Three South Carolina tight end transfers find new college homes
Three former South Carolina tight ends and a former running back have found new their new colleges.
Connor Cox, Nick Elksnis and Reid Mikeska all announced Wednesday they have committed to their new schools.
On Thursday, running back Djay Braswell announced he is headed to Georgia State.
Cox is headed to North Carolina to play for legendary head coach Bill Belichick, who led the New England Patriots to six Super Bowl championships.
The 6-foot-6, 242-pound Cox had one catch for nine yards and a touchdown in his career, which came in USC’s home win against Akron this season. He appeared in five games last season as a freshman.
Elksnis is headed out west to play for new UNLV coach Dan Mullen, who previously coached in the Southeastern Conference at Florida and Mississippi State.
Elksnis joined the South Carolina roster ahead of the 2023 season after spending two seasons with the Florida Gators. During his two seasons with the Gamecocks, he appeared in 15 games but did not record any statistics.
Elksnis might have another former Gamecock joining him at UNLV. Backup quarterback Robby Ashford visited the school this week, he posted to social media.
Mikeska is going to play at Florida Atlantic, which just hired new coach Zach Kittley. At 33 years old, Kittley is the youngest head coach in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
Mikeska, a 6-foot-5, 265-pound redshirt freshman from Texas, did not record any stats for the Gamecocks after being part of aloaded tight end room behind Joshua Simon, Brady Hunt, Michael Smith and Maurice Brown. He enrolled at South Carolina in 2023 as a three-star tight end prospect, choosing the Gamecocks after initially committing to Clemson and Miami.
Braswell, a former four-star prospect out of Georgia, will return to his home state after playing two seasons with the Gamecocks. He enrolled at South Carolina during the summer of 2023 and contributed as a true freshman last season.
This season, though, after South Carolina brought in four running backs — freshman Matthew Fuller as well as three transfers: Rocket Sanders (Arkansas), Oscar Adaway III (North Texas) and Jawarn Howell (SC State). Braswell fell down the depth chart. The sophomore did not record a stat in 2024.
When the Gamecocks dealt with injuries to its running back room late in the 2023 season, Braswell —built at 6-foot, 210 pounds — played in three of South Carolina’s final four games — carrying the ball 12 times for 25 yards.
The players are four of the 14 USC players that have announced they are transferring. The Gamecocks have added five new players from the transfer portal.
Gamecocks in the transfer portal
QB — Robby Ashford
RB — Djay Braswell (Georgia State)
WR — CJ Adams
WR — Elijah Caldwell
WR — Debron Gatling
WR — Tyshawn Russell
TE — Connor Cox (North Carolina)
TE — Reid Mikeska (Florida Atlantic)
TE — Nick Elksnis (UNLV)
OL — Ni Mansell
DL — Elijah Davis
DL — Jamaal Whyce
LB — Mo Kaba
PK — Daniel Lester
This story was originally published December 19, 2024 at 11:44 AM.
