South Carolina Football: 5 players whose stock is rising for the Gamecocks
By Kevin Miller
South Carolina Football players whose stock is up:
Offensive Lineman Tree Babalade
Oluwatosin “Tree” Babalade got his first game action against Furman in week 2, and he was very good. He was so good, in fact, that the big man earned the start at left tackle against Georgia in week 3. A lot of Gamecock fans were nervous about Big Tree’s first start coming against the Bulldogs, fearing that playing such a good opponent could affect his confidence moving forward.
Fast forward to the game against the two-time defending national champions, and Babalade was sensational. #51 stonewalled the ‘Dawg pass rush, allowing just one quarterback pressure on the entire game, despite lining up against 4-star and 5-star talent all afternoon.
For his dominant effort against UGA, Babalade was rewarded by 247Sports as the outlet’s national True Freshman of the Week.
Babalade showcased, even against one of the country’s top defenses, the same traits that he showed in high school that had South Carolina football fans excited about his Gamecock future. His extremely strong lower body is complemented by “heavy hands” (a descriptor that Shane Beamer used to describe Babalade and fellow freshman Trovon Baugh), making him a premium talent in pass protection.
As Tree shores up his footwork and gets more experience in the SEC, he has the chance to become one of the best tackles in the league. When 5-star Josiah Thompson and 4-star Kam Pringle arrive on campus next season, the Gamecocks could have the best young offensive tackle talent in the entire country.