South Carolina transfer linebacker no longer with the team. Shane Beamer explains why

On Tuesday morning, South Carolina linebacker Bangally Kamara’s locker was all cleaned out. The Gamecocks linebacker has left the team.

GamecockCentral reported that Kamara “plans to sit out the remainder of the season and will enter the NCAA transfer portal.”

Coach Shane Beamer confirmed Kamara’s departure in his weekly press conference, offering a detailed explanation of what happened. Kamara, according to Beamer, went into the coach’s office Monday to tell him he was redshirting.

“I told him that’s not quite how this works,” Beamer said, “that we can have a decision about his role, and is redshirting best?

The news is a bit surprising considering Kamara, who transferred to South Carolina in January from Pitt, is a contributor. But he is a fifth-year senior who would have exhausted his college eligibility by playing in another game.

“He was a guy that played a season high in snaps Saturday at linebacker that was going to continue to play more for us moving forward,” Beamer said. “My job is to do what’s best for the team. What was best for the team in my mind is ‘Gally continuing to play and help us try to go beat Alabama this weekend.

“He didn’t quite feel the same way. In the end I made the decision for him that it was probably best to move on.”

A college football player is allowed to play in four games while preserving their redshirt season. Because he missed the Akron blowout, Kamara — who did not redshirt at Pitt but did use his COVID year of eligibility — is able to prolong his college career into 2025 by halting his season now.

And it will be a blow to the Gamecocks defense. Though Kamara was a backup linebacker, he played 70 snaps (fourth among USC’s linebackers), recording nine tackles but no sacks or tackles for loss. He also had the highest defensive grade of any Gamecock, according to Pro Football Focus.

With Kamara no longer with the Gamecocks, one guy who could see an increased role is true freshman linebacker Fred “JayR” Johnson, who has played in three games this season and has proven to be a solid tackler. Veteran Mo Kaba will have more opportunities, Beamer said.

“We’re good at linebacker,” Beamer said. “I met with the leaders of our defense to make sure they were on the same page with my decision to handle that. They were 100% on board and we’re moving on. We wish him well in wherever his next stop is.

“We’re not getting ready for 2025 around here. We’re trying to win in 2024.”