Shane Beamer teased it. But will Josiah Thompson start at left tackle for South Carolina?
Whether he meant to or not, Shane Beamer hinted at one player, without name-dropping him, starting on the offensive line in South Carolina’s season opener.
During Thursday’s Carolina Calls, Beamer spoke about the run game and how that could impact the offense as a whole. As he rambled on, a big piece of information slipped out of his mouth.
“We have a young quarterback, a redshirt freshman; probably going to have a true freshman starting at left tackle,” Beamer said, referring to LaNorris Sellers followed by Josiah Thompson.
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In Monday’s depth chart release, Thompson was listed atop for the left tackle job. However, there’s a small caveat to that. Right underneath Thompson, Tree Babalade is listed as OR, which means either player could start on Saturday.
Babalade has the edge in terms of experience, starting in nine games last year as a freshman. There’s also much to like about Thompson, who was rated as the No. 1 offensive tackle in the Class of 2023 by On3.
But it’s not just a five-star rating out of high school that has put Thompson in this position. Just like any other player on the team, he’s had to grind it out to earn this potential opportunity.
“He wants to work and he’s going to work,” said Torricelli Simpkins III, who’s also listed as a potential starter at right tackle. “He’s showing us every day he’s ready to work, ready to learn. He’s learning from the coaches, older guys, newer guys that’s older. He’s learning from all of us and he’s working to be the best of his ability.”
To be starting on the O-line as a freshman at South Carolina is nothing new. Babalade and Trovon Baugh swooped into starting roles in their first season last year due to multiple injuries. Baugh earned Freshman All-SEC and Freshman All-America honors after making eight starts at right guard.
It’s a little different with Thompson, though, because he could be starting right out of the gate. Keep in mind, he’s only been on campus since January. Since then, he’s been making the most of his time by soaking up as much information as he can from the more experienced linemen.
“He does ask a lot of questions, he asks too many questions, but I mean, there’s no such thing as too many questions,” Vershon Lee said. “He’s always in your ear trying to figure out things to do. But that’s the same for all the other young guys. Kam (Pringle), Blake (Franks), Jake Recker, Parker (Lawson), they all come and ask questions. They want to know something so they can get an edge somehow, some way so they’re not behind it.”
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Because he’s wanted to learn, Thompson has been able to mesh well with the other O-linemen. Once the games begin on Saturday, all eyes will be on him to see how he handles his first start. But his teammates believe he’ll do just fine.
“Josiah plays really, really hard. I’m impressed with him as a young guy. His conditioning is really good and his willingness to learn and to listen to the older guys has really impressed me, as well,” Cason Henry said. “Sometimes we have high-rated guys that come in here. I haven’t had an example of this, but I know stories from other schools, guys think they’re going to play right away, going to start, do all this. They don’t want to listen to the older guys. Josiah is not one of those guys. He takes coaching, he’s a sponge, he’s a great kid. I think he’s fit really well into our O-line room.”
