Skip to main content

Additional South Carolina OL entering the transfer portal

wesby: Wes Mitchell12/29/25WesMitchellGC

South Carolina’s offensive line remake continues.

Interior lineman R.J. Newsom will enter the transfer portal, On3’s Pete Nakos reports.

The news should not be a surprise, considering Newsom walked on Senior Day with the Gamecocks.

Newsom was already listed as a “sixth year” player in 2025, but he could be eligible for another season (may require a waiver).

Newsom made 11 appearances and three starts for the Gamecocks this season.

He is the fifth scholarship offensive lineman to announce their intentions to transfer out this offseason, joining Nick Sharpe, Trovon Baugh, Cason Henry, and Tree Babalade.

South Carolina Transfer Portal Resources:

He transferred to South Carolina ahead of the 2025 campaign from Western Kentucky.

Newsom also only spent one season at WKU. He appeared in all 13 of the Hilltoppers’ games and started 11 times.

Before transferring to WKU, Newsom played at Itawamba (Miss.) Community College. He appeared in nine games for the JUCO program. For his efforts, he was named a Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference North Division honorable mention selection.

Newsome spent the first three seasons of his collegiate career at Memphis. He rarely saw action for the Tigers and left the program midway through his redshirt sophomore season.

Newsome played high school football at Briarcrest Christian (TN), where he was a three-star recruit. He was the No. 2,256 overall player and No. 158 interior offensive lineman in the 2020 recruiting cycle, according to the Rivals Industry Rankings.

On3’s Grant Grubbs contributed to this report.

The Insiders Forum: Discuss South Carolina football!