Gamecocks transfer lands with mid-major program in the Midwest

Safety Jonathan Gipson spent hardly a season in Columbia between signing out of Hoschton, Georgia and putting his name in the transfer portal.

Now he has a new home in the Toledo Rockets.

A UT spokesman confirmed Gipson is now on the Rockets roster. He’d hinted at it with several social media posts, including a picture of himself in a Toledo uniform on Instagam.

Gipson was a three-star prospect, the No. 378 recruit in the country in the 247 Sports composite ranking. He made 58 tackles, with four interceptions, 11 pass breakups, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries as a senior.

As a freshman, Gipson redshirted, but ended up playing in two of the final four games. As injuries hammered the secondary, he ended up making six tackles in the bowl loss to Virginia.

He left USC after spring practice, which contributes to the Gamecocks heading into 2019 with a thin secondary.

The Rockets went 7-6 six last season, their third with coach Jason Candle. Their offense averaged more than 40 points per game, but the defense allowed 30.5, 84th in the country.

This story was originally published August 27, 2019 at 8:10 AM.