TheState.com: GoGamecocks: Recruiting

Recruiting: Lattimore, Fulton venture out of state

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 23:52 EST

TWO OF THE STATE'S TOP prospects made official visits over the weekend to out of state schools.

Byrnes running back Marcus Lattimore went to Penn State and was not due back home until late Sunday. He also has visited Auburn and will visit Oregon on Jan. 16. He has not decided on his final two official visits. He is considering USC, North Carolina, Georgia and Florida State. Lattimore likely will be at USC on Saturday for the Florida game.

Manning defensive back John Fulton was at Florida over the weekend. He will see the Gators again this weekend when he takes his visit to USC. He has been to LSU and also likes Alabama and Georgia. Before the visit to Gainesville, Fulton was favoring USC over Alabama.

Auburn continues its strong pursuit of USC-bound offensive lineman Eric Mack of Calhoun County. Two recruiters visited the school to check on Mack who has been holding to his commitment while visiting other schools. Mack has visited Auburn. Saturday he was at Clemson unofficially for the Florida State game. He plans to be at USC this Saturday for the Florida game.

If he's not playing in a state championship game, he plans to make a return trip to Auburn for the Alabama game. And a day later he plans to be back in Columbia for the Clemson-USC game. Mack plans to schedule visits with USC, Clemson and Kentucky at some point.

Recruit's Diary: Justin Parker

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 21:42 EST

Beaufort High School linebacker Justin Parker has emerged as one of the nation's top recruiting prospects, earning more than a dozen scholarship offers from Division I schools and cracking Sporting News Today's list of top 100 football recruits for the 2010 class. As Parker approaches his much-anticipated decision, the senior agreed to give readers a glimpse into the recruiting process with a diary every Wednesday, as told to Beaufort Gazette/Island Packet sports reporter Brandon Parker.

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Turns out I didn't end up taking my first official recruiting visit to the University of Colorado last weekend because of some paperwork issues. The transcript that was sent up there before my visit didn't have my most recent SAT score listed and by the time that the Colorado coaches noticed on Friday, it was too late to process another form before my weekend visit (According to NCAA rules, all prospective student-athletes must provide an institution with a PSAT, SAT, ACT or PLAN test score, an academic transcript and register with the NCAA Eligibility Center before taking an official visit).

It's not an issue of me being academically eligible or anything like that; just a mix-up. Matter of fact, I'll be taking the SAT again this Saturday, so of course I'm hoping to do well on that.

I haven't talked with the Colorado coaches about rescheduling, but we'll see. I'm still looking at taking my official visit to South Carolina during the weekend of the Florida game on Nov. 14, but nothing's been finalized yet with USC or Clemson.

Recruiting: USC's O-line class is drop-add

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:17 EST

USC ADDED ANOTHER offensive lineman to its class last week - and dropped one.

While Du'Van Milsap will be joining the large group of offensive linemen coming in next season, long-time commitment Elliot Williams of Georgia Military College will not. Williams signed with the Gamecocks in 2008 but did not qualify, and he has not made enough academic progress to be re-signed. If he returns to Georgia Military College next season, USC will re-evaluate him.

Calhoun County offensive lineman Eric Mack, a USC commitment, has taken an official visit to Auburn and will visit Clemson on Nov. 6.

"Clemson has made him a priority," said a source close to Mack. "(Assistant) coach (Chris) Rumph is coming after him hard. They talk weekly."

Mack will set official visits with USC and Kentucky. He was at the USC-Vanderbilt game and will return to Columbia for the final two home games.

Offensive lineman commits to USC

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 08:42 EDT

Offensive lineman Duvan Milsap (6-foot-5, 300 pounds) of Buford, Ga., committed to USC on Tuesday night.

Milsap said he made his decision last week and contacted Gamecocks offensive line coach Eric Wolford and his recruiter Shane Beamer with the pledge.

"It's closer to home and it just felt like a better fit," Milsap said. "I've been contemplating it for a while."

Milsap said he picked the Gamecocks over Oklahoma State and Ole Miss. He also had offers from Clemson, Mississippi State, Louisville and East Carolina.

Milsap, who plays offensive tackle, is the 19th commitment for the Gamecocks and the eighth offensive lineman. Another offensive line commitment, Elliot Williams of Georgia Military JC, might not make it into school for academic reasons.

