Greenville football offensive linemen side by side again in Shrine Bowl of Carolinas
Side by side one last time.
Offensive linemen Blake Franks and Julius Tate of Greenville have been hip to hip since August and nothing has changed. They’ll line up together in the high school football season’s final game, the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas.
Franks and Tate will start at tackle and guard, respectively, for the Sandlappers against North Carolina’s best in Saturday’s 1 p.m. all-star game, which will be streamed live, at Spartanburg High School.
Together, they helped solidify a Greenville offense that found its rhythm this season, averaging 45.3 points in its last eight games and winning seven straight before an overtime playoff loss to eventual Class AAAAA state champion Westside. The Red Raiders went 10-3 under coach Greg Porter.
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Franks (6-foot-5, 315 pounds) has committed to South Carolina. Tate (6-3, 310) has committed to Coastal Carolina.
“That’s my guy,” Franks said. “Of course, one more game with him and that’s it. I’m excited to be with him this week.”
“Playing with Blake is a great pleasure,” Tate said. “Not many guys get to do what we’ve done and go through things like we have together.”
The only difference now is that they’re flipped. They’ll move from the usual left side to the right. At left tackle is Dillon’s Josiah Thompson (6-7, 290), the state’s Mr. Football, a five-star recruit also committed to South Carolina. He is ranked by 247Sports Composite as the fourth-best offensive lineman in the country.
Franks said he was more than happy to switch and let Thompson take basically the entire left side of the field.
“Just look at him,” Franks said. “I mean, he’s Mr. Football.”
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South Carolina's offensive line has Mr. Football finalist Watson Young of Daniel. He was a left tackle for the state champion Lions, seems likely to be a center when he gets to Clemson, but will play in this one next to Thompson at left guard. The Sandlappers’ starting center is Jake Buerk of Gaffney.
“We have a really great group,” Buerk said. “I’m just blessed to even be considered one of the best offensive linemen in South Carolina."
“It’s kind of crazy that South Carolina has such a great offensive line this year,” Franks said. “We would’ve had (Gamecocks commit) Kam (Pringle of Woodland) if something hadn’t happened to his foot. But we’re rolling.
“I think we’ll be able to run for a lot of yards. It’s going to be fun to see.”
This article originally appeared on Herald-Journal: Greenville football offensive linemen side by side through Shrine Bowl
