South Carolina Football: Elite tight end puts Gamecocks in top-5

The South Carolina football program does not yet have its first commitment in the class of 2025 (though they do have class of 2026 quarterback Landon Duckworth in the boat already).

One of the Gamecocks’ top targets in the ’25 cycle is tight end Ethan Barbour. Carolina has two upperclassmen in the two-deep at the position currently, and a third-year player is next on the depth chart. That means the South Carolina football staff is making recruiting the tight end position a priority as the team’s top three guys will be gone soon.

That emphasis was seen in the class of 2023 as the Gamecocks signed Connor Cox, Reid Mikeska, and Kamron Sandlin and brought in priority walk-ons Mo Brown and Lukas Vozeh. Sandlin has since moved to running back. The Gamecocks also have 4-star class of 2024 tight end prospect Michael Smith committed.

Barbour appears to be the top target at the position in the class of 2025.

On Tuesday, he told On3’s Hayes Fawcett that he has trimmed his list down to five schools.

South Carolina football is joined by Georgia, Auburn, Alabama, and Ohio State in Barbour’s top-5. The dynamic 6’3″, 230-pound pass catcher also told Fawcett he plans to make his commitment in less than three weeks. September 22nd is the tentative date for his announcement.

As a player, Barbour is considered a top-6 tight end in the class according to On3, 247Sports, and ESPN’s recruiting rankings. He is a good athlete who runs past most high school defenders and has the size and leaping ability to “go get it” when the ball is in the air.

Having the Alpharetta, Georgia native don a Gamecock hat on September 22nd would be a huge get for a South Carolina football program still building its roster talent.

You can watch some of his film here.