College football’s sack leader will transfer to play for Beamer and the Gamecocks
South Carolina football just got some much-needed help with its pass rush.
Georgia State’s Jordan Strachan, the nation’s co-leader in sacks in the 2020 season, announced Wednesday he is transferring to the Gamecocks. Strachan put his name in the transfer portal on Monday.
Strachan posted the news of his new school on Twitter where he thanked Georgia State, his coaches, mentors and trainers to help get to this point.
“I feel like there is much more to the game that I have to offer and I need to be placed in the best hands to assist me in fulfilling my dreams,” Strachan wrote. “I feel like my path has been ordained by God and that the plan for my life has already been written. With that being said, I will be committing to the University of South Carolina.”
The 6-foot-4 Strachan (pronounced STRAHN) is a redshirt junior and will have two years of eligibility left. He is expected to enroll immediately. Strachan is the fourth transfer to commit to the Gamecocks in the past week.
The Georgia native was injured his senior season of high school, so he walked on to play for former Gamecocks coach Shawn Elliott at Georgia State and had 36 tackles in 2018. Strachan was recruited to play safety but kept on growing and was recruited by former Gamecock Cedric Williams, who is on staff at Georgia State.
In 2019, Strachan was injured in the opener against Tennesee and missed the rest of the season.
This year, Strachan had a school-record 10.5 sacks, tied for most in FBS, and had a school record 14.5 tackles for loss as part of his 41 tackles. He was part of a Georgia State defense that had a school-record 35 sacks.
Strachan was a finalist for the Burlsworth Trophy, given to the most outstanding FBS college football player who began his career as a walk-on.
The Gamecocks recorded just 14.5 sacks last season. South Carolina will be switching to a 4-2-5 system this year under new defensive coordinator Clayton White. Kingsley Enagbare, the team’s top pass rusher, announced earlier this week that he will return and will help the Gamecocks’ defense next season.
This story was originally published January 13, 2021 at 3:49 PM.
