Nation's No. 1 IOL Set To Choose Between LSU Football, South Carolina and Ohio State

Richmond (Va.) St. Christopher School five-star offensive lineman Darius Gray has locked in a commitment date for August 22 with the LSU Tigers firmly in the mix.

The nation's No. 1 interior offensive lineman will choose between the Bayou Bengals, South Carolina Gamecocks, Tennessee Volunteers, Ohio State Buckeyes and Clemson Tigers.

The 6-foot-2, 285-pounder has emerged as one of the top available prospects in the 2026 Recruiting Cycle with the five programs set to battle it out down the stretch of his process.

Brian Kelly and the LSU Tigers remain a frontrunner for the Virginia native, but Shane Beamer's South Carolina Gamecocks also remain heavy-hitters.

Gray took to social media on Saturday to reveal an August 22 decision date with his five finalists remaining in contention.

NEWS: Five-Star IOL Darius Gray will announce his Commitment August 22nd, he tells me for @rivals

The No. 1 IOL in the ‘26 Class will choose between Clemson, LSU, Ohio State, South Carolina, & Tennessee

Where Should He Go? ⬇️https://t.co/IzBo6ymbmE pic.twitter.com/Dkm5w3a2rK
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) July 26, 2025

What's the latest buzz on Gray? He caught up with Tennessee Volunteers On SI to discuss his five finalists.

The Two Frontrunners: LSU and South Carolina

LSU: “Definitely Coach Davis. Coach Davis is one of the greatest humans that I’ve ever talked to. He gives off a father figure. He hopes the kids grow as men, and that is very important with me coming into college at 18, so to have someone like that to help you develop as an NFL player, but also as a great human being, a great husband, a great father, and that is just something I want," Gray said.

"LSU kind of speaks for itself. It’s a winning program. They do everything to develop linemen perfectly, so that’s good and they check all the boxes.”

South Carolina: “They have been the longest relationship possible. I think the most important thing to me is how everyone remained the same," Gray said.

"You know way back, they were a five or six win team and now they are scratching the surface for playoffs and not once did they change anything that they are doing with their culture, so I think that’s been the biggest thing for me and Coach Beamer is an amazing people that you’d want to play for.”

Gray broke down the other contenders:

Ohio State: “ A winning program. You can see the reason they have been able to develop linemen. I think it is huge that they got Coach Bowen he was a guy from Virginia Tech, you know we have a great relationship so you can kind of see the way Coach Ryan Day sets up his program and it’s big, and he spoke about it in an interview, you know mental health is important.

"It gets lost in this college football world that these are still kids at the end of the day, so It’s great to have a head coach understand like that, and very vocal about it. The biggest thing is that they develop and win. It’s a big/huge program that everyone loves.”

Tennessee: “Oh, easily it definitely starts with the guys in the O-Line room. Starting with Coach Elarbee. I’d definitely say that’s the main reason for me, and I mean Coach Heup (Josh Heupel), a guy like that running the program, you know, it kind of speaks for itself.

"Tennessee has been building for years, and they are only scratching the surface. They are getting guys like David Sanders and (JB) Shabazz and all of those guys, you can just see they are going to continue the up trend.”

Clemson: “Definitely, I would have to say Coach Sweeney’s longevity there. Him bringing in Coach Luke was a big part in it as well. Coach Sweeney does everything the right way.

"He is going to fight for his players, so that has been a big thing, and Coach Luke is a fantastic human being. Outside of football, he’s an even better coach, so it’s hard to say no to something like that.”

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