South Carolina Gamecock head coach Shane Beamer is still adding to his roster just two weeks before the 2026 season kicks off. According to Gamecock Central and On3's Pete Nakos, South Carolina has signed former Appalachian State defensive back Ethan Johnson.Â
Johnson was one of 16 players declared eligible earlier this week, stemming from a lawsuit filed in a Louisiana State court. The ruling is one of several lawsuits that have been filed in state and federal courts, as a result of Federal Judge Charlotte Sweeney's July 31 ruling that allows all athletes who started their career in 2022-23 to be eligible for a fifth season.Â
Her ruling, as well as the succeeding lawsuits, stems from the NCAA's age-based eligibility rule change announced in June. With the change, athletes were allowed to have five years of eligibility, starting from a player's graduation from high school or 19th birthday, whichever comes first. Previously, the NCAA gave players five years to use four years of eligibility.Â
Johnson, who is originally from Huntersonville, N.C., spent the last four seasons with App State. Across his four seasons with the Mountaineers, he accounted for 140 total tackles, including 99 solo stops. He had 26 passes defended, two interceptions, as well as a forced fumble. Â
Coming out of high school, Johnson was a three-star recruit from the class of 2022. Per the 247Sports Composite, he was rated as the No. 52 overall cornerback. Coach Beamer has plenty of familiarity with Johnson's High School, Hough High School in Cornelius, N.C. South Carolina has two verbal commits from there in its 2027 class, in five-star cornerback Joshua Dobson and safety Davion Jones.Â
Johnson was one of several big-name players that earned an extra year of eligibility stemming from the Louisiana lawsuit. The 15 other players included former Ole Miss players in Dae'Quan Wright, Zxavian Harris and Wydett Williams, former LSU linebacker Jack Plyburn, Notre Dame defensive lineman Junior Tuihalamaka and Oregon State running back Anthony Hankerson. Several players granted the extra year were also on NFL rosters. Wright plays for the Cleveland Browns, Williams the Arizona Cardinals and Hankerson the Seattle Seahawks.
Several of those players have officially entered the transfer portal, including Wright and Tuihalamaka. The former Fighting Irish star has already found a new home, as Tuihalamaka signed with LSU and Lane Kiffin on Friday. Although former Gamecock safety DQ Smith was also one of the players declared eligible, he is not expected to return to South Carolina, according to Gamecock Central.
The NCAA did notch a slight legal victory in court as an appeals court granted a stay of Judge Sweeney's ruling which declared several other athletes eligible. That stay, granted by the Tenth Circuit, does not affect Johnson and the other players involved in the state Louisiana TRO.Â
It's unclear just how quickly Johnson will get on-campus at South Carolina. But he will be a welcome addition to a Gamecock defensive backs room that features Quay'Sheed Scott, Peyton Williams, Judge Collier and Vicari Swain. Â
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