South Carolina football fans might not realize it, but they had a tremendous impact on the program this weekend when the Gamecocks took on the Furman Paladins. Not only did a very good FCS program in Furman have to play in its toughest environment of the season, but the raucous Carolina crowd had a future-reaching impact, as well.
Several recruits were in Columbia to check out Shane Beamer’s South Carolina football program on Saturday, and none of them are any bigger (literally) than 5-star defensive lineman Elijah Griffin.
A consensus top-5 player regardless of position according to all four major recruiting outlets (On3, 247Sports, ESPN, and Rivals), the 6’5″, 285-pound Griffin attends Savannah Christian Prep School where he is a teammate of class of 2024 Gamecock commitment David Bucey (3-star safety/linebacker).
Griffin is well-deserving of his 5-star rating as he is a big-time talent who could develop into one of the best defensive players in the country when he moves up a level to the college game. His future is likely at defensive tackle at the next level, but in certain contexts, he is athletic enough that he could play end.
After his visit, On3’s Chad Simmons caught up with Griffin, and the big defensive tackle had glowing reviews of his time in Columbia. Griffin told Simmons that the gameday atmosphere in Williams-Brice Stadium left him with “goosebumps,” adding that “ wanted to play” for the Gamecocks on Saturday night against Furman.
Griffin will take visits to a number of top college football programs this fall and beyond, but many in the recruiting industry believe his recruitment is shaping up to be a South Carolina football vs. Georgia Bulldog race as both On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine and 247Sports’ Interest Meter both have the ‘Dawgs and ‘Cocks on top in the pursuit of the elite talent.
You can watch some of his film here.