SAD NEWS: Coach Shane Beamer just unexpected news ….

Taking stock of Gamecocks’ roster as transfer portal closes; USC adds receivers

COLUMBIA — It closed Tuesday, although announcements and entries will continue to flow through Friday. The NCAA transfer portal always has caveats for who and when can enter after the “official” deadline.

South Carolina coach Shane Beamer has completed interviews with all 110 of the football players in his charge, and has a handle on how this roster will get through this window and onto the next.

“Most of our team has another year of eligibility if they want it, in 2025. We got some guys that have been here for a long time,” he said. “The way that we do it, when we’re trying to sign a recruiting class, is you project based on the number of guys that are seniors that you don’t expect to return — which isn’t many, right now.”

After spring practice, the Gamecocks stood at 83 scholarships as they continued to shop the portal — most specifically, for tall, stretch-the-field wide receivers to complement the height-challenged group they currently have.

They got two, who will take the scholarship limit to the max of 85, late Tuesday as Florida State redshirt freshman Vandrevius Jacobs and sixth-year senior Dalevon Campbell committed.

Jacobs, an even 6-feet, played in five games last season with three catches for 60 yards and a touchdown. Campbell, 6-4, caught 31 passes for 594 yards and two TDs, with nine receptions of at least 30 yards and five of at least 40.

During spring, USC had seven players leave — offensive linemen Jaxon Hughes and Sidney Fugar, receivers Joseph Morris and Kelton Henderson, defensive back Keenan Nelson, tight end Kameron Sandlin and edge rusher Terrell Dawkins — and know that DB Zahbari Sandy will almost assuredly not play this fall after tearing his ACL in spring (but he will stay on scholarship).

Yet USC won’t turn down anyone who can help, and the axiom of “The numbers always work out” hovers. The Gamecocks don’t have to finalize their roster until August, meaning if they get a few more players that pushes them over the 85, they’ll be able to work with it.

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