South Carolina got a boost to its secondary for the 2025 season from the MAC of all conferences, as the Gamecocks announced the signing of defensive back Myles Norwood on Thursday.

The 6-foot-1, 183-pounder from St. Louis transferred from Ball State, so next fall he’ll be taking a significant step up in competition after deciding to test his talents in the SEC.

According to On3, Norwood’s final 2 choices came down to South Carolina and Kentucky, and Norwood chose Columbia over Lexington.

The junior had 38 tackles, 22 of them solo, with 2 tackles-for-loss, 10 pass breakups and a fumble recovery for the Cardinals in 2024. According to Pro Football Focus, Norwood earned a solid coverage grade of 71.8 across 456 snaps in 12 games for Ball State. The majority of his snaps were at outside cornerback, with 48 snaps coming at the nickel position — 35 of which came in 1 game.

Kentucky has several defensive backs leaving for the NFL Draft or the transfer portal, so the Wildcats really could’ve used Norwood but instead saw him go to an SEC rival school.

Norwood should be an important piece of South Carolina’s secondary in 2025 after working his way into Ball State’s rotation quickly.

Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.

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