South Carolina’s offensive line is taking another hit. Rodney Newsom Jr. has entered the NCAA Transfer Portal, becoming the sixth offensive lineman from the Gamecocks to do so. Newsom is looking to extend his college football career by one more season, though he’ll need a seventh year of eligibility to make that happen in 2026.
Newsom’s departure adds to a growing list of linemen exiting Columbia. He joins Nick Sharpe, Cason Henry, Trovon Baugh, and Tree Babalade-all of whom saw at least part-time starting roles in 2025-as well as walk-on Mac Walters. That’s a significant chunk of depth and experience walking out the door, and it leaves South Carolina with some major questions to answer up front heading into the offseason.
For Newsom, this marks the latest chapter in a winding college journey. He started at Memphis in 2020, left midway through the 2022 season, and spent time at the JUCO level before landing at Western Kentucky in 2024. He came to South Carolina this past year with what was believed to be his final season of eligibility, but now he’s hoping for one more shot.
This all comes against the backdrop of new NCAA Transfer Portal rules that are changing the timing and structure of player movement. The portal window this year is shorter and starts later-running only from January 2 to January 16. That’s a big shift from last year’s month-long window that opened in early December.
Players can still announce their intention to transfer before the window opens, as many Gamecocks already have, but they can’t officially enter the portal until January 2. And in another key change, graduate transfers are no longer allowed to enter at any time-they’re now bound by the same portal window as underclassmen. The NCAA also scrapped the spring portal window entirely, meaning this two-week stretch in January is now the only opportunity for most players to transfer-unless there’s a head coaching change.
The goal behind these changes? Stability.
By tightening the window, the NCAA is trying to give programs a clearer picture of their rosters and reduce the chaos that came with multiple transfer periods. But for South Carolina, the timing doesn’t change the fact that they’re facing a major rebuild in the trenches.
Losing six offensive linemen-several of them key contributors-means the Gamecocks will need to lean heavily on recruiting, development, and perhaps the portal itself to patch things up.
As for Newsom, his next stop is still unknown. But if he’s granted that seventh year, he’ll bring a wealth of experience-and a well-traveled résumé-to whichever program gives him a shot.