Shane Beamer addresses transfer portal decision timeline with Josiah Thompson

On Jan. 3, South Carolina offensive lineman Josiah Thompson announced his intent to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal. However, just 11 days later, Thompson withdrew his name from the portal. Earlier this month, Gamecocks head coach Shane Beamer opened up on the timeline of Thompson’s transfer portal decisions.

“I was completely blindsided and shocked when he called me after Christmas or in January, whenever that was, to tell me that he was going to enter the portal,” Beamer said. “We had a conversation about why, and didn’t necessarily agree, but he chose that path to go initially. I moved on. He moved on. I told him just, you know, full disclosure, that understand, I have to go replace you.

“If you’re going to go in the portal, then let’s be real, there’s a money aspect of it. Now, we have to go find offensive tackles and offensive linemen, and we did, and wished him well, and we left on great terms. Any school that called me about Josiah, I had nothing but positive things to say. I love him. I love his family. And then he, to his credit, reached out to me on his own, and we had a great conversation about the possibility of coming back. Obviously, at that point, things had changed here in a lot of ways, with some more offensive linemen that we brought in. But I know what kind of young man Josiah is.”

Thompson started at left tackle in all 12 of South Carolina’s games this past season. He also started 12 games for the Gamecocks as a true freshman in 2024. For his efforts, he received Freshman All-SEC honors.

From the time, Josiah Thompson entered the portal to his withdrawal, South Carolina reeled in three offensive linemen out of the transfer portal. While Beamer doesn’t allow just anybody to return after entering the portal, he made an exception for Thompson.

“We had other players, just to be completely honest, who went in the portal and reached out and wanted to come back, and I said no,” Beamer said. “That happened on more than one occasion because of how they left and maybe the reasons they left for.

“Josiah, I wouldn’t put in that boat. So typically, no, I wouldn’t let him come back. But I do believe every situation is different, and Josiah and I both had some open and honest conversations and shot each other straight. In the end, he makes our team better. Happy that he’s back here with us.”