South Carolina football is set to lose another offensive lineman as Rodney Newsom Jr. plans to enter the transfer portal, according to On3’s Pete Nakos. Newsom would require a seventh year of eligibility to play in 2026.
Newsom spent just one season with the Gamecocks in 2025, appearing in 11 games and starting three. During the season, he played 223 offensive snaps and posted a Pro Football Focus overall grade of 48.7, with a 46.8 in run blocking and 54.2 in pass protection.
The 2025 season marked Newsom’s sixth year as a collegiate player. He began his career at Memphis in 2020, redshirting his freshman season and leaving midway through 2022. In 2023, he played at Itawamba Community College, earning all-conference honors, before starting 11 games for Western Kentucky in 2024.
Newsom is the 11th scholarship Gamecock to announce intentions to enter the transfer portal and the fifth offensive lineman leaving the program this offseason. Other recent departures on the offensive line include Nick Sharpe, Trovon Baugh, Cason Henry, and Tree Babalade.
This latest exit adds to the ongoing roster turnover for South Carolina as the Gamecocks look to rebuild depth along the offensive front heading into 2026.
