Former South Carolina linebacker Pup Howard commits to SEC rival
Less than two days after announcing he was entering the transfer portal, former South Carolina linebacker Grayson “Pup” Howard has picked his next destination.
The former four-star prospect announced on Thursday that he will continue his college career at Florida after a single season with the Gamecocks.
The move was expected. Howard grew up in Jacksonville and will now play football just over an hour from where he grew up at an SEC rival of USC’s.
Just a year ago, Howard was one of the jewel’s of South Carolina’s 2023 recruiting class. He was the Gamecocks’ third-highest-ranked signee, a top-200 player in America and a top-20 linebacker, according to 247 Sports’ composite rankings.
Howard enrolled to South Carolina early and was able top practice with the Gamecocks as they prepared for the Gator Bowl last winter.
As a true freshman this season, the 6-foot-4, 241-pound linebacker played in all but one game, never starting but recording 19 tackles and forcing a fumble against Vanderbilt.
Howard is now the third 2023 South Carolina prep signee to enter the transfer portal, joining tight end Kamron Sandlin and defensive lineman Xzavier McLeod, who was dismissed from the USC football team in October and later committed to Georgia.
The news of Howard’s decision to leave Columbia was another brutal blow to a linebacker room that recently lost Stone Blanton, who started all 12 games last season, to the transfer portal. Howard (2023) and Blanton (2022) were the highest-ranked linebackers in each of the past two South Carolina signing classes.
The Gamecocks will return redshirt senior starter Debo Williams, who led USC with 113 tackles last season, along with super senior Bam Martin-Scott and redshirt sophomore Jaron Willis. USC is also expected to return Mohamed Kaba, who missed nearly all of 2023 with a left knee injury.
SOUTH CAROLINA PORTAL LOSSES
QB Tanner Bailey
QB Colten Gauthier
RB Mario Anderson (Memphis)
OL JonDarius Morgan (UAB)
OL Grayson Mains
OL Jaylen Nichols
WR Antwane “Juice” Wells Jr. (Ole Miss)
WR O’Mega Blake (East Carolina)
WR Landon Samson
WR Zavier Short (Appalachian State)
WR Kylic Horton
TE Kamron Sandlin
DL Xzavier McLeod (Georgia)
DL Felix Hixon
DL D’Andre Martin (Charlotte)
DL Donovan Westmoreland (Kennesaw State)
LB Grayson “Pup” Howard (Florida)
LB Stone Blanton (Mississippi State)
DB Kajuan Banks (South Florida)
DB Isaiah Norris
K Mitch Jeter (Notre Dame)
This story was originally published January 4, 2024 at 12:20 PM.
