Check out the slideshow of Neff Giwa (pictures provided)
Not since South Carolina hired Frank McGuire as basketball coach in the mid 1960s has an Irishman brought as much intrigue to Gamecock athletics as football commitment Neff Giwa. Though his parents are Nigerian, Giwa was raised in Ireland, where he became quite proficient in rugby and soccer. Now, he’s ready to become an SEC-level football player at the least, and an NFL prospect at the most.
Giwa (6-8 300) hooked up with Brandon Collier, a former UMass football player, who runs an organization for prospective international football players. He brought a group over to the States this spring, and they toured the Southeast with stops at USC, Clemson, Georgia, Tennessee, and Miami. The Vols, the Canes, North Carolina, and SMU were others, along with USC, to offer Giwa.
The Gamecocks expressed a lot of interest and offered on March 20th. Giwa made a second visit, and on March 29th, he committed to Shane Beamer for the 2026 class and will arrive in Columbia in May or June.
“To be completely honest, it still doesn’t feel real,” Giwa said. “Since being back home, things have felt really grounded and positive day to day, while I’ve also been given an incredible opportunity to join the Gamecocks’ football program at the University of South Carolina, which I don’t take for granted at all. The chance to play big-time college football has genuinely changed my life. Opportunities like this don’t come around often, where you get to pursue something you truly believe you’re meant to be doing alongside getting a degree. I feel extremely grateful and blessed to be in this position, and I’m fully committed to making the most of it. Of course, I’m training every day to prepare myself for it, but I still can’t quite believe I’ll be in Columbia very soon.”
Giwa will be coming to Columbia as a complete unknown from a football standpoint. He’s never played organized football. However, he’s fully aware of what he’s getting into as he attempts to make it in the SEC.
“I know college football in the Southeast is hugely competitive, especially in the SEC, with a really intense culture and high standards,” Giwa said. “For me, it’s exactly the level I will be working towards and want to test myself in. Learning a new sport can be challenging, and learning it at an elite level will naturally pose bigger challenges. However, from playing rugby growing up with a combination of other sports, I do see how these skills transfer over, particularly in my position. This definitely will help me to deal with the physicality of the game as well as adapt to new techniques quicker. It’s a highly skilled position to learn, and it has a big responsibility to the QB I don’t take it lightly, but I know I have what it takes. The coaches and I have had conversations and developed a plan so any challenges will be overcome. Once I start practice, I am expecting it to be a fast-paced, demanding, and intense environment, but I’m not a stranger to these things, and it’s all a part of the process.”
The recruiting process certainly was brand new to Giwa as well. For the first time, he was exposed to coaches selling him on why he should join their program. For the inexperienced in the ways of recruiting, it can be confusing. But Giwa said he had complete clarity when it came to dealing with Beamer and offensive line coaches Randy Clements and Jason “Coach Smooth” Smith.
“When I first stepped into the building, I just had a feeling it was the right place for me,” Giwa said. “I didn’t really understand what people meant by that until I visited South Carolina, but I couldn’t ignore it. Then, sometime after the visit, I was offered, which felt great. Meeting Coach Clem and Coach Smooth, they were really welcoming, and what stood out was their belief, patience, and understanding of my situation. They’ve developed players like me before and truly know the process, which meant a lot to me. There’s also an element for me of needing to get developed as soon as possible, and I feel like they’re the right people to help me do that in the right way. The training facilities, the weather, and Columbia itself were all great things I liked, as well as Williams-Brice Stadium. I already had pre-planned visits before South Carolina came into the picture, so I felt it was important to honor those and not rule anything out too early. But once I’d finished all my visits, it really confirmed for me that South Carolina is where I want to be. Coach Beamer is a great guy, really easy to talk to, and we get on well, so I’m looking forward to building on that relationship.”
Giwa could also play defensive end, but the Gamecocks are committed to making him into an offensive tackle. His commitment gave the Gamecocks 14 incoming offensive linemen for the 2026 roster.