South Carolina lands transfer portal D-lineman with in-state roots
South Carolina’s defensive line received a much needed boost on Thursday.
Syracuse defensive lineman Jatius Geer announced his commitment to USC via social media.
Geer, who played his high school football at Belton-Honea Path and visited Columbia over the weekend, played in 14 games (12 starts) over his two years at Syracuse. Evolving into a starting defensive end during the 2022 season, he finished the year with 33 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, six quarterback hurries, a forced fumble and a blocked kick. Geer’s 3.5 sacks also ranked as the fifth-most by a Syracuse freshman in school history.
The Anderson native was rated the No. 1,030 player and No. 112 defensive lineman in the 2021 class, per the 247Sports Composite. He was also rated the No. 12 player in South Carolina during that cycle. Geer initially picked Syracuse over reported offers from Georgia Tech, East Carolina, Kansas State, Memphis, Temple, UCF and Western Kentucky.
South Carolina has been in the hunt for help at defensive edge following the transfers of Jordan Burch (Oregon) and Gilber Edmond (Florida State). Four-star freshman Monteque Rhames has also been indefinitely suspended from the team following his arrest on weapons charges in February.
Seventh-year senior Jordan Strachan and Tyreek Johnson are the lone returners with significant experience entering the summer. Sophomore Bryan Thomas Jr. was forced into action down the stretch last fall and could see major snaps as well.
The Gamecocks also brought in four-star freshman Desmond Umeozulu in the 2023 recruiting class. Umeozulu received rave reviews during the spring, but how much he can be counted on in his first fall remains to be seen.
South Carolina 2023 transfer class
RB Mario Anderson, Newberry
TE Nick Elksnis, Florida
TE Trey Knox, Arkansas
TE Joshua Simon, Western Kentucky
OL Nick Gargiulo, Yale
OL Sidney Fugar, Western Illinois
LB Jaron Willis, Ole Miss
WR Eddie Lewis, Memphis
DL Jatius Geer, Syracuse
