The frenetic transfer portal pace continues for South Carolina football. Heading into Sunday, the Gamecocks had already had 8 transfer commitments who had announced intentions to play next season in Columbia.
On offense, head coach Shane Beamer and his staff had reeled in three running backs (Arkansas transfer Rocket Sanders, North Texas defection Oscar Adaway, and former South Carolina State back Jawarn Howell) and two wide receivers (ex-Coastal Carolina YAC-monster Jared Brown and previous Vanderbilt Commodore Jayden McGowan).
On the defensive side of the ball, the Gamecocks had secured commitments from two big defensive tackles (junior college product Jerome Simmons and former Pittsburgh Panther DeAndre Jules) and an impact EDGE rusher (Georgia Tech transfer Kyle Kennard).
Then, in the afternoon, Beamer dropped two #WelcomeHome messages. Both included the #AboveAllEl23, indicating that each player was from the transfer portal.
It may be a rainy day in Columbia but I just got a phone call that picked the mood up !!!!#WelcomeHome #AboveAllEl23 🤙🏻 pic.twitter.com/Dw0RC4Vw7u
— Shane Beamer (@CoachSBeamer) December 17, 2023
And Another One ……#WelcomeHome #AboveAllEl23 🤙🏻 pic.twitter.com/fOtqtcvt6F
— Shane Beamer (@CoachSBeamer) December 17, 2023
Around the same time as the second #WelcomeHome, the first commit went ahead and went public with his decision.
#GOGAMECOCKS🤙🏾 https://t.co/9wD9R6gpX6
— Gerald Kilgore (@kilgore_gerald) December 17, 2023
In a direct response to Beamer's post, Tennessee Tech defensive back transfer Gerald Kilgore (brother of current Gamecock defensive back Jalon Kilgore) revealed that he was joining his brother in Columbia.
The elder Kilgore was a redshirt freshman this past season at Tennessee Tech. The former quarterback moved to the secondary at Tech and showed some solid ability as a major contributor at nickel and safety (and even situational corner) for the Golden Eagles. He had 35 tackles for TTU and 5 pass breakups.
At this time, the 2nd pledge has not been revealed. Some notable recent visitors from the portal include offensive lineman Monroe Mills (Texas Tech), quarterback Maalik Murphy (Texas), quarterback AJ Swann (Vanderbilt), and defensive lineman LT Overton (Texas A&M).
Since losing 17 players to the transfer portal (and just four of them as impact players), the Gamecocks have picked up 10 announced commitments, and at least one more is on the way. Next week's Early Signing Day will see the Gamecocks add even more talent to the roster, as well.
South Carolina football is getting better.