South Carolina OL commit, EDGE flip target make big moves in latest Rivals rankings

One of South Carolina’s top commitments in its 2026 recruiting class continues to inch upwards in the Rivals rankings, while one of the Gamecocks’ priority flip targets also made a big move with this week’s update.

Hemingway (S.C.) Carvers Bay four-star IOL Zyon Guiles is now ranked the No. 24 overall prospect in the country, according to Rivals. Guiles remains the top interior offensive lineman in his class. Rivals has always been high on Guiles, but this represents another move in the rankings. This summer, Rivals had him as the No. 37 prospect in the country.

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“Two interior offensive linemen sit inside the top 32 of the Rivals300 and could contend for a fifth star: South Carolina commit Zyon Guiles (No. 24) and Kevin Brown (No. 29),” Rivals Director of Scouting and Rankings Charles Power said. “Guiles is a fluid, violent blocker who dominates competition for four quarters on game film. A former Penn State commit who recently received a RPM pick to West Virginia from Rivals’ Steve Wiltfong, Brown is an elite athlete at the position and plays with a physical edge.”

Irmo (S.C.) Dutch Fork four-star EDGE Julian Walker has been committed to Michigan since the summer but that hasn’t stopped the Gamecocks from continuing to pursue him.

Walker is now ranked the No. 26 overall prospect and the No. 6 EDGE in his class per Rivals.

Rivals national scout Cody Bellaire shared some insight on why Walker continues to move up in the rankings.

“Walker has prototypical size and athletic ability with fantastic block disruption,” Bellaire said. “As a senior, he’s been able to collect nearly 15 tackles-for-loss. And standing at 6-foot-6, 255 pounds, Walker plays with phenomenal pad level and impressive bend given his size.

“Even at 255 pounds, he’s not nearly filled out in his frame. He has so much room to develop and add substantial mass to his frame. He has the body type, physicality and athleticism to potentially play along the entire line of scrimmage outside of nose tackle. All the way from 3-technique to a stand-up edge, Walker has all of the physical and athletic tools that defensive coaches covet at the position and his potential is as high as anybody in the entire 2026 cycle along the line of scrimmage.”

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South Carolina’s 2026 recruiting class is currently ranked No. 17 in the country with two weeks until National Signing Day.

Guiles is South Carolina’s top-ranked commitment in the Rivals ranking, while four-star IOL Darius Gray leads the way in the industry-ranking, which averages the three major recruiting sites.

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