South Carolina Football: 4-star Georgia prospect named Gamecocks finalist

The South Carolina football program has been all over the national recruiting news updates during the last week or so.

The Gamecocks have reeled in commitments from 4-star wide receiver Zy’marion Lang, 5-star EDGE Dylan Stewart, and high-upside 2026 quarterback Landon Duckworth. USC also missed on 4-star receiver Jonathan Paylor (NC State) and 4-star defensive back Jalewis Solomon (Auburn).

A couple of other prospects have whittled their lists down to final groupings that have included the Gamecocks. 4-star Florida EDGE recruit Booker Pickett, Jr. put South Carolina football in his final five teams, and, now, 4-star interior offensive lineman Elyjah Thurmon has released his top-8 programs.

Thurmon put South Carolina, Clemson, Duke, Florida, Georgia Tech, LSU, Missouri, and UCF in his top-8.

With three 4-star prospects already committed in the class of 2024 offensive line group (tackles Josiah Thompson and Kam Pringle and interior lineman Blake Franks), the Gamecocks could be done at the position. However, when a player as talented as Thurmon is interested in coming, Shane Beamer and his staff will be ready to listen.

As a player, Thurmon is a similar offensive line prospect to Liam Andrews who ended up committing to Penn State a couple of weeks ago as a defensive lineman. Like Andrews, Thurmon is a bit undersized at just 270 pounds, but he is very athletic and plays with a mean streak.

As a tackle for the Bradwell Institute in Hinesville, Georgia, Thurmon has shown that athleticism in pass blocking opportunities and has excelled as a pulling blocker, something that will come in handy when he likely transitions to guard at the next level.

Not much has come out in Thurmon’s recruitment as of yet. According to On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine, Florida was the early favorite, but he recently told On3’s Chad Simmons that South Carolina football is one of his top pursuers along with Clemson, Georgia Tech, and LSU.

Thurmon has not decided which programs will receive an official visit from him this fall, but he indicated that the teams who have been on him the hardest (USC, Clemson, Georgia Tech, and LSU) would get heavy consideration along with teams that focus on education in their recruiting pitches.

You can watch some of his film here.