Arguably the worst position group on the 2023 version of the South Carolina football team was the offensive line. To be fair, some of that was due to injury, but there is no denying that the big uglies up front weren't good enough last season.
Garnet and black-clad fans are hopeful that the line will be better this year and moving forward because the Gamecocks are stacking together some solid recruiting classes of offensive linemen. However, in order to feel good about the position group moving forward, USC will have to keep bringing in talented blockers.
As of now, there are no offensive line commitments in the South Carolina football recruiting class for the 2025 cycle, several blue chip names are seriously considering Columbia as their college home.
One of these big-time offensive linemen is Virginia native Jaylen Gilchrist, and this weekend, the 4-star prospect announced his top-7 favorite schools.
Final 7 , where should home be ? pic.twitter.com/RVca2DqU4E
— Jaylen Gilchrist (@7_5ive) April 13, 2024
As expected, the South Carolina Gamecocks made the cut for Gilchrist, along with the Virginia Tech Hokies, Alabama Crimson Tide, Georgia Bulldogs, Virginia Cavaliers, Maryland Terrapins, and Penn State Nittany Lions.
As a player, Gilchrist is expected to play on the interior of the offensive line at the college level, though he has enough length to bump out to tackle if needed, and he played the position a lot in high school.
He is a ferocious run blocker who never stops driving his feet until he plows his defender into the dirt. Gilchrist also is a good athlete for an offensive lineman who can operate in space as a pulling player.
In pass blocking situations, Gilchrist has shown some elite traits (athleticism, length, and strong base), but his technique will need some solid coaching before those traits translate to big-time production at the next level.
Gilchrist has played some defensive tackle in his career, as well, but his future most likely is as an offensive lineman.
You can watch some of his film here.