COLUMBIA — New South Carolina football defensive lineman Tomiwa Durojaiye knew there would be questions. Playing for five schools in five years is becoming more common, but one-year stints across multiple programs still prompts curiosity. "I really don't hide from it," Durojaiye said Aug. 12. "It's my story is different. I'm not really ashamed of that. When it's time for it, I let people know, I go through each transfer. I explain each transfer. I don't think I ever did anything for negative reasons." The 6-foot-4, 291-pound Durojaiye was a three-star recruit out of Delaware, choosing Kentucky out of high school. He then went to West Virginia for the 2023 season, where he had a career-best 23 tackles with 6.0 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks and one quarterback hurry. He said those two transfer decisions were more emotion-driven.
He found his way to Florida State for 2024 but played in just four games, the "plain and simple" reason why he left for Illinois for 2025. He loved his time there but still felt there was "stuff he wanted to put on tape" that he "couldn't show" there. "There's been a lot of ups and downs in my college career. I've learned from each move," Durojaiye said. "I won't put my transfer on anybody else. It's been myself. It's been my dream. I've been the one living it every day." By January, he found himself back in the portal, but Gamecocks coach Shane Beamer didn't need any introduction. Why Tomiwa Durojaiye chose South Carolina Durojaiye said South Carolina was his second choice coming out of high school. But previous connections aside, Durojaiye felt like wearing a Gamecocks uniform for his final chapter made sense for many reasons. He wants to win games and his goal is to go to the playoffs, which he never has before. So a 4-8 record in 2025 and zero playoff appearances would make one assume that the Gamecocks were automatically out of the running. "I looked at the team here, the pieces they were bringing back, I looked at it as if you want get to next level, the next level takes the teams that win," Durojaiye said. "I believe with the offense that coach Beamer put together with coach (new OC Kendal) Briles and the additions they had and the guys that were coming back, for me it made the most sense to come here." For his official South Carolina visit as a transfer, things just "felt right" and his family confirmed the same feeling. It differed from other places that tend to just "throw big deals" around, he said. "The main things for me was just meeting the people," Durojaiye said. "I knew coming in, I had to go somewhere where I want to make sure I leave a positive impact on the people and the people have a positive impact on me, and that it kind of just felt right." August marks his seventh month in Columbia and he's already learned that football or not, the people are making the place feel even more like home. "Miss Anita, she works in a cafeteria, and she comes in here with a smile on her face every day," Durojaiye said. "For me, that's been really helpful this whole year because no matter what you're going through in life, somebody like Miss Anita, she smiles and you see her, you have no choice but to smile." Why Tomiwa Durojaiye might have big year at South Carolina At Illinois, Durojaiye started in 8 of 11 games he played in, totaling 16 tackles (4.5 for loss), three quarterback hurries, two sacks, one formed fumble and one pass breakup. He was a four-star transfer recruit and Beamer's second-best addition of the cycle, according to the 247Sports Composite. South Carolina gives him a chance to have a productive season against top SEC talent, but also recent history proves it might be a stepping stone to make his NFL dreams might come true. Eight Gamecocks defensive players were taken in the last two NFL drafts, three of whom were defensive tackles. There's two open spots on the line with one likely going to returner Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy. The other? Signs point to Durojaiye. He's the only one who started for a team last season, bringing skill to match his experience, as Pro Football Focus graded his defense 75.8, the third-best at Illinois. "Coming here, I made a decision that I felt it was best for me, best for my career," Durojaiye said. "And so far, in my eyes, it's been going well. I feel loved here, and I come in here each and every day excited." Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at LKesin@usatodayco.com. Follow her on X@Lulukesin and Bluesky @bylulukesin.bsky.social This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Why is South Carolina's Tomiwa Durojaiye at fifth school in 5 years? He's glad to explain