South Carolina Football Recruiting: 4-star OT Austin Clark commits to Gamecocks

The South Carolina literally landed a big commitment on Thursday as 6-6, 297-pound offensive tackle Austin Clark (Lexington, Va. Rockbridge County) became the 12th commitment for Steve Spurrier and the Gamecocks for their 2015 class.

More from College Football

Clark is a four-star recruit and the nation’s No. 241 player regardless of position, the No. 25 offensive tackle and the No. 11 player in the state of Virginia, according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings. Clark committed to South Carolina over offers from Virginia Tech, Tennessee and Ohio State, among others, but fell in love with campus, coaches and academics, in particular the International Business school.

“The three things I was looking for most in my college decision was how comfortable I was at the school, academics and depth chart,” Clark said on local television via The Big Spur. “Those are the three things that I really focused on with all four of these schools and just being down there at South Carolina, it gave me a great feel. I really like it down there. Comfortability was great, academics — they have the No. 1 International Business school in the country — and depth chart — the coaches say I’ve got a good chance to go in there and contribute early.”

The Gamecocks boast one of the top offensive lines in the nation and one of the biggest as the projected starting five averages 6’5” and 322 pounds but some of those projected starters will be leaving Columbia for the 2015 NFL Draft so adding a player like Clark fills a big need for the future depth charts along the offensive line.

With the commitment of Clark who is now the school’s seventh four-star recruit or better in the Composite Rankings, South Carolina now owns the nation’s No. 6 class in the nation and the No. 4 class in the uber-competitive SEC.

Home/College Football