Gamecocks continue building 'Wall of Columbia' with talented 2025 OL class in their sights

When South Carolina hosted Jacksonville State two weekends, it did so with Charlotte (N.C.) Providence Day five-star offensive tackle David Sanders, and his entire family, in the stands.

Sanders, ranked the No. 1 offensive tackle in the 2025 class, spent the weekend in Columbia, watching the game on Saturday and then getting a deeper, closer look at the Gamecocks’ program on Sunday.

But perhaps the most impressive thing about Sanders, ranked the No. 5 overall prospect in his class, being back on campus is that it was not surprising at all for the nation’s top offensive lineman to be in town — it’s become commonplace for top offensive linemen to roll through Columbia.

After landing arguably the best back-to-back offensive line classes in school history, South Carolina has its sights set on stacking another top 2025 offensive line class on top of the highly regarded 2023 and 2024 crop.

“I think South Carolina has done a very good job recruiting and evaluating along the offensive line the last several cycles,” On3 Director of Scouting and Rankings Charles Power told GamecockCentral. “I think when you look at the future at the position for South Carolina, you have to feel optimistic given the talent they’re bringing in. I know based on how the offensive line has looked the last two seasons, it’s certainly a major need for South Carolina. I think they’ve filled or improved the talent in the room significantly when you look at what’s coming down the pipe. The freshmen that are on campus and what’s coming down the pipe in 24 and moving into 25.”

The Gamecocks — led by the efforts of offensive line coach Lonnie Teasley, recruiting communications and player personnel assistant Sam Serbay, director of player personnel Taylor Edwards, and former o-line coach/analyst Greg Adkins — have built those classes with an obvious foundational first step: get the top prospects on campus early and often.

The Gamecocks’ 2023 high school offensive line class featured three four-star prospects — Tree Babalade, Markee Anderson, and Trovon Baugh — and a high-upside three-star in Jatavius Shivers.

Babalade and Baugh are already starting, while Anderson was going to play, and possibly start, but saw his season get shut down due to an injury. He’ll redshirt this year and push for playing time next year.

As an encore, the Gamecocks landed verbal commits from the top three in-state offensive line prospects in 2024 — five-star OT Josiah Thompson, four-star OT Kam Pringle, and high-three-star IOL Blake Franks.

All of those prospects received early attention from South Carolina and were on campus early and often, allowing the staff to build deep, meaningful relationships. Getting prospects on campus may not seem like a novel idea but it’s one thing to attempt it and another to make it happen.

South Carolina has already hosted at least 11 offensive line prospects in the 2025 class who are rated four- or five-stars, including Sanders.

Don’t look for the trend to stop anytime soon.

This weekend for the Kentucky game, South Carolina is once again expected to host Virginia Beach (Va.) Salem four-star IOL Jaylen Gilchrist as well as Louisville (Ky.) Male three-star IOL Isaac Sowells Jr.

They hosted Buford (Ga.) four-star OT Brayden Jacobs and Atlanta (Ga.) Westlake four-star IOL Juan Gaston for the Florida game in addition to having four-star prospects like Solomon Thomas, Cortez Smith, and Chauncey Gooden on campus during the offseason.

The Gamecocks will also host Hinesville (Ga.) Bradwell Institute four-star IOL Elyjah Thurmon on an official visit the weekend of December 8.

Looking ahead to 2026, South Carolina has early traction with likely national-level prospects Darius Gray, Desmond Green, G’Nivre Carr, and Leo Delany.

As South Carolina fans were reminded this year, SEC football games are won in the trenches. The future of the o-line shines bright.

The Gamecocks internally deemed their 2023 o-line class the “Great Wall of Columbia.” From a big-picture standpoint, the wall is under construction but the blueprint is in place.

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Notable South Carolina OL targets

2025

Five-star OT David Sanders
Charlotte (N.C.) Providence Day School
Ranking: No. 1 OT, No. 5 overall, No. 1 NC

Four-star OT Solomon Thomas
Jacksonville (Fla.) Raines
Ranking: No. 3 OT, No. 32 overall, No. 3 FL

Four-star OT Josh Petty
Roswell (Ga.) Fellowship Christian
Ranking: No. 4 OT, No. 33 overall, No. 7 GA

Four-star IOL Jaylen Gilchrist
Virginia Beach (Va.) Salem
Ranking: No. 3 IOL, No. 84 overall, No. 2 VA

Four-star IOL Juan Gaston
Atlanta (Ga.) Westlake
Ranking: No. 4 IOL, No. 111 overall, No. 18 GA

Four-star IOL Cortez Smith
Snellville (Ga.) Parkview
Ranking: No. 7 IOL, No. 138 overall, No. 21 GA

Four-star OT Brayden Jacobs
Buford (Ga.)
Ranking: No. 14 OT, No. 182 overall, No. 23 GA

Four-star IOL Chauncey Gooden
Nashville (Tenn.) Lipscomb
Ranking: No. 13 IOL, No. 219 overall, No. 7 TN

Four-star IOL Michael Carroll
Glenside (Pa.) Central Bucks East
Ranking: No. 15 IOL, No. 239 overall, No. 9 PA

Four-star IOL Hardy Watts
West Roxbury (Mass.) Dexter School
Ranking: No. 16 IOL, No. 273 overall, No. 2 MA

Four-star OT Will Black
Wallingford (Conn.) Choate Rosemary Hall
Ranking: No. 22 OT, No. 310 overall, No. 2 CT

Three-star IOL Jayvon McFadden
Washington (D.C.) Riverdale Baptist
Ranking: No. 26 IOL, No. 392 overall, No. 11 MD

Three-star IOL Isaac Sowells Jr.
Louisville (Ky.) Male
Ranking: No. 62 IOL, No. 612, No. 4 KY

Three-star OT Shed Sharrat
Gaffney (S.C.)
Ranking: No. 54 OT, No. 11 SC

2026

Four-star OT Darius Gray
Richmond (Va.). St. Christopher

Four-star OT Leo Delany
Charlotte (N.C.) Providence Day

IOL Desmond Green
Saint Stephen (S.C.) Timberland

IOL G’Nivre Carr
Ocala (Fla.) Trinity Catholic

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