South Carolina Football: Gamecock commitment earns 4th star in rankings

South Carolina football coach Shane Beamer and his Gamecock coaching staff are in the middle of a hot stretch of recruiting. Six players committed to the program since Friday (three have gone public as Jaquel Holman, Kobby Sakyi-Prah, and Chris Hatfield announced their pledges), and there is enough momentum behind the team's recruiting efforts that more could be coming soon.

However, there also was some news recently around an older Gamecock commitment as in-state EDGE Anthony Addison received a bump in his recruiting rating.

After being ranked as high as a 4-star prospect by On3 earlier in the recruiting process, Addison's recruiting numbers dipped a bit after his commitment to the Gamecocks. He became a 3-star prospect according to all major recruiting outlets.

That changed in recent days, though, as Rivals moved the athletic EDGE player to 4-star status.

Addison moved up to be ranked as the 17th-best EDGE in the country and the 5th-best player overall in the state of South Carolina in the Rivals rankings.

As a player, Anthony Addison still has some room to grow before being able to be a major contributor at the college level. Much of this will come in the form of physical development. With defensive end likely being his future, Addison will need to add some mass to his 6'4", 215-pound frame. Even if he plays a hybrid defensive end/outside linebacker role, strength and fluidity of movement will be a major point of emphasis for Addison and the South Carolina football strength and conditioning staff.

There is a lot of upside for him as a prospect, though. Addison plays longer than his height might indicate, and he is a good athlete with nice bend in pass rush scenarios and enough speed to chase down run plays from behind.

If Addison can develop, he has a very high ceiling. The comparison that some have made is to former Gamecock EDGE Darius English. If, after some seasoning at the college level, he can have a Darius English-like career, that means Anthony Addison is a very productive player for the South Carolina football program by the time he is a veteran.