South Carolina Football: Former Gamecock gets new NFL contract

Back before the 2021 college football season, the Gamecocks were desperately adding talent to the roster after new head coach Shane Beamer took over as the leader of the South Carolina football program. Any coaching transition comes with hardships in recruiting and losses from the current roster to the transfer portal, so Beamer got to work quickly.

Beamer and his South Carolina football coaching staff brought in a lot of players from the portal considering the limited amount of time he had on the job. Major contributors like wide receiver Ahmarean Brown, defensive end Jordan Strachan, defensive backs Carlins Platel and David Spaulding, and quarterbacks Zeb Noland and Jason Brown were among the new additions.

Put the biggest (literally) player to join the team was wide receiver EJ Jenkins. Depending on which source you check, Jenkins is either 6'7" or 6'8", making him the biggest receiver to ever play for the Gamecocks. With his size and chemistry with Jason Brown (the two played together at St. Francis), the hype around Jenkins was as big as he was.

Unfortunately, he didn't contribute much with the Gamecocks. Bouncing back and forth between the wide receiver and tight end rooms, Jenkins managed to reel in just 8 catches in the 2021 season. His South Carolina football career ended as he transferred again before 2022. His final year in college saw him have a better year at Georgia Tech.

Jenkins signed with the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent but didn't last long with the team. He then had a short stint with the Philadelphia Eagles as a practice squad tight end. On Tuesday, Jenkins got another NFL contract.

According to a report from Aaron Wilson from KPRC2 News in Houston, Texas, the Las Vegas Raiders signed Jenkins to their practice squad.

Jenkins is on his third team already in his first season in the NFL, but a player at his size (now listed at 6'7" and 245 pounds) is not easy to find. He joins a Raiders organization that has three tight ends on the active roster and two more on the practice squad (though one is injured).