South Carolina Football: Former Gamecock commitment announces new commitment

Last month, 3-star offensive lineman Mike Williams backed off from his pledge to Shane Beamer and the South Carolina football program. Williams’ commitment was a conditional one, and when he did not meet the conditions set by the team, the two sides decided to part ways.

On Monday, the 6’7″, 310-pound offensive tackle announced his next steps. The Washington DC native made a public commitment to join Billy Napier and the Florida Gator football program. The announcement came via On3’s Hayes Fawcett on Twitter.

Williams’ high school teammate at Charles Herbert Flowers High School, Braydon Lee (4-star cornerback), is still committed to the Gamecocks and former teammates Desmond Umeozulu (4-star defensive end) and Mo Brown (walk-on tight end) will be true freshmen this fall.

Even without Williams, South Carolina football has one of the best offensive line commitment groups in the 2024 recruiting cycle. 4-stars (Kam Pringle and Josiah Thompson are two of the top-rated offensive tackles in the country, and 4-star interior lineman Blake Franks boasts an offer list that includes most of the major programs in the country. All three players are South Carolina natives who elected to stay home to play for the Gamecocks.

New offensive line coach Lonnie Teasley appears to still be in the market for another offensive lineman in the class. The Gamecocks are fine with just three players in the cycle, but, considering they originally took a commitment from Williams, they seem to want to add four players up front in the class of 2024.

“The Great Wall of Columbia” is not just limited to the in-roads made in the ’24 class, however. South Carolina football received three four-star commits in last year’s class of 2023 (guard Markee Anderson, guard Trovon Baugh, and tackle Oluwatosin “Big Tree” Babalade) and a high-upside three-star prospect at tackle in Jatavius Shivers.