Ahead of decision day, in-state lineman visiting South Carolina

This weekend, South Carolina will receive a visit from in-state offensive lineman Malcolm Gaston. He’ll be in town for the Gamecocks’ second spring scrimmage.

The On3 industry ranking–a weighted composite of the rankings from On3, 247Sports, ESPN, and Rivals–slots Gaston in as the No. 619 overall player in the class of 2026. He’s also the No. 10 player in South Carolina and No. 61 among interior offensive linemen. Rivals, the outlet highest on Gaston, views him as a 4-star offensive tackle. The rest of the industry rates him as an interior player.

At 6-5 and 330 pounds, Gaston has the size to play anywhere up front. In fact, in high school, he has played tackle, guard, and center at times.

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Appropriately nicknamed “Big Gaston,” the Palmetto State native has a strong lower half that should translate to collegiate run blocking. If he continues refining his pass protection technique, Gaston could have a bright future.

Gaston, a North Augusta High School product, recently released a top-4 list of Georgia, North Carolina, Florida, and Virginia Tech and said that he plans to commit at the beginning of next month. However, with a trip to Columbia on the docket, USC could enter the mix. At the time of this writing, South Carolina has not offered.

Carolina has two offensive linemen committed in the class of 2026, and both are in-state kids. 4-star, top-100 interior lineman Zyon Guiles and 3-star interior lineman Anthony Baxter are the first two of what projects to be a bigger OL haul this cycle. The Gamecock roster has ten scholarship linemen in at least their third year of college football, compared to just five heading into years one and two.

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