South Carolina to enforce buyout after football player signed, then transferred
South Carolina edge rusher Desmond Umeozulu entered the transfer portal last Thursday, a day before the portal window closed. A few days later, the senior committed to Alabama.
Before entering the portal, though, Umeozulu had already signed a contract with South Carolina to play the 2026 football season for the Gamecocks. Entering the transfer portal means that contract was broken.
As a result, per a university source, South Carolina is pursuing a six-figure buyout that was outlined in Umeozulu’s contract. The buyout can be paid by either Umeozulu or Alabama.
This type of case is not unprecedented, at least not across college football.
One of the most-notable cases thus far stems from last offseason, when Georgia edge Damon Wilson II signed with Georgia and later entered the transfer portal and enrolled at Missouri. Ten months later, Georgia sued Wilson, seeking $390,000 in damages. The case is still ongoing.
More recently, Duke filed a lawsuit trying to prevent quarterback Darian Mensah from being able to transfer.
The university source did not share additional details about Umeozulu’s buyout. It wasn’t immediately known how long it could take his case to be resolved.
The news that Umeozulu was entering the transfer portal came just hours after it was reported that South Carolina was going to sign Tennessee transfer edge Caleb Herring.
Umeozulu, who has one year of eligibility remaining, struggled to crack the starting lineup in his three years at South Carolina. Though he has the ideal size for an elite edge rusher — 6-foot-6, 240 pounds — the Maryland product recorded 30 career tackles and 1.5 sacks with the Gamecocks.
Last season, Umeozulu was South Carolina’s No. 3 edge behind Dylan Stewart and Bryan Thomas Jr. Per Pro Football Focus, the two starters were each on the field for over 450 snaps. Umeozulu finished the year with 329 snaps.
Even with Umeozulu’s departure, South Carolina has plenty of depth at the edge position. Led by Stewart, the Gamecocks return five edges from 2025 and bring in two via the transfer portal and two more from the high-school ranks.
This story was originally published January 22, 2026 at 7:00 AM.
