South Carolina football announced some jersey number changes ahead of next week’s season opener.
Quarterback Robby Ashford will be wearing No. 1 (instead of No. 4), while receiver Tyshawn Russell is switching from No. 22 to No. 4. Receiver Ahmari-Huggins Bruce was listed as No. 1 on the roster, but Gamecocks coach Shane Beamer confirmed Thursday that the former Dillon High standout is no longer with the team.
Huggins-Bruce is expected to transfer back to Louisville, where he was his first three years before landing at USC in January.
Ashford wore No. 9 at Auburn last season and is in his first season with the Gamecocks after transferring. He will be the backup to quarterback LaNorris Sellers, who was announced as the team’s starter for the opener against ODU on Aug. 31. Ashford wore No. 16 at Hoover High in Alabama.
Russell is in his second season at USC. He appeared in 10 games last season as a freshman and caught five passes for 81 yards, including a 50-yarder against Furman.
The South Carolina Gamecocks’ football program is entering a pivotal year under head coach Shane Beamer. He has compiled a 20-18 record over his time as head coach and is coming off of a 5-7 season in year three.
This offseason, Beamer and his staff put an effort into adding more bodies to the roster via the transfer portal, and it’s better than some may think.
On3’s Jesse Simonton released an article that listed the five most impressive transfer portal classes in 2024 that are flying under the radar and South Carolina made the list.
The Gamecocks had some key departures from the roster such as Xavier McLeod to Georgia and wide receiver Juice Wells to Ole Miss, but they also added some solid pieces.
Simonton noted that Beamer did a good job of filling gaps created by portal departures by adding players from the portal. He highlighted names like Raheim Sanders from Arkansas and the five wideouts South Carolina added as well.
In total, South Carolina added 22 players from the transfer portal to help the efforts of the program to improve upon the season they had in 2023.
So at the very least, if South Carolina posts another season like they did in 2023, it won’t be from a lack of trying via the transfer portal.
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