South Carolina football: Evan Hinson no longer on Gamecocks team

Tight end Evan Hinson is no longer on the South Carolina football team, Gamecocks head coach Will Muschamp announced Tuesday.

"As of our last conversation, he was going to transfer and play basketball," Muschamp said. "We wish him the best."

A junior from Deltona, Fla., Hinson was expected to miss the first couple weeks of the season after undergoing ablation surgery to correct an irregular heartbeat.

A former two-sport athlete who gave up basketball in February to focus on football, Hinson has appeared in 23 football games over the past two seasons, primarily on special teams.

The 6-foot-4, 245-pounder was expected to compete for major playing time this season for the first time in his career.

South Carolina has now lost two tight ends from its depth chart to start the season after senior Kiel Pollard was forced to give up football when doctors found a cyst on his spine while running scans on a broken bone in his neck.

The Gamecocks are also waiting to find out if tight end transfer Nick Muse will be eligible this season. The transfer from William & Mary applied for a waiver from the NCAA for immediate eligibility, but hasn't yet received an answer.

A three-star prospect, Hinson was ranked the No. 100 overall prospect in Florida in the 2016 class.