Former Gamecock K.J. Brent has found desired role with Wake Forest
K.J. Brent opted to leave South Carolina after his junior season and transfer to Wake Forest in search of more playing time and a bigger role. The North Carolina native found what he was looking for with the Demon Deacons.
Brent led Wake Forest with four catches for 60 yards at No. 1 Clemson Saturday, upping his season numbers to 40 catches for 550 yards. With one game remaining, he leads the Demon Deacons in receiving yards.
Brent said after the 33-13 loss to Clemson that he has no regrets about leaving South Carolina and joining Wake Forest.
“I just wanted to explore my options to see if there was somewhere else I could go be a bigger part of and try to make a bigger impact,” he said. “I had a great time there, it just didn’t work out like I wanted it to. I made a choice to come here, and it’s been a blessing. It really has. I don’t regret anything at all.”
After redshirting as a freshman at USC, Brent caught 14 passes over the next three seasons, including nine his junior year. He was in line to receive more playing time this year but wasn’t sure about his role.
“It’s the reason why I decided to make the decision, and this team has welcomed me with open arms,” he said. “This team is great. This staff is great. It’s a great bunch of guys that love this game and play with a lot of heart. It’s been a blessing to be a part of this team.”
Despite coming up short on Saturday, Brent said it was fun to play one final game against the Tigers. It was his fourth time playing Clemson, including his third game at Death Valley.
“It’s a great venue to play at. It’s always an experience,” he said. “This was my third time back so it was nothing really new. It didn’t turn out the way we wanted it to, but we fought till the end.”
Brent is surprised by the season South Carolina is having and he was surprised by Steve Spurrier’s resignation. He still talks regularly with former Gamecock teammates, including former roommate Cedrick Cooper, but he didn’t share much about those conversations.
“It was a shock. I try not to get too much into that. I’m with this team, and I’m focused on being a contributor on this team,” he said. “I’ve heard some things from other people that have kind of told me about it. I’ve never really tried to keep up with it. Some of my best friends are there on the team so I keep up with them and see how their season’s going, but I’m a Demon Deacon and I’ve been locked in on this season.”
Brent added he was surprised to find out that South Carolina lost to The Citadel Saturday and said it’s just further proof that anything can happen in football.
“Every team’s going to go out and play no matter what,” he said. “I was getting ready for a game today so I wasn’t too focused on the outside stuff.”
This story was originally published November 21, 2015 at 9:55 PM with the headline "Former Gamecock K.J. Brent has found desired role with Wake Forest."