Nearly two weeks in the past, Brandon Collier, who runs Germany-based Premier Prospects Worldwide (PPI), posted a three-second video of an offensive line prospect nobody within the school soccer world had ever heard of, sparking a recruiting frenzy amongst school coaches. That 20-year-old offensive deal with, Neff Giwa, will signal on Sunday with South Carolina, Collier informed The Athletic.
Despite the fact that the 6-foot-7 1/2, 295-pound Giwa, a rugby participant from Eire with 37-inch arms, has by no means performed a down of American soccer, he obtained scholarship gives from, amongst others, Miami, Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina and SMU, after these colleges marveled at his body and athleticism displayed within the clips Collier posted.
Giwa, who will be a part of the Gamecocks for the 2026 season, plans to reach at South Carolina in Could. Giwa visited South Carolina earlier this month as one in every of a number of campus visits with Collier.
The younger lineman was impressed with how Gamecocks offensive line coach Randy Clements had developed German lineman and NFL second-round decide Sebastian Vollmer (whereas Clements was at Houston) and former hockey participant and first-rounder Danny Watkins, a Canadian he coached whereas at Baylor.
Neff Giwa (left) and Brandon Collier in Columbia, S.C. (Courtesy of Collier)
Over the previous decade, Collier, a former defensive deal with at UMass now based mostly in Germany, has helped place roughly 100 worldwide athletes at main school soccer packages. Eight of these gamers began within the SEC final 12 months. However he stated he had by no means seen a recruiting whirlwind like he skilled with Giwa the previous two weeks, set off by a three-second video of Giwa move blocking in a one-on-one drill with a defensive finish that Collier posted March 16 at 5:44 p.m. Inside minutes, coaches from Miami, SMU, Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina and Texas Tech wrote to Collier asking about Giwa.
“Mario Cristobal began blowing me up about him,” Collier informed The Athletic final week. “‘We gotta get him to Miami!’”
In March, Collier introduced Giwa and 9 different European prospects to the U.S. Their first cease was Ohio State after which Kentucky. Giwa didn’t obtain a lot curiosity from both. From there, the group, touring in a sprinter van, drove 12 hours to Toronto to conduct a exercise with one other prospect. That’s the place Collier filmed clips of Giwa in one-on-one pass-blocking drills towards line of defense recruits, which is the place he obtained the three-second clip he posted that obtained Cristobal to supply Giwa a scholarship and had different school coaches scrambling to get him to their campuses.
They visited Michigan and Michigan State after which went to Clemson, South Carolina and Tennessee. Each South Carolina and Tennessee provided. Earlier than flying to Miami, that they had stops deliberate at Ole Miss and Georgia. However Collier and Giwa headed again to South Carolina to spend extra time with the Gamecocks, the place the Irish O-lineman actually felt snug. Justin Okoronkwo, the Gamecocks’ main tackler who has blossomed through the years, is from Munich and one other Collier protégé. Collier and Giwa flew to Miami Monday night time to take a look at Miami, and in addition had curiosity from Texas. However he flew house to Eire from Florida and determined that he needed to signal with the Gamecocks after a chaotic recruiting course of.
“It’s been loopy, man. A loopy expertise,” Giwa informed The Athletic final week. “I didn’t perceive the community of how these coaches function. I get tagged within the submit. Then, I noticed these likes and feedback. It’s simply surreal. I’ve obtained these coaches from Oklahoma and Texas A&M now messaging me. A month in the past, I didn’t exist on the earth of American soccer, and now I do. It’s a testomony to the facility of social media and the facility of Brandon Collier.”
