South Carolina Football: Big-time offensive line target announces college choice

The 2023 and 2024 recruiting classes have been very good for the Gamecocks, and the offensive line groups within the classes have been some of the best in the history of South Carolina football recruiting. 5-star Josiah Thompson, 4-stars Markee Anderson, Trovon Baugh, Tree Babalade, Kam Pringle, and Blake Franks, and high-upside 3-star Jatavius Shivers have given fans hope for the future.

Offensive line coach Lonnie Teasley has the Gamecocks in on a really impressive group of younger linemen, as well, as USC hopes to continue the recruiting momentum in the class of 2025.

One of these elite offensive linemen is Jacksonville, Florida native Solomon Thomas who plays for William Raines High School. Thomas released a list of his top-10 programs back in October, and the Gamecocks made the cut.

Thomas went ahead and announced his college decision on Friday afternoon.

Solomon Thomas, a player set up to be a 5-star before the process is over, announced that he was committing to the Florida State Seminoles. South Carolina, Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, LSU, Ohio State, Texas A&M, Miami, and Tennessee were the other finalists vying for Solomon's services.

Solomon may be off the board (for now), but the Gamecocks still are involved with some elite big fellas. 5-star David Sanders, 4-star Jaylen Gilchrist, 4-star Juan Gaston, and 4-star Cortez Smith are among the long list of players who have real interest in the South Carolina football program.

The offensive line was a struggle in 2023, but with the team's best players up front being young guys, the future seems brighter.

In the class of 2023, Trovon Baugh was a Freshman All-American this fall, and Tree Babalade was the national Freshman of the Week against the Georgia Bulldogs. Markee Anderson missed the season but was viewed as the best of that group heading into the year.

The 2024 cycle provided the Gamecocks with, arguably, the highest potential offensive tackle to ever sign with the South Carolina football program (5-star Josiah Thompson), and Kam Pringle and Blake Franks are bigger and stronger than almost every player already on the roster.