South Carolina Football: Priority junior target on campus, Now ranked top-5 nationally

South Carolina Football helmet. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports
South Carolina Football helmet. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports

South Carolina football recruiting has ticked up under head coach Shane Beamer. The 2023 recruiting class finished as the 16th-best class in the country, and the 2024 class should finish even higher if current trends continue. If the Gamecocks put together a solid 2023 season on the field and finish the 2024 recruiting cycle well, the 2025 recruiting class could be elite.

One of the big-time prospects the Carolina staff is in on is Savannah defensive lineman Elijah Griffin. Griffin recently moved up in the rankings to become a consensus top-5 player by all four major recruiting services. He is also unanimously viewed as the top defensive lineman in the nation and the top overall player in the state of Georgia. One recruiting site even has Griffin as the top 2025 recruit regardless of position or location.

The 6’4,” 270-pound high school superstar is expected to grow into a defensive tackle at the college level, but he is athletic enough to be a big defensive end, as well. He is explosive: as a high school freshman, he ran a 5.0 40-yard dash and logged a 35-inch vertical leap. As he continues to grow and his body continues to mature, the sky is the limit for a freak like Griffin.

He is currently on a visit to the University of South Carolina, where the Gamecocks coaching staff is surely making him feel like a big-time priority in the class of 2025.

According to the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine, Griffin’s recruitment is open but led by South Carolina with the Georgia Bulldogs listed as the top contender to wrestle Griffin’s commitment away from the Gamecocks.

South Carolina football has secured a commitment from 2024 tight end prospect Michael Smith who is also from Savannah. Smith and Griffin go to different schools but know each other.

The Gamecocks are also in on another contender for the top prospect spot in the 2025 class. Offensive tackle David Sanders from Charlotte, North Carolina is a consensus top-7 player and is ranked as the top 2025 recruit by one recruiting service. South Carolina football is the leader to land Sanders according to On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine, but things are tight as North Carolina, North Carolina State, Georgia, Alabama, and Clemson are heavily involved, as well.