The early portal period has been quite kind to Shane Beamer and the South Carolina Gamecocks, and the good news kept rolling today when 6'5" 240 lb DE Kyle Kennard from Georgia Tech committed to spend next year sacking SEC opponents in the Garnet and Black.

Kennard has been in Atlanta for 4 seasons, but really ramped up the last two years, where combined for 89 total tackles, and 8 sacks. This past season alone he had a team leading 6 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, and even an INT.

He immediately becomes the most seasoned DE on the Gamecocks squad, and should immediately make his way into playing time as South Carolina attempts to get young folks like Desmond Umeozulu and Dylan Stewart ready as well. With the addition of Kennard, and another year under the belt of the returners (don't sleep on Bryan Thomas Jr. or Jatius Geer taking steps forward as Juniors either) the Gamecocks are suddenly looking much more formidable along their front, with an already stocked DT room that has also added some depth this week.

Kennard was rated as a 3-star by Rivals coming out of high school, but has since put on nearly 30 lbs of good weight, and proven he can go toe to toe in a P5 conference. His fumble recovery at Miami this season spurred the unlikely comeback for the Yellow Jackets, and now the Gamecocks hope his addition can help spur an upgraded defensive front for the 2024 season.

One more impressive note from a recruiting perspective is that Beamer and company were able to beat out the likes of FSU, which he just visited this past weekend. This is a big time win on the recruiting trail no matter which way you slice it.