Auburn transfer QB Robby Ashford commits to South Carolina for 2024 season
The South Carolina football team has added some depth to its quarterback room.
Auburn transfer Robby Ashford announced Tuesday on Instagram that he will join the Gamecocks. Ashford posted a commitment video and changed his social media profile to say “QB @gamecockfb.” He also considered Tulane and Utah.
The addition of Ashford will give South Carolina four scholarship quarterbacks on its roster. The others are redshirt freshman LaNorris Sellers, freshman Dante Reno and senior Luke Doty, who likely will play receiver full-time this year. The Gamecocks will also have Oklahoma transfer Davis Beville, who announced he will walk on with the team.
“We need to get some depth in that room and some competition in that room,” USC coach Shane Beamer said last month. “LaNorris knows that and Dante knows that, without a doubt.”
Ashford took an official visit to USC over the weekend. South Carolina will be his third college stop. He began his career at Oregon before transferring to Auburn.
Ashford started nine games at Auburn in 2022 but saw limited time in 2023. He appeared in 10 games and was 14 of 27 passing for 145 yards and two touchdowns.
Ashford started one game in 2023 and was primarily used as a runner and change-of-pace option after Payton Thorne seized control of Auburn’s starting quarterback job during a 6-6 season.
Ashford finished his Auburn career with 1,758 passing yards, nine touchdowns and nine interceptions in 22 games. A former four-star 2020 recruit from Alabama, he also had 927 rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns and averaged 4.7 yards per carry.
Ashford previously spent two seasons as a dual-sport athlete at Oregon but didn’t see any game action with the football team. He played in 20 games and started 10 for Oregon’s baseball team as an outfielder in spring 2021.
Gamecocks add portal lineman
On Tuesday, the Gamecocks earned a commitment from Florida Atlantic transfer OL Kamaar Bell, who will join the program as a redshirt senior with one year of eligibility remaining.
“I chose South Carolina because I felt like that was the place I wanted to continue to grow as a player and as a man,” Bell told The State. “This amazing place has everything that I need to be successful. Going into the transfer portal I was looking for a program that competes at a high level and a place that has a bond that I wanted to be a part of.”
Bell is the third offensive lineman the Gamecocks have picked up this offseason, joining Oklahoma transfer Aaryn “AJ” Parks and N.C. Central transfer Torricelli Simpkins III.
Bell, a 6-foot-2, 300-pound Georgia native, said the South Carolina coaching staff envisions him playing guard but he could move over to center if the Gamecocks need him there.
“I describe my game as hard nose, physical, and the ability to not give up on a play,” he said.
South Carolina transfer portal additions
QB Davis Beville (Oklahoma) QB Robby Ashford (Auburn) RB Raheim “Rocket” Sanders (Arkansas)
RB Oscar Adaway III (North Texas) RB Jawarn Howell (S.C. State) WR Jared Brown (Coastal Carolina) WR Ahmari Huggins-Bruce (Louisville) WR Gage Larvadain (Miami (OH)) TE Brady Hunt (Ball State) OL Kamaar Bell (Florida Atlantic) OL Aaryn “AJ” Parks (Oklahoma) OL Torricelli Simpkins III (North Carolina Central) DE Kyle Kennard (Georgia Tech) DE Gilber Edmond (Florida State) DL Monkell Goodwine (Alabama) DL Deandre Jules (Pitt) LB Demetrius Knight (Charlotte) LB Bangally Kamara (Pitt) DB Gerald Kilgore (Tennessee Tech)
