More details emerge on how South Carolina landed Irish rugby player Neff Giwa

The South Carolina Gamecocks landed one of the more unique recruiting prospects of the 2026 class. Over the weekend, the Gamecocks secured a commitment from Neff Giwa. The 6-foot-7, 280-pound offensive tackle plays rugby in Ireland, and sparked the interest of college football coaches across the country just last week. 

Despite holding offers from the likes of Miami, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and others, Giwa committed to Shane Beamer and South Carolina's staff. The Gamecocks were one of the first schools to offer Giwa. He is considered a class of 2026 prospect, so he should be eligible to play as soon as this fall, assuming he gets cleared by the NCAA.  

Speaking with reporters on Tuesday, Beamer explained how he landed the rugby star. 

"He came out to our practice, I guess not last week, but the week before. I think he was out here on a Thursday," Shane Beamer said in Tuesday via The BigSpur. "They came the first time. Didn't really know much about him, or at least I didn't, but you look over there on the sideline, you're like, 'Who the heck is that?' Then, you start talking to him and getting to know him a little bit. He had a great visit, and I don't think there were really plans to come back to Columbia. But, he had such an amazing time where he wanted to come back again the next week to visit some more because he liked it so much."

According to Giwa's rugby coach, Brandon Collier, his player apparently committed to South Carolina due to Beamer and his coaching staff. He committed to the Gamecocks despite getting lucrative offers from other schools: 

Last week, The Athletic's Bruce Feldman reported that South Carolina was trying to get Giwa to cancel his official visit set for Miami after being in Columbia. Beamer told reporters that the sentiment behind that was simply because of how at home Giwa said he felt. 

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"We were trying to keep him from going somewhere else because he sat in my office and he told me how much he loves this place," Beamer added via Big Spur. "And he told me that from the first time he was here, how at home he felt, and that he had been to a lot of different schools, and he hadn't had a feeling like he had at those other schools, like he had at our place. So, I said, 'Shoot, let's get this thing done. We'd love to have you here.'"

Although Giwa has never played a down of American football, the 6-foot-7 offensive tackle will be an interesting project for Beamer and company. Beamer added that first and foremost, getting Giwa to learn the fundamentals like putting on a helmet like key. The offers came rolling in for Giwa shortly after this video of him made the rounds on social media: 

Beamer added that with Brandon Collier's direction, he will likely be playing offensive tackle, but said Giwa has the athleticism to play on defense or even at tight end.