College football coaches will go to extreme lengths to land some of the top recruits in the country. Just look at South Carolina coach Shane Beamer, who went out on a limb to sign four-star offensive lineman Oluwatosin "Tree" Babalade.
In the days leading up to the early signing period, Babalade announced that he had reopened his recruitment after being committed to South Carolina since Aug. 5. That didn't deter Beamer, who pulled out all the stops to land the physically imposing offensive tackle.
During his press conference on Wednesday, Beamer said he climbed a tree while on FaceTime with Babalade to show that he was for real about getting him to become a Gamecock.
"I may or may not have FaceTimed with him on Monday night and climbed another tree while I was on the phone with him just to prove a point," Beamer said.
Update 😂🤙 https://t.co/IDqIRS22Ob pic.twitter.com/t5PJ2am97K
— USCTalk 🐓 (@USCTalk) December 21, 2022
Despite the unorthodox nature of Beamer's tactic, it worked. On Wednesday, Babalade signed with South Carolina.
Babalade attended the same high school as South Carolina running back MarShawn Lloyd, who entered the NCAA transfer portal on Dec. 12. Babalade hoped to play with Lloyd at the college level and had second thoughts when Lloyd announced plans to leave, but Beamer said he spoke to the standout offensive lineman about his long-term future in Columbia.
"I think there was a lot of, not confusion, and not that he and MarShawn (Lloyd) were classmates, but there was a familiarity because they went to the same high school," Beamer said. "I think it was just a lot for him. It wasn't like we just wore him out. I gave him some space and talked to him on Monday about the fact that he chose South Carolina for a lot of reasons.
"Whether MarShawn was here or not, MarShawn would probably be gone after the '23 season anyway. Let's not base your decision on getting to play with a guy or not play with a guy for six months when he gets here in the summertime."
Babalade is a four-star recruit, the No. 22 offensive tackle and the No. 4 player from Maryland in the 2023 signing class, according to the 247Sports rankings.
