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Name: Christian Pellage
Position: Offensive Tackle
Height/Weight: 6'7, 282 pounds
Hometown: Brookesville, FL
Rating: 247Sports: Three Stars Rivals: Three Star ESPN: Four Star
Christian Pellage had been waivering on his commitment to the Gamecocks during December and began to look more at the Florida Gators, but decided that he wanted to play for the Gamecocks. He chose the Gamecocks over offers from the Gators, Alabama Crimson Tide, Arkansas Razorbacks and the Duke Blue Devils among others. His primary recruiter was Everette Sands and Shawn Elliot served as his secondary recruiter.
Strengths:
To be honest, I'm not sure why Rivals and 247Sports have Pellage rated so low compared to ESPN. Pellage looks like a very impressive tackle and when he gets a hold of you, its about a 90 percent chance that you will end up on the ground. Pellage is a very tough blocker and has a great ability for knocking opponents off of their gaps. This is best seen in his pass protection, where he absolutely destroys most of the defensive ends that he gets matched up with. He also has great height for a tackle, and if he gain some weight during the fall, he will be able to compete for one of the open tackle spots this season. Another thing that makes Pellage a great offensive lineman is the initial burst of speed off the snap. Often times it appeared that he was able to catch many of his opponents off guard and push them back into the second level.
Weakness:
While Pellage is very good at pass protection, he will need to improve on his run blocking. Often times he is able to open holes for the running back, but there are times where he becomes so aggressive with his blocks that he pushes the defender into the way. Another issue is that his pad level needs to come down. Since the SEC defensive ends tend to be fairly quick, they could take advantage of Pellage being too high and get around him. He will need to gain at least another 30 pounds before he is physically ready for pay in the SEC.
Overall:
With offensive tackle being somewhat thin, knowing that Pellage is on the team is a good thing. I doubt that he will be able to get early playing time, but he should be able to at least compete and show off his skills. Since he is an offensive linemen, it would be ideal if he were able to redshirt his Freshman year and hope that Mason Zandi or another tackle is able to play ahead of Pellage.