South Carolina football lands eighth offensive lineman from transfer portal
South Carolina has landed its 25th transfer of the offseason.
On Monday evening, On3 Sports reported that Missouri State OL Ebubedike Nnabugwu committed to the Gamecocks. Among other schools vying for Nnabugwu, South Carolina beat out Alabama, where he visited on Saturday.
Nnabugwu becomes the eighth offensive lineman to commit to the Gamecocks out of the transfer portal, further revamping a South Carolina O-line room that gave up an SEC-worst 43 sacks in 2025.
A 6-foot-3, 305-pound Baltimore native, Nnabugwu started Missouri State’s first three games at left guard before moving to left tackle, where he started for the final nine games of the season.
Per Pro Football Focus, Nnabugwu was an exceptional pass blocker last season, earning a grade of 78.7 in protection while giving up just three sacks and four quarterback hits.
He helped Missouri State post a winning record and reach a bowl in its first FBS season. The Bears finished 7-6 and 5-3 in their debut CUSA season.
Nnabugwu started his career at Delaware State in 2023. After redshirting in his first season, he played in all 12 games as a redshirt sophomore.
Missouri State underwent a coaching change this year as Ryan Beard was hired as the new coach at Coastal Carolina in Conway. Beard replaced Tim Beck.
Nnabugwu will enroll at South Carolina with two seasons of eligibility remaining.
South Carolina’s 2026 transfer portal class
- QB Lucian Anderson III (Bowling Green State)
- RB Sam Williams-Dixon (Ohio State)
- RB Jabree Coleman (Penn State)
- RB Christian Clark (Texas)
- WR Jayden Gibson (Oklahoma)
- WR Nitro Tuggle (Purdue)
- WR Charly Mullaly (Holy Cross)
- WR DJ Black (UCF)
- TE Max Drag (UCF)
- OL Dayne Arnett (Ferris State)
- OL Carter Miller (UCF)
- OL Jacarrius Peak (NC State)
- OL Emmanuel Poku (East Carolina)
- OL Hank Purvis (Purdue)
- OL Seth Smith (Northern Arizona)
- OL Armando Nieves (New Mexico State)
- OL Ebubedike Nnabugwu (Missouri State)
- K Upton Bellenfant (Texas Tech)
- LS Emmet Rhoades (Western Carolina)
- DL Jordan Thomas (Georgia)
- DL Tomiwa Durojaiye (Illinois)
- DL Kelby Collins (Alabama)
- DE Drew Collins (Arkansas State)
- DE Caleb Herring (Tennessee)
- DB Quay’Sheed Scott (Kentucky)
This story was originally published January 19, 2026 at 5:39 PM.
