South Carolina strengthens both sides of the ball with first two portal commits

South Carolina is going to have to be very active in the transfer portal this offseason if they want to have veteran talent, especially on the defense, due to the Gamecocks losing 24 scholarship players to graduation. One of the biggest names that South Carolina will lose is Kyle Kennard, who spent just one year with the Gamecocks and has garnered a host of postseason awards, including SEC Defensive Player of the Year, AP Defensive Player of the Year, and the Bronko Nagurski Trophy.

Head coach Shane Beamer is going to have to work his Beamer magic to get some guys out of the portal, and it seems like he has already started to. The Gamecocks have their first official commitment out of the portal, and it is young freshman Jaylen Brown out of Missouri.

Brown played just six games in his freshman season in 2024 for the Tigers, one of them being against South Carolina later in the season. The former 4-star defensive end out of high school had just two solo tackles this season with Missouri, but his youth and solid athletic ability should fit in well with South Carolina.

Depending on who else the Gamecocks can bring in from the portal, this could give South Carolina two young pass rushers on the ends of the defensive line, with freshman stand-out Dylan Stewart on one side and Brown on the other.

This first commitment out of the transfer portal has already led to the second, as the Gamecocks just landed a commitment on the other side of the ball with Nick Sharpe, an offensive lineman out of Wake Forest, who is bound for Columbia, South Carolina, next season.

Sharpe will be tasked with protecting the pressure cargo of quarterback LaNorris Sellers next season as Sellers is truly the key for the Gamecocks to make the College Football Playoff next season.