Former Gamecocks receiver explains why he transferred to ACC school
Former South Carolina wide receiver Vandrevius Jacobs knew exactly what he wanted from his next school when he hit the transfer portal.
“Just going somewhere where I feel like I can be developed into a better receiver,” Jacobs said.
After stints at Florida State and South Carolina – where he played two seasons for the Gamecocks and was the team’s second-leading receiver in 2025 – Jacobs believes he’s found that at Miami.
Jacobs entered the portal on Jan. 1. Coach Mario Cristobal’s Hurricanes, who reached the national championship game as a No. 10 seed in 2025 and are the favorite to win the ACC in 2026, landed a commitment from him nine days later.
Jacobs shed light on his transfer decision during Miami spring practice last month.
“No disrespect to any other institution I’ve been to – I’m grateful for my time there,” Jacobs told local reporters April 11. “But I just needed somewhere (where) I know that they want the best Vandrevius Jacobs. Just help me be the best me, help me master myself.”
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Vandrevius Jacobs’ USC career, stats
Jacobs was one of the bright spots for coach Shane Beamer’s 4-8 South Carolina team in 2025. After redshirting his true freshman season at Florida State and recording a modest 181 yards during his first season in Columbia in 2024, Jacobs broke out.
He appeared in all 12 games, started six and led the Gamecocks in receptions with 32 while finishing second on the team in receiving yards (548) and receiving touchdowns (four) behind top receiver Nyck Harbor.
Jacobs (6-0, 195) also ended the year with a bang, catching seven passes for 141 yards and a touchdown in South Carolina’s regular-season finale against rival Clemson. He had a 74-yard catch-and-run touchdown against the Tigers.
A native of Fort Pierce, Florida who played at Vero Beach High School roughly 2.5 hours north of Miami, Jacobs said his transition to UM has been “great.” The redshirt junior also said Miami is helping him develop into an “all-around” receiver.
“I don’t want to be known for just being one thing,” said Jacobs, who’s been clocked at running 22 mph and was one of USC’s faster players. “I want to be known for being the total package, a total receiver who can do everything you need me to do.”
247Sports ranked Jacobs as the No. 23 wide receiver and No. 90 overall player in the transfer portal after he left South Carolina. He joins a talented Miami transfer class that also includes former Duke starting quarterback Darian Mensah.
Cristobal and UM also reportedly targeted South Carolina starting left tackle Josiah Thompson when he entered the portal. Thompson, a South Carolina native, ultimately withdrew from the portal and returned to the Gamecocks.
Jacobs said his biggest adjustment at Miami has been the “intensity of practice.”
“It’s competition every play, every rep,” Jacobs said. “It’s just the competitiveness of the whole team. Every day, everyone just wants you to get better.”
South Carolina and Miami were set to play a home-and-home series in 2026-27, starting with a UM trip to Williams-Brice Stadium this fall. But the schools mutually agreed to cancel that series last October after the ACC and the SEC both voted to move to nine-game conference schedules starting in 2026.
South Carolina football 2026 transfers
Accounting for scholarship departures; listed with new schools
- QB Air Noland (Memphis)
- TE Michael Smith (Ole Miss)
- WR Brian Rowe Jr. (UCLA)
- WR Vandrevius Jacobs (Miami)
- OL Boaz Stanley (Purdue)
- OL Nick Sharpe (Michigan State)
- OL Trovon Baugh (Texas A&M)
- OL Cason Henry (Louisville)
- OL Tree Babalade (Nebraska)
- OL Jatavius Shivers (Purdue)
- OL Ryan Brubaker (Virginia)
- DE Desmond Umeozulu (Alabama)
- DL Zavion Hardy (Baylor)
- DL Jaylen Brown (LSU)
- LB Jaron Willis (Kansas)
- LB Taeshawn Alston (NC Central)
- DB Myles Norwood (Louisville)
This story was originally published May 5, 2026 at 8:00 AM.
