South Carolina Football: Former Gamecock 4-star pass rusher announces transfer portal commitment close to home

The South Carolina football program has seen 22 players enter the transfer portal this offseason. Other than the two who left the team in October of the 2023 season (linebacker Akhnaton Shabazz, unannounced; defensive tackle Xzavier McLeod, dismissed), the first player to announce his intention to transfer was former 4-star pass rusher Donovan Westmoreland.

Westmoreland, who came to Columbia as a 4-star linebacker in the class of 2022, quickly moved to a pass rush specialist outside linebacker, and in the 2023 spring game, he got some snaps at both the outside linebacker spot and at defensive end after bulking up to 240 pounds.

However, after two seasons without much game action, Westmoreland decided to leave the South Carolina football program.

On Sunday, the athletic Georgia native announced that he had found his new college football home, one that isn't far away from his hometown.

A Griffin, Georgia native, Donovan Westmoreland will play this fall for the Kennesaw State Owls. Moving from the south side of Atlanta to the north side, Westmoreland will play in the Atlantic Sun Conference in FCS, but it is unclear if he will play linebacker, defensive end, or some combination of the two for the Owls.

During his South Carolina football career, Westmoreland did not log any stats but played several roles on special teams over 9 career games for the Gamecocks. He also won the Defensive Scout Team Award as a freshman in 2022.

Westmoreland is the only EDGE to leave the South Carolina football program through the transfer portal this offseason. Three other linebackers (Grayson "Pup" Howard, Stone Blanton, and Akhnaton Shabazz) already have announced their commitments to Florida, Mississippi State, and Alcorn State, respectively.

Helping replace the holes at EDGE and linebacker, Shane Beamer's team has landed commitments from Kyle Kennard (Georgia Tech, EDGE), Bangally Kamara (Pittsburgh, LB), and Demetrius Knight (Charlotte, LB).