Future remains bright, but Jordan Burch entering portal is a blow for Gamecocks

The sky isn’t falling in Columbia — at least Shane Beamer says so.

“BEYOND bright,” Beamer tweeted in reference to a photo of a handful of South Carolina’s elite 2023 defensive recruits who moved in Thursday.

It doesn’t take an investigative reporter or detective to see the timing in Beamer’s social media shoutout. It was posted 14 minutes after The Athletic’s Max Olson broke the news that star defensive end Jordan Burch was in the transfer portal.

Beamer is a master of this. He has a knack for timing up social media messages and posts in the wake of bad publicity. In press conferences, he almost always brings positive vibes, passionately firing back at his detractors on occasion. He constantly assures South Carolina fans their program is headed in the right direction — and, to his credit, a 15-11 record and two bowl appearances following the doldrums of the late Will Muschamp era is proof of such.

But recent upswing aside, South Carolina still must replace its most dynamic pass rusher (Burch) and two of its most explosive offensive weapons (MarShawn Lloyd, Jaheim Bell), while Spencer Rattler and Antwane “Juice” Wells Jr. continue to contemplate their own futures.

“Very few people, I think, thought in 2021 that we’d finish the season in a bowl game, and we finished the season in a bowl game, in a bowl victory in Charlotte last year,” Beamer said following the Gator Bowl loss to Notre Dame. “... We had a tough schedule this year and people didn’t think we may (make a) bowl game this year, and not only did we get in a bowl game, we’ve won eight games and nationally ranked coming into this game. We’ve made a ton of progress, and it’s just the beginning.”

It’s not that far gone Burch’s arrival in Columbia was met with massive celebration. South Carolina’s official football Twitter account posted a video of the staff at the time yelling and screaming as they watched a stream of the former Hammond School standout and five-star recruit’s announcement in 2020 that he was staying home.

The moment merited as much. Burch is the second-highest rated recruit to ever sign with South Carolina, per 247Sports’ historical ratings. The only man rated higher was Jadeveon Clowney. South Carolina fought off the big dogs of the Southeastern Conference in LSU and Georgia for Burch’s services.

Now, though, comes finding a replacement for the 60 tackles, 7.5 tackles for a loss and 3.5 sacks Burch turned in this fall, a career year in a productive but, at times, underwhelming career at USC.

South Carolina is already deathly thin at defensive end before the offseason starts in earnest. Encouraging youngster Gilber Edmond, who starred opposite Burch in the wake of Jordan Strachan’s Week 2 season-ending injury, is in the portal and reportedly slated for visits to Florida State and LSU this week. Reserve edge rusher Hot Rod Fitten also entered the portal on Sunday.

Strachan could conceivably return depending on his eligibility status. South Carolina filed a motion with the NCAA to grant the former Georgia State transfer a medical redshirt for this past fall that would allow him to return next year. But, like anything involving the NCAA, we’ll see.

The rest of the room, talented as it might be, remains inexperienced. The staff was high on Terrell Dawkins when he transferred in from N.C. State last year, but injuries limited his availability. Tyreek Johnson is a veteran who should be back, but he’s never been more than a reserve/complementary piece to this point in his career.

Freshman Bryan Thomas Jr., too, showed flashes of dynamism after being thrust into a surprise start in the Gator Bowl and appearing in 10 games this year. South Carolina also signed a pair of four-star rushers in Desmond Umeozulu and Monteque Rhames during the 2023 cycle, but counting on them in Year 1 may be a stretch.

“We’re hot right now,” Umeozulu said at Under All-American practice this week, referencing South Carolina’s work on the recruiting trail. “The Gamecocks are hot. I’m talking to a lot of the younger recruits, 2024. ... I think it’s going to be moving forward from now on, Coach Beamer, second year. Every year is going to be better.”

South Carolina has built ample momentum in Beamer’s short time in Columbia. That’s only compounded as the Gamecocks are on track for a second consecutive Top 25 signing class and one that may be the highest-ranked nationally in a decade. Beamer has also seen his profile grow. It’s why he’ll likely soon be rewarded with a healthy pay raise.

But, as Beamer has laid out countless times, this is a results business. To paraphrase, people only care about what happens on 12 weekends in the fall.

Perhaps Burch leaving won’t matter. Maybe there’s a defensive line target out there who has yet to receive an offer, or even someone from the transfer portal who will make a major difference for the Gamecocks in 2023. Such is life in modern college football.

For now, the loss feels like, at the very least, a blow for a program that should still be optimistic about the future.

The State contributor Sam Wolfe contributed to the reporting of this story.

Gamecocks in the transfer portal

Each player’s landing spot is listed in parentheses

DE Jordan Burch — Jan. 5

RB Rashad Amos — Jan. 1

LB Hot Rod Fitten — Dec. 31

LS Matthew Bailey — Dec. 31

Edge Gilber Edmond — Dec. 15

WR Corey Rucker — Dec. 14

RB MarShawn Lloyd — Dec. 12

DB Tyrese Ross — Dec. 6

TE Jaheim Bell — Dec. 5 (Florida State)

TE Austin Stogner — Dec. 5 (Oklahoma)

LB Darryle Ware — Dec. 5

DB Joey Hunter — Dec. 5

OL Jordan Davis — Nov. 30

DB R.J. Roderick — Oct. 17