South Carolina offensive lineman Eric Douglas (71) celebrates after the game with Clemson at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina on Saturday, Nov. 26, 2022. Anderson Independent Mail-USA TODAY Sports

South Carolina loses two elite players to transfer portal despite hot finish

By Andrew Kulha | Last updated 12/12/22

The South Carolina Gamecocks were one of the hottest teams in college football at the end of the season. They beat No. 5 Tennessee and No. 8 Clemson in back-to-back weeks and now head into the Gator Bowl against Notre Dame with a fresh No. 19 ranking to their name.

Head coach Shane Beamer is among the rising stars in college football, so for all intents and purposes, South Carolina seems like one of the places to be.

With that in mind, it's interesting to see that the Gamecocks are losing two of their top players from this year to the transfer portal. The first is junior tight end Jaheim Bell, who caught 25 passes for 231 yards and two touchdowns this past season for South Carolina. He averaged 9.2 yards per catch.

The other is perhaps even more devastating for the Gamecocks. Star running back and leading rusher MarShawn Lloyd announced on Twitter that he'll be entering the transfer portal:

New beginnings.. #Uno pic.twitter.com/AeLMNgauMz
— MarShawn Lloyd (@m_lloyd_2) December 13, 2022

It's still unclear where Lloyd will end up but he'll certainly be a top prospect in the portal. A 5-foot-9, 212-pound sophomore, Lloyd rushed 111 times this season for 573 yards and nine touchdowns. He also caught two touchdowns via the air.

As far as Bell is concerned, he announced that he'll be taking his talents to the ACC and, specifically, to Florida State.

That's 13 touchdowns walking out the door for Beamer and the Gamecocks. It will be interesting to see how they respond.

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