Veteran tight end no longer on Gamecocks roster, will transfer to play another sport
Tight end Evan Hinson is no longer on South Carolina football’s roster.
A school spokesperson confirmed that was the case, after Hinson was not listed in the team’s weekly game notes ahead of the season opener. Gamecocks coach Will Muschamp said Hinson will transfer to play basketball, the sport he played most during his time in Columbia.
“As of Evan Hinson and I’s last conversation, he was going to transfer and play basketball,” Muschamp said. “He felt like that was what he wanted to do moving forward. So we wish him the best.”
Hinson, a fourth-year player, was sidelined after surgery to correct an irregular heartbeat. He gave up basketball this offseason to become a full-time football player.
He’s the second tight end the team has lost this offseason after Kiel Pollard had to retire for medical reasons.
Hinson came to Columbia in Muschamp’s first recruiting class, aiming to play both football and basketball. He redshirted in football and played sparingly in 2017 and 2018. The 6-foot-4, 245-pounder had one career catch for one yard.
As a basketball player, he averaged 8.8 minutes, playing in 46 games. He started 17, all in 2017-18. He played in two of South Carolina’s 2017 NCAA tournament games.
His younger brother plays for Ole Miss and was in Columbia for the NCAA tournament last season.
It leaves South Carolina brutally thin at tight end, with four scholarship players, two of them freshmen and one other with little game experience.
This story was originally published August 27, 2019 at 10:46 AM.
