South Carolina Football: 4-Star RB names ‘Cocks a finalist

South Carolina footballHead Coach Shane Beamer.Syndication: Florida Times-Union
South Carolina footballHead Coach Shane Beamer.Syndication: Florida Times-Union
South Carolina Football
South Carolina football Head Coach Shane Beamer has his program rolling in recruiting.Syndication: Florida Times-Union

South Carolina football is currently ranked inside the top-10 in the 2024 team recruiting rankings from both on3 and 247Sports. All five of the Gamecocks’ public commitments are 4-stars or better, and more blue chippers are set to join the class. One of South Carolina’s 4-star targets just announced a group of six finalists, and the Gamecocks made the cut.

On Saturday, Anthony Carrie, a 4-star running back out of Carrollwood Day in Tampa, Florida, announced a top-6 of South Carolina, North Carolina, Michigan State, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, and Notre Dame.

The 200-pound back has seemingly eliminated Florida from his potential landing spots despite the Gators being considered one of his early favorite schools.

Carrie is an elusive runner who shows quick acceleration even if he doesn’t possess elite top-end speed. At just under 6′ tall, Carrie was considered a smaller back, but he recently has shown pictures of himself (via his Twitter account) on a scale that read just under 200 pounds, indicating he has added weight in recent months.

South Carolina Running Backs Coach Montario Hardesty has not received a commitment from a 2024 running back yet, but the Gamecocks are heavily involved with several. Two ball carriers seem to be the highest-profile of them all, though. Carrie is joined by fellow 4-star back Peyton Lewis on the Carolina recruiting board. Depending on what the spring transfer portal window looks like for the Gamecocks, two running backs might make sense in the 2024 recruiting class.

Blocking up front for running backs like Carrie should be a team strength for the Gamecocks moving forward. A talented young crop of offensive linemen in the 2022 and 2023 recruiting classes will be joined by high 4-star tackle Kam Pringle who committed to the Gamecocks several months ago. Another elite tackle, Josiah Thompson, is set to make his decision in two weeks, and South Carolina is considered a virtual lock to land his services. Other highly-recruited linemen are considered the Gamecocks, including in-state guard Blake Franks.