KeShawn Toney needed to become his own man.
The Williston, South Carolina, native — Williston is about an hour away from Columbia, home of the Gamecocks — followed his family’s advice and committed to the local Southeastern Conference program in the March of his junior year, signing in the winter and joining the program in January of 2019.
But, he later admitted, it wasn’t his decision as much as, he felt, it was for the others around him. At USC he wasn’t happy, so he put his name in the transfer portal and wound up at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where the 6-foot-2, 237-pound former three-star tight end prospect has found a home while also finding himself.
“When I left South Carolina, I just felt like I needed the change of scenery,” Toney said. “When I came out of high school, I feel like I made all my decisions for other people instead of me. My family, basically the whole little small town where I came from is South Carolina fans, so I feel like I had to do it for everybody else, but when I came here things were different.
“Coach (Rusty) Wright made me get the love back for football. The players, the family — it’s a tight family. The camaraderie we’ve got, just the way he coaches — he coaches you tough — but he also coaches you with love. That’s the feeling I had and I feel like I was missing that when I got here. He instantly brought it back and I’m loving it here, and I plan on being here as long as I can, before whatever the future holds.”