Surprise! Tight end transfer joins Gamecocks after all
Brady Hunt is going to be a Gamecock after all.
The Ball State transfer tight end announced in a tweet on X Saturday night that he has arrived in Columbia and will be suiting up for Shane Beamer and the Gamecocks next season.
Beamer responded to Hunt’s announcement with GIF, “Look Who’s Back.”
The Big Spur and Gamecock Central reported this week that Hunt was going to flip his commitment from South Carolina to Texas A&M. One of Hunt’s coaches at Ball State was joining Mike Elko’s staff with the Aggies.
But he will be a Gamecock after all. Hunt was announced as one of USC’s transfer portal signees on Dec. 20. But since transfers sign financial aid agreements instead of letters of intent, they aren’t bound to play there.
Hunt’s announcement continues a busy recruiting weekend as Gamecocks look to land players from the transfer portal before classes begin Monday. USC got a commitment from Bangally Kamara earlier in the day. The Gamecocks have 13 transfers committed so far.
Hunt was expected to contribute quickly. The 6-foot-6, 249-pound former quarterback did not play in 2023 because of an ankle injury. In 2022, he caught 46 passes for nearly 500 yards and five scores.
Beamer said the Gamecocks noticed Hunt back in 2022. When preparing for a game against Tennessee, the scouting included watching a Volunteers game against Ball State.
“We were like, ‘Who the heck is this Ball State tight end?’” Beamer said. “We didn’t know it at the time, but almost two years later, he decided to go into a portal.
SOUTH CAROLINA TRANSFER PORTAL ADDITIONS (13)
- RB Raheim “Rocket” Sanders (Arkansas)
- RB Oscar Adaway III (North Texas)
- RB Jawarn Howell (S.C. State)
- WR Jared Brown (Coastal Carolina)
- WR Ahmari Huggins-Bruce (Louisville)
TE Brady Hunt (Ball State)
- OL Torricelli Simpkins III (North Carolina Central)
- DL Deandre Jules (Pitt)
- LB Demetrius Knight (Charlotte)
- LB Bangally Kamara (Pitt)
- DB Gerald Kilgore (Tennessee Tech)
This story was originally published January 6, 2024 at 7:04 PM.
