning to transfer.

However, another transfer portal name also might be familiar to South Carolina football fans.

Miami running back Donald Chaney, Jr., son of former Gamecock wide receiver Donald Chaney, officially announced that he has entered the transfer portal as a graduate transfer.

South Carolina could be in the market for a running back in the transfer portal this offseason. Mario Anderson had a pretty good year after moving up from the Division-II level, and he has an NFL Draft decision to make.

If Anderson leaves, the Gamecocks will need to add a veteran player to the running back room. They are also in the running for 4-star All-American Bowl running back Daniel Hill, who is announcing his decision this January. If Anderson returns to Columbia, and the Gamecocks land Hill to go with the already-committed Matthew Fuller, they may stand pat at the position.

As a player, Chaney was a highly-coveted high school prospect who was the highest-rated recruit for the Miami Hurricanes in the 2020 class. He has some real ability but has battled injuries during his college career, limiting him to about 1000 yards of total offense over his four seasons in southern Florida.

Chaney’s father is a high school head coach and spent a brief time in the NFL after playing in Columbia, so it stands to reason that he could adjust to a new system if he decided to take a closer look at the South Carolina football program.