South Carolina Football: Former Gamecock finds new team in the transfer portal

South Carolina football has had over twenty players exit the program through the transfer portal since the 2023 season ended. Some of those players were major contributors (like Juice Wells, Mario Anderson, and Mitch Jeter). Some of those players hadn’t quite had their opportunity yet. And others had flashed enough to make fans feel as if they would have been a part of the Gamecocks’ future.

One of those players who had “flashed” at times in his career was defensive back KaJuan Banks. Banks didn’t play nearly as much as he would have liked (or as much as many Carolina fans would have liked), but he performed well in limited action. He saw action primarily at nickel corner, especially in the season opener against the North Carolina Tar Heels.

After the season, Banks entered the portal, and on Friday, the talented sophomore found a new home.

The Florida native is returning to the Sunshine State to play for Alex Golesh and the South Florida Bulls. He will be closer to home and have a clearer path to playing time in Tampa.

Banks is one of two defensive back defections for the South Carolina football program this offseason (Isaiah Norris is the other). USC has brought in one “replacement” defensive back in the portal as Gerald Kilgore (current Gamecock safety Jalon Kilgore’s brother) committed to the team from Tennessee Tech.

As of now, it is unclear if Shane Beamer and his staff have any interest in adding any more defensive backs through the portal. The safety position has three Freshman All-Americans (Nick Emmanwori and DQ Smith in 2022 and Jalon Kilgore in 2023) and incoming 4-star Kelvin Hunter. At corner, while proven production is limited to just O’Donnell Fortune, Carolina has several very talented young players, including Vicari Swain, Jalewis Solomon, and Judge Collier.