South Carolina lands four-star O-line recruit from Tennessee
South Carolina has broken its dry spell.
After missing out on a number of high-level recruits over the past few weeks — Dutch Fork edge Julian Walker (Michigan), four-star corner Samari Matthews (Texas), Northwestern’s DB Tamarion Watkins (Texas A&M), among others — the Gamecocks landed a big fish on Wednesday.
Offensive tackle prospect Kamari Blair chose South Carolina over Tennessee and Ole Miss, giving the Gamecocks their third offensive line commitment (and 11th overall) for the Class of 2026.
Blair, a 6-foot-6, 280-pound lineman out of Clarksville, Tennessee, is ranked as a four-star prospect by 247Sports’ Composite Rankings — a Top-300 player nationally and the No. 25 offensive tackle in America.
“I loved it. The players. The coaches. Nobody was BS-ing me,” Blair said last month after his official visit to South Carolina. “Everybody was, Hey, it’s not going to be all unicorns and rainbows; you are going to have to work. They were just honest, that’s what I liked about it. Nobody was telling me I’m going to start my freshman year. Nobody was telling me the workouts are easy. They were telling me the whole program is built off of grit and toughness. That’s what I really liked about it. That’s what stood out to me.”
Offensive line coach Lonnie Teasley, according to Blair, was straightforward with him in explaining what would be in store for him with the Gamecocks.
“He said if I put in the work, especially being an early grad and enrollee, he said if everything goes right, he sees me getting minutes my freshman year,” Blair said. ”Again, nothing was promised. He said I fit in exactly with what they do.”
— Phil Kornblut contributed to this story
South Carolina 2026 football commitments (11)
▪ Anthony Baxter (OL) — Committed on May 5, 2024
▪ Keenan Britt (DE) — Committed on Aug. 5, 2024
▪ Jamel Howse (TE) — Committed on Oct. 5, 2024
▪ J’zavien Currence (DB) Committed on Oct. 17, 2024
▪ Zyon Guiles (OL) — committed on March 20, 2025
▪ Aiden Harris (DL) — committed on June 7, 2025
▪ Andrew Harris (LB) — committed on June 7, 2025
▪ KJ Johnson (CB) — committed on June 9, 2025
▪ Sequel Patterson (WR) — committed on June 26, 2025
▪ Noah Clark (DL) — committed on July 2, 2025
▪ Kamari Blair (OL) — committed on July 16, 2025
This story was originally published July 16, 2025 at 7:15 PM.
