South Carolina EDGE, former four-star, to enter transfer portal
South Carolina rising senior EDGE Desmond Umeozulu is entering the transfer portal, according to a report from On3’s Hayes Fawcett.
The news comes on the heels of the Gamecocks landing a commitment from transfer portal pass rusher Caleb Herring. Herring is expected to compete for the starting spot opposite Dylan Stewart for new defensive ends/outside linebackers coach Deion Barnes.
Umeozulu will exit the USC program following three years as a reserve. He played his biggest overall role in 2025, logging 19 tackles, two tackles for loss, and one sack. Those numbers more than doubled his production from his freshman and sophomore years combined.
A former four-star prospect in the class of 2023, Umeozulu will have one final year of eligibility remaining.
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With Umeozulu headed out the door, South Carolina has lost five total EDGE players this offseason. All-SEC performer Bryan Thomas Jr. graduated, and so did JT Geer and Demon Clowney. Redshirt sophomore Jaylen Brown left via the transfer portal, following former position coach Sterling Lucas to LSU.
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USC has added two pass rushers in four-star (maybe future five-star?) Julian Walker from Dutch Fork High School and former Arkansas State EDGE Drew Collins from the transfer portal. Collins’ older brother, Kelby Collins, is a hybrid defensive lineman who can play inside or outside, pending the game situation; he also will be a Gamecock in 2026.
South Carolina will return star junior Dylan Stewart and redshirt freshmen Jaquavious Dodd, Anthony Addison, and Kobby Sakyi-Prah. Redshirt senior George Wilson is appealing for an extra year following a knee injury that kept him out for all of 2025.
Umeozulu would have been the lone fourth-year Gamecock defensive end on the 2026 roster had he stayed in Columbia.