One of South Carolina football’s most talented young defenders will be back in Columbia in 2025.
Rising sophomore linebacker Fred “JayR” Johnson has signed a deal with Garnet Trust, the official NIL partner of the University of South Carolina, indicating a return to the Gamecocks. The good news for Gamecock fans surfaced on Wednesday afternoon.
The 6’4″, 240-pound linebacker saw most of his action this fall on special teams. However, he still got into several other games on defense despite playing in a loaded room that included seniors Demetrius Knight, Debo Williams, Bam Martin-Scott, and (for a short time) Bangally Kamara.
By the end of the 2024 season, Johnson was listed as a backup to Knight at the Mike linebacker spot. He logged five total tackles and a quarterback hurry during his true freshman campaign.
Johnson signed with the Gamecocks as part of the 2024 South Carolina football recruiting class. He was an under-the-radar recruit but turned into a 4-star prospect after his USC commitment. His high school teammate Kendall Daniels is a 4-star Gamecock signee in the 2025 recruiting class.
With so much talent graduating from the Carolina linebacker room, Johnson could be the “next man up” for Clayton White’s defense. His combination of size, speed, and pass rush juice could provide the Gamecocks with exactly what they need at linebacker.
Next fall will be Johnson’s true sophomore year as he saw snaps in all 12 games of the 2024 regular season.
True freshman linebacker who graduated at semester and enrolled at South Carolina in January… rangy, smooth, fast, and extremely talented… playmaker who can rush and cover… has a bright future… possible contributor early in his career at linebacker and on special teams.
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