South Carolina football: Two Gamecock defenders leaving program

South Carolina sophomore defensive lineman Aaron Thompson and junior defensive back Antoine Wilder have decided to leave the program, Gamecocks football coach Will Muschamp said Tuesday night.

Muschamp said he expects all the team's other players to remain with the team and report to fall camp Aug. 2.

"I believe when we report we will full speed other than Chad Terrell," Muschamp said before he spoke to the Richland County Gamecock Club at The Zone in Williams-Brice Stadium. "Chad Terrell (who suffered a torn ACL in spring practice) we are looking at first of September. We will see how that goes."

Thompson and Wilder discussed their decisions with Muschamp during exit interviews the coach recently conducted with all the team's players. Both players will be transferring in hopes of finding more playing time, Muschamp said. The rest of the interviews went well, he said.

"I have really good reviews from guys about where we’re at and where we’re headed," he said. "I’m excited about the mentality of this football team headed into the offseason. We have made some strides, we have made some progress, but still, at the end of the day, we haven’t accomplished anything. That’s what we have to continue to strive for."

The Gamecocks will welcome their remaining Class of 2018 signees in the last week of May and begin their summer program on June 4, Muschamp said.

Thompson, a 6-foot-3, 300-pound tackle from Fort Lauderdale High School, redshirted in 2017 and did not participate in spring practice because of a shoulder injury. A three-star prospect in high school, he also had a scholarship offer from Clemson.

Wilder, a 5-foot-10, 198-pound Georgia native, had seven tackles in eight games last year. He missed spring practice because of a shoulder injury. He was a three-star prospect in high school, where he was a teammate of onetime South Carolina commit Arden Key, who would go on to play at LSU.

This story was originally published April 24, 2018 at 6:03 PM with the headline "South Carolina football: Two Gamecock defenders leaving program."