The story behind Tree Babalade’s nickname, and how he’s adjusting to college football
Everywhere Oluwatosin Babalade went in middle school, he had to carry his passport with him.
“I was in sixth grade, started playing football,” Babalade said. “I was the biggest kid. Everybody just wanted to check my I.D.”
His nickname “Tree,” which he prefers to be called, was born out of the way he towered over his teammates. The true freshman is still big for his age now at South Carolina, standing at 6-foot-5, 338 pounds. The moniker is just as on-brand today as it was seven years ago.
His size and skills will be needed for the Gamecocks offensive line, which coach Shane Beamer identified as a group ripe for position battles this preseason.
Veteran lineman Jaylen Nichols will miss the beginning of the season after sustaining a significant knee injury in the spring game. At USC’s on-campus media day, Beamer said he’s “optimistic” that Nichols will be back before the end of the season. In the meantime, competition has opened to see who will start and who will rotate in over the course of a game.
“When we line up against North Carolina and Game 1, what does it look like at all five spots?” Beamer said. “But then also, we’re gonna play more than five linemen. So who’s six, seven and eight? Because we’re gonna rotate guys in there.”
Babalade — a Hyattsville, Maryland prodcut who played at DeMatha Catholic — came to Columbia in the summer. The heat and humidity struck him at first, but he’s gotten used to it little by little. Leaning on the veteran leadership of his fellow offensive linemen has helped him adjust.
He looks up to — not literally, of course — these teammates like older brothers. They meet up every so often to check in with each other and talk about something other than football.
“How are you doing mentally? You good?”
“How’s the family doing?”
These meetings often take place over food, like a family at the dinner table. While they don’t have a go-to restaurant in town, Babalade’s favorites include Jack Brown’s Beer and Burger Joint, and Old Chicago for the sweet and smokey wings.
But as far as on-field goals for Babalade’s first season, chief among them is learning from his teammates.
“I’m in the SEC,” he said. “There’s a lot of great guys. I just want to learn.”
