South Carolina Football: Gamecocks make favorites list for 4-star linebacker recruit

South Carolina football coach Shane Beamer and his staff quietly have put together a really solid linebacker unit for the 2024 season.

With All-SEC 'backer Debo Williams returning at one spot, the Gamecocks have high-upside players like Bam Martin-Scott, Jaron Willis, Demetrius Knight, and Bangally Kamara fighting for the other spot(s), depending on if USC runs a 4-2-5 or a 3-3-5 next season. Even 4-star freshmen Fred "JayR" Johnson and Wendell Gregory could factor into the room next year.

Losing Stone Blanton and Pup Howard to the transfer portal from the linebacker room has some fans worried, but Martin-Scott had a great end to 2023 (28 tackles the final 3 weeks), Willis is the best athlete at the position, and Knight and Kamara are major additions from the portal with starting experience.

However, with Williams, Martin-Scott, Knight, and Kamara all out of eligibility after 2023, the Gamecocks need to recruit well at the position.

One of their top recruits at linebacker in the class of 2025 is New Jersey native Kamar Archie. Over the weekend, Archie released the top-6 programs vying for his commitment, and South Carolina football made the cut.

Archie is a 4-star prospect, and as a 6'1" and 220 pounds junior, he seems set to have good size for the linebacker position when he gets to the next level. He also possesses some solid athleticism for a high school linebacker, as evidenced by his work as a running back for the Hun School of Princeton.

As a player, Archie doesn't play exceptionally fast yet, but with his athletic gifts, that likely will come in time. He plays analytically and reads offenses well already, so once he moves a bit faster and freer on the field, he could become a terror for opposing offenses to deal with in the future.

Most of Archie's snaps on defense come as a traditional linebacker, but he has moved out wide in coverage at times and has some experience operating as a pass rusher off of the edge.

You can watch some of his film here.