Attrition often follows the hiring of a new head coach, and the South Carolina football program has been no exception to that phenomenon.
According to multiple media outlets covering the team, Darin Smalls has left the Gamecocks football team and will transfer elsewhere. While the school has yet to confirm the defensive back’s departure, Smalls is no longer listed on the team’s online roster.
No reason was given for Smalls’ decision.
The State writes that Smalls “becomes the sixth scholarship player to leave the team since Will Muschamp became head coach, joining defensive lineman David Johnson, linebacker Ernest Hawkins, cornerback Al Harris Jr. and wide receivers D.J. Neal and Shaq Davidson.” Davidson, Harris and Johnson were all dismissed by Muschamp.
Smalls was a three-star member of USC’s 2014 recruiting class, rated as the No, 37 cornerback in the country and the No. 12 player at any position in the state of South Carolina. Because of a torn ACL sustained in high school, Smalls didn’t enroll until early 2015. A lingering issue in the knee contributed to him not seeing the field as a true freshman last season.