South Carolina Football: Big Tree Signs Officially with USC

The South Carolina football program has put together one of their top recruiting classes in recent years for the 2023 recruiting cycle. While the recruiting rankings are ever-changing, according to industry leaders on3 and 247Sports, Shane Beamer and company have found themselves firmly inside the top-20 since the Early Signing Period ended.

One of the players in this class is OT Oluwatosin Babalade, who signed with South Carolina during the Early Signing Period.

Position: OT
Recruiting Ranking: Consensus 4 Stars
Measurables: 6’6”; 310 pounds; 82-inch wingspan; 4.85 second short shuttle
Former Player Comp: Corey Robinson

“Big Tree” Babalade is a massive human being. Measuring 6’6” and over 300 pounds, he somehow seems even larger than his listed size. Babalade is from the DMV area (D.C., Maryland, and Northeast Virginia) like several other 2023 signees for South Carolina and is slated to graduate from the same high school as former Gamecock running back MarShawn Lloyd. Big Tree had been committed to South Carolina for several months when he decommitted just a week before the Early Signing Day. However, thanks in part to Head Coach Shane Beamer climbing into a literal tree for a recruiting call with Babalade, the big man from Maryland rejoined the 2023 recruiting class and signed during the Early Signing Period.

Babalade’s film shows how powerful he can be at the tackle position. He plays with a brute force that is best seen in pass protection where he routinely stones pass rushers with solid hands and ridiculous strength for a high school student. New Offensive Line Coach Lonnie Teasley—who served as interim OL Coach for parts of the last two seasons—will need to work with ‘Tosin on his technique (Babalade seems to generally play with a high pad level and doesn’t often move his feet into traditional pass protection position) and his run blocking, but the Gamecock’s newest big man has the tools to become a well-rounded tackle.

Big Tree’s overall size and athleticism bring to mind former Gamecock LT Corey Robinson. Robinson almost ended up on the defensive line at Carolina because of his fluidity as a big man, and while Babalade has very little potential to be moved to defense, Big Tree possesses the same ability to move and the same strong feet that made Robinson an NFL draft pick just under a decade ago. Similarly to Robinson, Babalade seems to be a “nice guy” off the field, but he certainly plays with a mean streak on it; in several highlights, big number 51 can be seen aggressively finishing blocks or tossing weaker defenders to the ground while looking for more victims.

‘Tosin’s likely future is at tackle, and he profiles more specifically as a left tackle. However, because of his strength and ability to move in space, he could offer some versatility and play right tackle or guard if the situation arose. With a very high-level tackle recruits committed to South Carolina for the 2024 class in Kam Pringle and the potential of another in Josiah Thompson, the move inside will remain a possibility as long as Babalade is not actively playing at tackle. In fact, in recent years, the Gamecocks have cross-trained many linemen—Jakai Moore, Jaylen Nichols, and Tyshawn Wannamaker have all played at both guard and tackle—and it would be of little surprise for Babalade to also be trained at both positions.

In all, Oluwatosin Babalade has a ceiling as high as the biggest tree, and Gamecocks everywhere will be hoping he climbs all the way to the top.