South Carolina removed a quarterback-wide receiver pair from the transfer portal on Tuesday and the Gamecocks coach Shane Beamer he is adamant about his ability to play at this level of college football.
Quarterback Jason Brown and wide receiver EJ Jenkins, both at the FCS Saint Francis (PA) level, are the last of seven transfer portal additions to the Gamecocks program.
“Having these guys on board has been great,” said Beamer on Wednesday. “I’ve been talking to them since EJ and Jason joined the portal. They are really fantastic guys, with some maturity and two very, very good players. They have a great history and I think some teams certainly missed out on recruiting when these guys were leaving college. When you watch their tape, they are SEC football players and we couldn’t be more ecstatic about their trust and faith in us and for being able to do that and get these guys here quickly. “
Hale McGranahan of TheBigSpur reported late on Tuesday that the pair plans to be in Columbia at the end of the weekend.
Along with the experience, Brown and Jenkins also bring a lot of size to their respective position groups. Jenkins, listed as 6-8 and 235 pounds, had 39 receptions for 779 yards and a school record of 13 catches for 2019 touchdown. Brown is listed as 6-4 and 230 pounds and completed 251 of 403 passes for 3,084 yards in the same season.
Brown joins a quarterback room with little experience other than Luke DotyBoth games started at the end of the 2020 season. Class of 2021 signatory Colten Gauthier moved to campus in early January. The room left graduation in 2020 Collin Hill, which started eight games and second year Ryan Hilinski, which was transferred to Northwestern. Brown will be in line to compete at the spring camp, which starts on March 20.
“What Coach Satterfield is trying to do with the attack is something I can excel in,” Brown told 247sports. “I think it will be a fun and interesting experience, for sure.
“I think I will have the opportunity to compete for the starting place. It won’t be easy and it will be a lot of work, but I’m sure I’ll be ready for that. “
Gamecocks struggled to be able to count on a large body, downfield receiver in 2020. Jenkins length provides more to go along with Jalen Brooks (6-3), Ger-Carl Caldwell (6-5), and potentially OrTre Smith (6-4) he should return to his 2017 freshman form. Gamecocks also pulled the Georgia Tech transfer wide receiver Ahmarean Brown outside the portal, a good addition to the slot with Shi Smith leaving for the NFL.