South Carolina football lands another offensive lineman from the transfer portal
South Carolina’s football team added some more help for its offensive line.
East Carolina’s Emmanuel Poku committed to Shane Beamer and the Gamecocks on Friday.
“Feels great to finally find a home le(t)s do it,” Poku posted on his X page.
South Carolina beat out Clemson among others to get Poku, who was scheduled to visit the Tigers on Friday according to Tiger Illustrated.
Poku is the latest addition to USC’s offensive line, which struggled last season. Following a season in which USC allowed an SEC-worst 43 sacks, seven scholarship Gamecock offensive linemen hit the portal and South Carolina brought in a new OL coach in Randy Clements.
Poku is the fourth offensive lineman that USC has gotten in the portal so far. Half of USC’s transfer portal commits have been offensive linemen.
The 6-foot-5, 326-pound Poku is a Charlotte native and played at Olympic High School. He walked on to ECU and became a two-year starter, playing both guard and tackle for the Pirates.
This year, Poku played 975 snaps at guard and was second-team American Athletic Conference selection. According to Pro Football Focus, he had a pass protection grade of 69.1 and run blocking of 60.6.
Poku has played almost 2,000 snaps for ECU and will have one year of eligibility left.
2026 South Carolina Transfer Portal Additions
- WR Jayden Gibson (Oklahoma) — committed on Jan. 4
- DL Jordan Thomas (Georgia) — committed on Jan. 6
- OL Carter Miller (UCF) — committed on Jan. 6
- OL Hank Purvis (Purdue) — committed on Jan. 6
- K Upton Bellenfant (Texas Tech) — committed on Jan. 8
- DB Quay’Sheed Scott (Kentucky) — committed on Jan. 8
- OL Jacarrius Peak (NC State) — committed on Jan. 8
- OL Emmanuel Poku (East Carolina) — committed on Jan. 9
- RB Sam Williams-Dixon (Ohio State) — committed on Jan. 9
- WR Nitro Tuggle (Purdue) — committed on Jan. 9
- OL Dayne Arnett (Ferris State) — committed on Jan. 9
- DL Tomiwa Durojaiye (Illinois) — committed on Jan. 10
- LS Emmet Rhoades (Western Carolina) — signed on Jan. 10
- OL Seth Smith (Northern Arizona) — committed on Jan. 11
- DL Kelby Collins (Alabama) — committed on Jan. 11
- DE Drew Collins (Arkansas State) — committed on Jan. 11
This story was originally published January 9, 2026 at 4:11 PM.
