Bye week update on South Carolina's transfer portal departures

This past offseason, South Carolina had a relatively large class of transfer portal defections. However, none of the players who left the program were expected to play a major role for the 2025 version of the Gamecocks.

Some of those players have found bigger roles with their new teams. Others haven’t played much. Some aren’t even on a team.

Let’s take a look at how each of South Carolina’s 2025 transfers has performed in his new colors.

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Quarterback Dante Reno: Following a transfer to Yale to play for his father’s Bulldogs team, Reno has taken over as the starting quarterback. The redshirt freshman has 12 touchdowns and four interceptions through seven games. Yale is 5-2.

Quarterback Robby Ashford: Ashford transferred with the hopes of starting during his final year of college eligibility. He has done just that at Wake Forest. He hasn’t posted great passing numbers, but Ashford has run the ball well and has guided the Demon Deacons to a better-than-expected 5-3 record.

EDGE Wendell Gregory: After flip-flopping between the linebacker and EDGE rooms at South Carolina, Gregory transferred to Oklahoma State and became a starter at outside linebacker, a position that operates as an EDGE for the Cowboys. He has had a strong season with three sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss. Oklahoma State has been horrible, though, earning a 1-8 record so far in 2025.

Defensive Tackle Jamaal Whyce: Whyce transferred to Marshall, the same school where his father starred years ago. He’s had a really good year up front for the Thundering Herd with three sacks and 5.5 tackles for loss en route to a 4-4 overall record.

Defensive Back Emory Floyd Jr.: He never caught on for consistent snaps with the Gamecocks, but Floyd has become a starter for Appalachian State under head coach Dowell Loggains. His stats don’t jump off the page, but Floyd has had a solid year in coverage for the Mountaineers. App State is 4-5 on the season, however.

Defensive Tackle Rondarius Porter: A walk-on at South Carolina, Porter was one of three to follow Dowell Loggains to Appalachian State. He has made the most of his opportunity, being one of the top players in a rotation-heavy defensive front. The Mountaineers are 4-5.

Linebacker Ronnie Porter: The elder Porter has played a smaller role with his new team than former USC teammates Rondarius Porter (his brother) and Emory Floyd. He has played rotationally at linebacker for a struggling defense on a 4-5 team.

Tight End Connor Cox: Cox plays a lot for Bill Belichick at North Carolina. As a tight end, he often lines up next to tackle and former USC teammate Jakai Moore. Cox has been a blocker most of the year and has done well in his role.

Offensive Lineman Jakai Moore: North Carolina has started Moore at right tackle this season. He’s been solid in what is his seventh year of college football. North Carolina hasn’t been solid, though, limping to a 3-5 record under new coach Bill Belichick.

Linebacker Bangally Kamara: A unique case because he should have exhausted his eligibility at South Carolina last season, Kamara left the team to play one additional year at Kansas. He has been good for the Jayhawks as a key defensive starter. Kansas is 5-4 on the year.

Defensive Lineman Elijah Davis: Now a Troy Trojan after not sticking as a defensive tackle or EDGE with the Gamecocks, Davis has been pretty good in a multi-faceted role on the Troy defensive line. He has 1.5 sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss during the Trojans’ 6-3 start to the season.

Tight End Nick Elksnis: Elksnis transferred to UNLV to reunite with his former coach at Florida, Dan Mullen. He has blocked a lot for the Runnin’ Rebels but has found the end zone twice, too. UNLV is a scrappy 6-2 bunch in the Mountain West.

Wide Receiver Elijah Caldwell: Dropping down to the junior college level, Caldwell has become a touchdown machine. He only has 15 total offensive touches but eight touchdowns for a 9-1 Georgia Military squad.

Wide Receiver CJ Adams: Adams, who never played at South Carolina, is a rotational receiver now at Wofford. He has a pair of touchdowns and 13 catches in 2025. The Terriers are 3-6.

Wide Receiver Payton Mangrum: A former walk-on, Mangrum was a somewhat important special teams contributor for South Carolina. Now at East Carolina, he has played a modest role on offense but continues to contribute on kick coverage teams. ECU owns a 5-3 record.

Running Back Djay Braswell: Braswell hasn’t played with any consistency at Georgia State this fall. He has 69 yards of total offense and zero touchdowns. The Panthers have stumbled to a 1-7 mark this season.

Wide Receiver Debron Gatling: Georgia Tech hasn’t played Gatling much this season. Without him playing much of a role, the Yellow Jackets have surprised at 8-1 at the top of the ACC.

Offensive Lineman Kam Pringle: Pringle hasn’t played much since his transfer to Syracuse. The Orange are 3-6 this season.

Wide Receiver Tyshawn Russell: Also at Syracuse, Russell had just 10 touches before suffering an injury. Fran Brown’s group hasn’t lived up to expectations during their 3-6 start.

Tight End Reid Mikeska: Mikeska couldn’t play at Carolina due to injuries but figured to be in for a bigger role in a pass-happy Florida Atlantic offense. That hasn’t materialized, though, as he has just one catch for three yards. The standings reveal the Owls are 3-5.

Offensive Lineman Aaryn Parks: After a transfer to Southern Miss, Parks left the Golden Eagles mid-way through the season. Charles Huff’s team is 6-2 without him.

Offensive Lineman Ni Mansell: Mansell was a walk-on at South Carolina and hasn’t seen much action with the South Alabama Jaguars. The team has not had a good year and sits at 2-7.

Quarterback Tanner Bailey: Originally hitting the transfer portal after the 2023 season, Bailey enrolled at Auburn as a “normal” student. Then, ahead of the 2025 campaign, he announced that he was walking on to join the Tigers. However, that never officially happened.

WR/DB Jace Blackshear, K/P Daniel Lester, LB Mo Kaba, and LS Jordan Franke all left the program but have no information available about their next steps.

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So far this season, the Gamecocks already have one player who has announced an intention to transfer. Tight end Michael Smith left the team after playing four games in order to redshirt and leave the program. He likely will draw significant transfer portal interest as a redshirt sophomore.

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