Fall camp starts this week; Five South Carolina football true freshmen to watch

South Carolina Football's 5 Freshmen to Watch this Preseason:
Offensive Lineman Josiah Thompson

Joining Dylan Stewart as the other 5-star recruit to sign with the University of South Carolina last winter, offensive lineman Josiah Thompson has an unlimited upside as a player. The Dillon, South Carolina native is listed at 6'7" and 300 pounds after adding weight this summer, but he carries that weight better than almost any human who has ever lived. He is lean and athletic, but his long arms and strong lower half give him an advantage over most other true freshmen around the country.

Thompson is the most talented tackle on the roster already, and though he still has some physical development to do before he reaches his ceiling, there is a chance he is too good to keep off the field this season.

Left tackle was manned for most of last year by 4-star true freshman Tree Babalade, and Babalade is the projected starter at the position for this season, too. However, if Thompson beats him out, last year's starter could shift inside to guard or to right tackle where he would battle with Cason Henry and others for the job.

Thompson has elite feet for an offensive linemen, and he has shown major ability at getting back into his drops in pass protection and at constantly driving his legs at the point of attack in the run game. He plays hard and aggressively, too, something that was not present much during last year's struggles on the offensive line.

Projecting Josiah Thompson to start, especially at the beginning of the season, is unfair to the true freshman. However, he will be part of the position battle during the preseason and will earn his way into the two-deep (and maybe in to the starting lineup) before the year ends.