Gamecocks grab grad transfer at position of need

South Carolina picked up a commitment from Kent State grad transfer Shane Hynes on Friday, hopefully bolstering a position of critical need for the Gamecocks.

In retrospect, fans probably should’ve realized there was trouble brewing when coach Will Muschamp still hadn’t chosen between scholarship kicker Alex Woznick and walk-on Parker White at the conclusion of fall camp, saying the team would use both. Woznick began the season as the primary kicker, but after going 1-of-3 on field goals, was swiftly benched. White took over and managed to hang on to the job, but finished just 12-of-22 for the season. His kickoffs were excellent and rarely returned, but his field goal accuracy past about 35 yards was questionable, to say the least. In fairness, it’s worth wondering why he was consistently called upon to attempt field goals outside of his range. But either way you slice it, the Gamecocks kicking unit was disastrous in 2017.

Hynes was 9-of-15 on field goal attempts for the Golden Flashes this season, with a long of 48, and made 14 of his 16 extra points. Hopefully he can provide South Carolina with a more reliable option moving forward, because the Gamecocks left a lot of points on the field in 2017.