South Carolina getting big additions up front with 'The Great Wall of Carolina' coming in
South Carolina’s offensive line was a big weakness for the team in 2023. To put it into perspective, Spencer Rattler took 40 sacks this year. He also took 31 sacks in 2022.
A change was apparent. Combined with how banged up the o-line was with injuries, Shane Beamer needed to go out and add some pieces. So that’s what he did.
On Wednesday’s National Signing Day, three highly-rated offensive tackles signed with South Carolina: Josiah Thompson, Kam Pringle and Blake Franks. They’ve become known as “The Great Wall of Carolina” for their size and stature up front.
“When I got hired three years ago, those three guys got put on my radar pretty quickly,” Beamer said. “There’s a big-time offensive tackle in Greenville, there’s a big-time offensive tackle in Dillon and there’s a big time offensive tackle down at Woodland High School.”
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Beamer’s first thought was to get them on campus. But South Carolina hired him in 2020, which happened to be in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. Needless to say, that complicated things.
“So I got hired, and I think it was six months later or seven months later before guys could visit campus. But once they got on campus, they just fell in love with this place,” Beamer said. “We fell in love with them and just continued to strengthen those relationships. They’re great players.
“So when you have great players, not just three offensive tackles, but a lot of guys in our class, there’s a lot of schools that were trying to get them to not come to South Carolina up until today. And all those guys stayed strong.”
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Thompson is the highest-rated of the group, checking in as the top prospect in the state of South Carolina. Pringle isn’t far behind him, though. He’s rated as the 3rd-best player in the Palmetto State.
Then there’s Franks, who played with 2024 wide receiver Mazeo Bennett at Greenville (SC) High School. Franks is the No. 7 prospect in South Carolina.
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With all three linemen joining the program as in-state products, there’s a lot of excitement to go around. Especially for the Gamecock quarterbacks who receive protection up front from them.
“Those three, obviously, every single time you see them, I think they get bigger, whether they’re 6’6, 6’7 with longer arms,” Dante Reno said on The Extra Point with Tyler Head. “But I think they’re even better people, even better friends to me. They’ve been great throughout the whole recruiting process…So they’ve been great for me. Obviously, when you look at them and you got those three guys in front of you, you feel pretty protected. You feel pretty calm in the pocket.”
