Here’s how South Carolina’s 20 football transfers are playing for their new teams

The South Carolina football team lost 20 players to the transfer portal this offseason and offset most of those departures via recruiting.

But a number of those losses have hurt the team’s depth and overall star power, as evidenced by the fact four former Gamecocks are currently starting for teams ranked among the AP Top 10 entering Week 7.

Here’s a roundup of how every South Carolina transfer from last cycle is performing at their new school. Players are listed alphabetically.

RB Rashad Amos, Miami (Ohio)

Amos only carried the ball twice for South Carolina in 2022 despite appearing in 10 games. He’s now starting at running back for the RedHawks and has a team-high 325 rushing yards (54.2 yards per contest) and three rushing touchdowns in six games for Miami (5-1, 2-0 MAC).

LS Matthew Bailey, Toledo

Bailey was South Carolina’s backup long snapper in 2022 and ended up playing in 26 games over four seasons as a short snapper (field goals/extra points) and long snapper (punts). He’s now starting at long snapper for Toledo (5-1, 2-0 MAC) and has played in all six games.

TE Jaheim Bell, Florida State

Bell was a unique offensive weapon in his three years at South Carolina, Unsurprisingly, he’s picked up right where he left off at Florida State. Bell has 10 catches for 151 yards and two touchdowns this season and has also rushed for a touchdown for the No. 4 Seminoles.

DE Jordan Burch, Oregon

Burch, a consensus five-star recruit, was arguably USC’s biggest transfer portal loss, up there with Jaheim Bell, MarShawn Lloyd and Gilber Edmond. The talented junior has started all five games for No. 8 Oregon and leads the Ducks with 6.0 tackles for loss and 3.0 sacks.

OT Jordan Davis, South Alabama

Davis, who played two seasons at USC, is listed as the No. 2 right tackle on South Alabama’s depth chart. He has appeared in all six games and started the last four games at right tackle for the Jaguars, who are 3-3 and 1-1 in the Sun Belt.

DE Gilber Edmond, Florida State

In 2022, Edmond played in 12 games for South Carolina and had 39 tackles, nine tackles for loss and two sacks. He’s a backup for No. 4 FSU behind star defensive end Jared Verse and has six total tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss in five games so far.

QB Jalen Daniels, Garden City CC

Daniels was a walk-on quarterback recruit and late addition to USC’s 2022 recruiting class. He has started six games for Garden City, a junior college in Kansas, and has completed 56.1% for 770 yards, four touchdowns and seven interceptions. His team is 3-4 this season.

QB Braden Davis, Syracuse

Davis moved on to the ACC after getting buried on South Carolina’s quarterback depth chart. The former No. 27 quarterback recruit in his class, he has four years of eligibility remaining with the Orange but isn’t listed on the 2023 depth chart behind veteran starter Garrett Shrader.

DE Hot Rod Fitten, East Tennessee State

Fitten, a graduate student with a unique name he adopted back in 2021, is playing his fifth and final season for ETSU after four years at USC. He has played in all five games for the FCS Bucs (1-4) and has five total tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and a quarterback hurry.

OT Colin Henrich, Georgia State

Henrich, a red-shirt sophomore, is playing in the Sun Belt under former South Carolina assistant Shawn Elliott after appearing in no games across two seasons at USC. He isn’t listed on the most recent Georgia State depth chart, hasn’t appeared in a game and is working scout team.

CB Joey Hunter, Akron

Hunter is starting at cornerback for the Zips and has eight total tackles and two pass breakups in six games. Before transferring to Akron (1-5, 0-2 MAC), he appeared in nine career game at USC from 2020-22.

RB MarShawn Lloyd, Southern Cal

Another USC transfer, another undefeated AP Top 10 team. Lloyd, a former top 100 recruit for the Gamecocks, is starting at running back for the No. 10 Trojans and leads the team with 519 rushing yards. He also has four rushing touchdowns, second to star QB Caleb Williams (six).

DB R.J. Roderick, none

Roderick, who entered the transfer portal midway through fourth season as Nick Emmanwori emerged as a star safety for South Carolina, isn’t playing college football this season. He was listed on the 2023 roster page for Liberty earlier this year but has since been removed.

DB Anthony Rose, East Mississippi CC

Rose, a freshman, had been away from the team since he and teammate Monteque Rhames II were arrested on weapons charges in February 2023. Rose has played in one game for JUCO East Mississippi this season and had four tackles and a pass breakup in that contest.

DB Tyrese Ross, Samford

Ross had some success at Washington State but couldn’t catch on at South Carolina, playing in just 13 games across two seasons with nine total tackles. As a graduate student starter at FCS Samford, the free safety has 27 total tackles and a tackle for loss.

WR Corey Rucker, Arkansas State

Rucker appeared in just two games for South Carolina in 2022 before suffering a season-ending injury and transferring back to Arkansas State, where he was an all-conference honoree. He’s starting at wide receiver (again) and is third on the team with 128 receiving yards.

TE Austin Stogner, Oklahoma

Stogner followed QB Spencer Rattler from Oklahoma to South Carolina but transferred back to the Sooners after a season in Columbia. He’s listed as Oklahoma’s starting tight end but hasn’t gotten much work for the No. 5 Sooners (61 receiving yards in six games).

DB Cameron Upshaw, Garden City Community College

Upshaw, one of three players suspended from the university earlier this year, will join Daniels at Garden City for 2023. He’d been away from the program since February, following the arrests of former teammates Rhames and Rose on felony weapons charges. In seven games this season, he has 29 tackles, an interception and a forced fumble.

LB Darryle Ware, Texas A&M-Commerce

Ware, who played in-state at North Charleston’s Fort Dorchester High School and three seasons at USC, is third on the team with 24 total tackles at Texas A&M-Commerce. He also has four quarterback hurries, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery for the FCS school.

DL Demetrius Watson, Coastal Carolina

Watson is playing as a backup defensive lineman at Coastal Carolina, which is closer to his hometown of Charleston, after playing one year at South Carolina and redshirting. He had two tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss in his only appearance for the Chanticleers (2-3, 0-2 Sun Belt).

USC 2023 transfers by the numbers

• Total transfers: 20

• Transfers to FBS Power Five schools: 6

• Transfers to FBS Group of Five schools: 7

• Transfers to FCS schools or JUCOs: 6

• No landing spot: 1