South Carolina football fell this weekend to the #1-ranked Georgia Bulldogs, but the game was more competitive than most experts believed it would be. One of the top performers in the game was true freshman left tackle Oluwatosin “Tree” Babalade, who was honored as 247Sports’ National True Freshman of the Week and graded out with a 90 pass blocking grade from PFF.
Babalade is not the only good young offensive lineman on the team as fellow true freshmen Markee Anderson and Trovon Baugh have high expectations for their careers, and redshirt freshman Cason Henry was starting at right tackle before an injury moved him out of the starting lineup.
Even more highly-touted reinforcements are on the way up front as “The Great Wall of Columbia” 2024 offensive line class is marked with three 4-star prospects in tackles Josiah Thompson and Kam Pringle and interior lineman Blake Franks. They are also in the running for another elite player in the class in IMG Academy’s Jordan Seaton.
On Sunday, another future stud on the offensive line revealed that he was strongly considering joining the South Carolina football program. This player, however, is in the class of 2025.
4-star Atlanta product Juan Gaston, Jr. released his top-8 schools, and the South Carolina Gamecocks were among the finalists.
Top 8 pic.twitter.com/9JxRxCmvCa
— Juan Gaston Jr (@JuanGastonJr1) September 17, 2023
The rest of Gaston’s top-8 included Florida State, UCF, Southern Cal, Georgia, Oregon, Texas, and Tennessee.
Gaston is a consensus 4-star offensive lineman and a top-150 player according to all four major recruiting outlets. He is rated as both an interior lineman or as a tackle depending on which recruiting service one checks, but physically, he projects as a tackle in college.
As a player, Gaston has one of the strongest punches one could ever see from a high school prospect. Whether in pass blocking or in climbing to the second level in the run game, if Gaston has the opportunity to step into a block and has his hands in front of him, high school defenders don’t stand a chance.
His technique will need a lot of work between now and his college career, but in a way, that makes him an even more intriguing prospect. Gaston already dominates despite needing to improve his pad level and other fundamentals. He will grow into a very good offensive lineman if he puts in the necessary work.
You can watch some of his film here.