Freshman offensive linemen showing growth early for South Carolina

Since Shane Beamer arrived in December of 2020, South Carolina has put a lot of effort into recruiting offensive linemen.

Two games into the 2023 season, and that’s already been on display with true freshmen Oluwatosin “Tree” Babalade and Trovon Baugh seeing time last week against Furman. And perhaps their roles could be increasing starting this weekend against Georgia.

“They made mistakes but to be in there as true freshmen playing left tackle and playing guard is pretty impressive,” said Shane Beamer. “They’ll continue to get better. We know that the defensive front that they’re gonna face this week is different from what we saw last week against Furman. But just being able to get out there to get game action will do nothing but benefit them.”

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For a Gamecocks offensive line that has seen two starters at tackle since the spring go down with injuries, and was left searching for answers after surrendering nine sacks in Week 1, finding continuity on the fly hasn’t been easy. But after inserting Babalade and Baugh into the mix in the second quarter against Furman, USC started to show more consistency. Sure, it’s a small sample size and it was far from perfect, but the two played a big role in preventing Spencer Rattler from being sacked in Week 2.

“I’ve been super fired up about both of those guys’ development, how they’re coming, and how they played last week,” said offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains. “They still have a long ways to go but when you’re recruiting the right body types, like those two kids are, it’s something to be really excited about for the future.”

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Coming out of high school both Babalade and Baugh were considered four-stars by On3. Babalade was ranked the 12th tackle for this class while Baugh was considered the 20th IOL. Rankings are one thing but that doesn’t help you play right away in the SEC. It takes talent, but also size. Something this duo both possess as they are the two biggest offensive linemen on USC’s roster when it comes to weight. They also stand at 6-4, 6-5 respectfully.

“When you play freshmen you’re gonna live with some mistakes. They’re gonna make mistakes,” added Loggains. “They don’t have the experience like older guys have but at some point it becomes about talent. You say, ‘Hey, these young talented players are gonna learn and get thrown into the fire.’”

Fellow offensive lineman Nick Gargiulo told Gamecock Central in an exclusive Garnet Trust interview that he’s been extremely pleased with how the two are coming along.

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“Constant improvement, and that’s with both of them,” said Gargiulo. “They came in and they didn’t have the privilege like Markee (Anderson) did to come in January. They both came in here and have six weeks under their belt of summer training and they took that seriously. They were able to recomp their body to be able to withstand SEC defensive linemen and they continue to improve. They’re not the same players that they were a month ago. They’ve gotten a heck of a lot better through fall camp and now through the first two games. You give them credit because neither of them touched the field that first game versus UNC but they didn’t stop. They’ve worked real hard and got on the field against Furman.”

While South Carolina hasn’t announced their starting offensive line for Saturday’s game, it’s likely that we’ll see Babalade and/or Baugh back in the lineup. With Gargiulo at left guard, Vershon Lee at center, and Jakai Moore at right tackle, Babalade was at left tackle and Baugh played right guard.

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Beamer announced on Thursday that Anderson will be out for a third straight game but is another true freshmen offensive lineman to keep in an eye on in the coming weeks. He was originally listed in the two-deep depth chart heading into the North Carolina game but an undisclosed injury later in the week has prevented him from suiting up thus far. The Dorman High School product was ranked as the No.10 IOL by On3 for the class of 2023.

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