South Carolina Football: Gamecock defensive lineman enters transfer portal

South Carolina football fans thought that the only transfer portal news for the program this late into the offseason would be potential additions from players who entered the portal before the transfer window closed on May 1st (even grad transfers were supposed to enter by that date to be eligible for fall and winter sports in the 2024-2025 school year).

However, on Wednesday, according to a joint report from 247Sports' Matt Zenitz and Chris Hummer, Gamecock reserve defensive lineman Drew Tuazama was entering the transfer portal. It is unclear at this point if Tuazama's portal entry is late (past the May 1st deadline) or if news about his transfer was delayed.

Tuazama joined the South Carolina football program very late last offseason as a graduate transfer from the UAB Blazers program. Despite the late move to Columbia, Tuazama was expected to be a major contributor for the Gamecocks. Instead, he barely saw the field, had to switch positions from defensive end to defensive tackle because he gained weight unexpectedly, and even spent part of the season off of the dress list.

The Tuazama experiment clearly didn't work out, even though he was an impact player for UAB the previous year. Because he never was going to play for the Gamecocks in 2024, South Carolina football coach Shane Beamer and his staff elected to bring in multiple defensive linemen via the transfer portal, both at defensive tackle and defensive end.

The writing was on the wall for Tuazama, and now, he is looking for his fifth team in seven years as a college football player.

Newcomers like Deandre Jules (transfer portal, Pittsburgh Panthers), Monkell Goodwine (transfer portal, Alabama Crimson Tide), Kyle Kennard (transfer portal, Georgia Tech), and Dylan Stewart (5-star, class of 2024) will join with returners like Tonka Hemingway, TJ Sanders, Boogie Huntley, Nick Barrett, Elijah Davis, Jatius Geer, Gilber Edmond, Desmond Umeozulu, and Bryan Thomas, Jr. will make up most of the defensive line rotation this fall.