Blake Franks commits! South Carolina beats Clemson for priority in-state recruit

The South Carolina football program continued to keep top-flight in-state talent on Friday.

Greenville High junior offensive lineman Blake Franks verbally committed to Shane Beamer and the Gamecocks during a ceremony at his school.

Franks picked South Carolina over Clemson, Alabama, Auburn and Florida. He took visits to all five of those schools and had all the teams’ hats on the table for his announcement. The final decision was perceived to be between the Gamecocks and Tigers.

Franks is the sixth commit for South Carolina in the Class of 2024 — half of which are in-state prospects. Receiver Mazeo Bennett, Franks’ teammate at Greenville, committed to the Gamecocks in February. Woodland offensive lineman Kam Pringle, the state’s top-ranked prospect, committed to USC in February.

The Gamecocks hope to land another top-ranked in-state lineman next month when Dillon’s Josiah Thompson announces his college choice on April 14.

The 6-foot-5, 310-pound Franks is ranked as a three-star prospect by the 247Sports Composite. He is slotted as the No. 7 player in South Carolina.

South Carolina Class of 2024 Football Commits

• July 2, 2022: QB Dante Reno — Windsor, Conn.
  
  

• Jan. 22: OT Kam Pringle — Dorchester, SC
  
  

• Jan. 24: TE Michael Smith — Savannah, GA

• Jan. 27: LB Wendell Gregory — Marietta, GA

• Feb. 3: WR Mazeo Bennett — Greenville, SC

• March 31: OL Blake Franks — Greenville, SC

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.