Former N.C. State defensive end Terrell Dawkins has been through the recruiting process before and after he entered the NCAA transfer portal late last year, he let his experience the first time around shape his decision this time.

That decision came on Saturday when Dawkins announced that he would transfer to South Carolina, joining the Gamecocks with three years of eligibility remaining on his clock.

"Talking to Coach (Clayton) White and talking to Coach (Shane) Beamer and just seeing how good of people they are, it just felt really natural just talking to them," Dawkins explained. "This is my second go 'round with the recruiting process so that really just helped me see through the smoke and mirrors of everything and see how people actually move and everything and see if they really want and need me there and I really felt that when I came on this visit."

The 6-foot-4, 245-pound Dawkins visited South Carolina at the end of this week and saw enough that he realized it was the place for him. The Concord, N.C. native was also reportedly considering Florida State.

"I like how everything in the facility is really close-knit," Dawkins said of South Carolina. "I like how you can walk straight from the locker room to the practice field, it takes all of like 10 seconds to do. And then the nutrition, that whole aspect of the team, is absolutely insane. I feel like that's probably the best nutrition setup in the country. You have everything there for you, so it's really hard to fail at a place like that."

The Cox Mill graduate had a huge redshirt freshman season for the Wolfpack before an injury slowed his 2021 campaign.

In 2020, Dawkins led all ACC freshmen in sacks with 4.5 while starting six games at defensive end.

He joins a Carolina defensive front that will be replacing both of its starting defensive ends.

"(White) just sees me in the BUCK position," Dawkins said. "As you know, there's two that just went to the draft (J.J. Enagbare and Aaron Sterling). He said he needed me and there's a spot for me there and I just felt the want and need to come to South Carolina and that's what I did."

Dawkins is slated to arrive in Columbia in the next week or two and will go through spring practice with the Gamecocks and Beamer, who he says played a major role in the decision.

"He seems really genuine," Dawkins said. "He cares about his people and his players. He was just telling me different stories and how he ended up getting the job at South Carolina and how he had so many older players come and recommend that he be the coach. He was the tight ends coach at Oklahoma and then he got the Oklahoma transfer (Austin Stogner) to come over here and Spencer Rattler, so there had to be some type of close-knit relationship with the players that he had, so I just really trusted and believed in that."

Dawkins is the Gamecocks third transfer portal addition this offseason, joining Rattler and Stogner from Oklahoma.

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