Young hometown lineman picks up offer from Gamecocks on big recruiting weekend

Nate Carson got a surprise when he went on his unofficial visit to South Carolina on Saturday.

South Carolina defensive line coach Travian Robertson offered the Irmo High sophomore offensive lineman before South Carolina’s game against LSU. It was Carson’s first Division I offer.

“It happened when I walked on the sideline for pre-game,” Carson told The State. “I’m just very thankful and it means a lot.”

Carson is a 6-foot-5, 270-pounder who is in his first season at Irmo after transferring from Gray Collegiate. He is a starter at tackle on the Irmo offensive line and part of the Yellow Jackets’ high-powered offense that’s averaging 40 points a game. Irmo won 55-7 on Friday against Carolina Forest to move to 4-0 on the season.

Carson isn’t the only Irmo player the Gamecocks are recruiting. USC has offered Irmo receiver Donovan Murph. The junior also attended Saturday’s game as the Gamecocks hosted many recruits for the high-profile matchup.

Gamecocks coach Shane Beamer said during last Tuesday’s press conference that they had to turn recruits away from attending the game because the interest was so high after the prior weekend’s win over Kentucky.

“A lot of recruits who were watching our game on Saturday and saw us playing freshmen,” Beamer said last Tuesday. “Monday nights, we work late but we take an hour from 6:30 to 7:30 as a staff and FaceTime recruits for an hour straight. We probably talked to 30 kids last night. That was what they were all saying: ‘Man, y’all were balling against Kentucky and whatever else. That defense and those freshmen and Dylan Stewart and all that stuff.’ That’s great.”