Following Indiana’s lead, South Carolina football used the portal to get older
Last month, perhaps the most remarkable outcome in college football occurred: Indiana went 16-0 and won the national championship.
On the surface, that seems like a victory for the sport — hey, if the losingest program in FBS can win a title, then anyone can. But that drastically simplifies the absurdity of what the Hoosiers did and the odds that another program could replicate the turnaround. Still, it’s probably wise for other coaches to study Indiana and what aspects of Curt Cignetti’s program can be applied to their schools.
For South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer, the Hoosiers’ success was further proof that experience matters.
“The best teams are the oldest teams,” Beamer said during a news conference Wednesday. “You want to bring in talented players, don’t get me wrong. Doesn’t matter how old … but that’s definitely an aspect to it.”
Beamer thought back to the Gamecocks’ 2024 squad, which had low expectations coming off a 5-win season and was losing its top quarterback (Spencer Rattler) and wide receiver (Xavier Legette).
“I knew you’re going to be better in 2024 than people thought on the outside,” Beamer said, “because we had so much veteran leadership — older guys — coming back. It’s certainly something that we always want to do. No question about it, we’ve definitely gotten older.”
Time will tell how productive South Carolina’s transfer portal class will become, but one thing is certain: The Gamecocks found guys with a lot of football under their belt.
In a graphic posted Wednesday, South Carolina touted that its 25 incoming transfers have a combined 77 years of college football experience.
“They’re not just older guys, but they’ve got a lot of production,” Beamer said of his portal class. “They’ve been through battles. And we didn’t have enough of that last year. We’ve certainly increased that and wanted to be very aggressive in trying to get not just older guys but production.”
Need proof? Just look at the Gamecocks’ offensive line.
For the past three years, South Carolina’s O-line has been a punchline. The Gamecocks have given up 125 sacks across the past three seasons, including 43 last year, while trying to build the group with some youth. True freshmen started at left tackle in 2023 (Tree Babalade) and 2024 (Josiah Thompson) and USC’s depth consisted of a bunch of guys who were highly rated recruits who had barely seen the field.
That will be different in 2026.
After adding eight offensive linemen from the portal — highlighted by redshirt senior left tackle Jacarrius Peak (N.C. State) — the Gamecocks now have the most experienced offensive line in America. Yes, really.
Per Dawg Stats, South Carolina’s offensive linemen have played a combined 10,324 snaps in their careers — nearly 1,000 more than any other school in FBS and over 3,000 more than any team in the SEC.
Does that guarantee the Gamecocks’ success in 2026? Of course not. But it should give South Carolina fans far more confidence about USC’s chances next season.
This story was originally published February 6, 2026 at 7:00 AM.
