USC added 2 FCS transfers. Teams ‘dropped the ball’ in recruiting them, Beamer says
South Carolina football recently dipped into the FCS level to pick up a pair of transfers in quarterback Jason Brown and wide receiver E.J. Jenkins from Saint Francis University in Pennsylvania.
The way coach Shane Beamer sees it, the Gamecocks just pulled off two major steals.
“I’ve had conversations with them ever since E.J. and Jason went in the portal and really fantastic guys with some maturity and two really, really, really, really good players,” Beamer said Wednesday.
Coming out of Chancellor High School as teammates, Brown and Jenkins were considered two-star prospects in the 247Sports Composite that factors in all rankings. Neither held a single Power 5 scholarship offer, and Jenkins had just one FBS offer from Ohio.
But Beamer said that lack of recruiting buzz reflected a failure on the part of colleges, not Brown and Jenkins.
“They got a great story, and I think some teams certainly dropped the ball in recruiting when those guys were coming out of high school,” Beamer said. “But when you watch their tape, I mean, they’re SEC football players and we couldn’t be more ecstatic about their confidence and faith in us and being able to get that done and get these guys here quickly.”
At Saint Francis, Brown and Jenkins blossomed. The 6-foot-4, 230-pound Brown led the Northeast Conference in passing yards and passing touchdowns in 2019 and set school records for passing touchdowns (28) and yards (3,084) en route to honorable mention All-American honors. The 6-foot-8 Jenkins had 39 catches for 779 yards and a school-record 13 touchdowns in 2019.
So when the Red Flash decided to cancel its 2021 spring season and the teammates entered the portal, they quickly picked up interest and offers from a number of FBS, including Power 5, programs.
At South Carolina, though, Brown and Jenkins will step into a situation where they will likely have an opportunity to contribute right away.
They will have two years of eligibility left at South Carolina. They’re expected to enroll at USC on March 1 in time for the school’s Spring II semester and be a part of the Gamecocks’ spring practice.
“Receiver and quarterback, those were two positions that we needed to get some more depth. At quarterback, there’s not a big room right now,” Beamer acknowledged.
Brown joins a QB position group with just two other scholarship players, freshmen Luke Doty and Colten Gauthier. Jenkins, meanwhile, comes to a unit that is losing far and away its top option in 2020 in senior Shi Smith.
Transfer portal additions for Gamecocks
Jason Brown — quarterback (St. Francis)
EJ Jenkins — wide receiver (St. Francis)
Ahmarean Brown — wide receiver (Georgia Tech)
David Spaulding — defensive back (Georgia Southern)
Darryl “Debo” Williams — linebacker (Delaware)
Jordan Strachan — defensive lineman (Georgia State)
Keem Green — defensive lineman (Nebraska)
This story was originally published January 27, 2021 at 11:49 AM.