Recruit's Diary: Gamecocks in Parker's top spot

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 20:57 EDT

I will be taking my first official college visit to the University of Colorado this weekend. After calling the coaches last week to set up a visit, they called me back on Tuesday and I'll be flying out around 5 in the morning. I'm really excited to go, and after I got off the phone, it kind of hit me that the main part of my recruiting and my decision are getting closer and closer. I know it's going to be cold up there because they said it snowed a few days ago, so I'll be bringing lots of clothes. I've heard that Colorado has a great business school, which is a plus since that's what I want to major in. When I go up there, I'll be checking out the college atmosphere, asking a lot of questions and just getting a feel for how it might be to be a student there.

Like I've been saying, I know that two of my other visits will be to South Carolina and Clemson. When I was up at the South Carolina-Vanderbilt game this past weekend, I talked to (USC recruiting coordinator and assistant coach Shane) Beamer about taking my official visit with them during the weekend they play Florida (on Nov. 14), but that's still in the works. I'm still not sure where I'll take the last two of my five visits, but I'm looking to make those plans within the next few weeks.

I enjoyed myself at the South Carolina game and the defense was on point, which really stood out to me. I had a chance to talk with (former Beaufort High teammates and current South Carolina players) Jimmy Legree and Devin Taylor. When I talk to Jimmy, it's mostly a regular conversation about how things are going and he might throw some things in there about USC. With Devin, he makes a point to tell me not to go anywhere else and that USC is the place for me.

After going to the game and thinking some, I realized that I wanted to show South Carolina some of the same love that they've shown me since day one. I remember the first camp that I went to was at USC during my freshman year, and the day after, they called (Beaufort High defensive coordinator Jerry) Hatcher and said they were going to keep an eye on me. South Carolina will always be the first camp I went to and the first school that offered me a scholarship in my sophomore year. I'll always remember that and I can tell they are really committed to me.

Recruiting: Auburn in mix for OL Mack

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 02:42 EDT

CALHOUN COUNTY OFFENSIVE lineman Eric Mack apparently is not going to allow USC to rest easy about his commitment, which he now considers as a "soft verbal."

Mack said Auburn is now even with the Gamecocks. "Both schools are good," he said. "I could go to either one and play some my freshman year. I'm trying to make sure Carolina is the perfect fit."

Clemson is also in the mix, and Mack has scheduled an official visit with the Tigers for Nov. 6. He will also take officials to Kentucky and USC. He said he will announce his decision on Signing Day.

Defensive lineman Sharrif Floyd of Philadelphia was scheduled for his official visit to USC over the weekend but changed that to Ohio State. He plans to take his official to USC after his season. Floyd has visited Southern Cal and Florida officially. He is scheduled to visit North Carolina on Nov. 6 and is considering Penn State. He took an unofficial visit to Happy Valley two weekends back.

Linebacker Justin Parker of Beaufort planned to be at USC for the Vandy game. He is still favoring Clemson slightly over the Gamecocks. He is looking at North Carolina, N.C. State, Colorado, Georgia Tech and Nebraska. He will set officials with Clemson, USC and Colorado.

USC speeds up its hunt for receivers

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 23:34 EST

USC fans have seen this season that the Gamecocks have a talented group of tall, lanky receivers. The coaching staff would like to augment that group with a smaller, quicker player in this year's class.

One possibility is Marquel Wade (5-foot-10, 180) of Jacksonville, Fla. He has scheduled an official visit with the Gamecocks for Nov. 13.

Wade talked with Gamecock receivers coach Steve Spurrier Jr. earlier this month.

"He was telling me he needs a receiver that can move like a Percy Harvin," Wade said. "He wants someone they can get the ball to quicker and faster. I'm real interested."

Wade has narrowed his choices to USC, Arkansas, South Florida and Georgia. He is scheduled to visit Arkansas on Oct. 30 and South Florida on Nov. 20. He has no favorite.

Recruit's Diary: Justin Parker

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 12:48 EDT

I'll be going to the Clemson-TCU football game this weekend to check out Death Valley again. My brother, Jeff, is supposed to go up there with me, too. I probably would have gone to the South Carolina-Mississippi game, but it's on a Thursday and I've got school the next day. I'm thinking about going to see South Carolina next week when the team plays South Carolina State at home.

The phone calls and messages from coaches and recruiting sites have been pretty constant since the season started. Every Saturday, I have three or four coaches call me, telling me to watch their teams play. It's a quick conversation because it's right before the game and I figure they have to go get their team ready to play. Some call me on Fridays before or after our games, too. By now, I'm pretty used to all of it and I know not to let it get to my head.

Last week, we lost our first game of the season to Stratford. Really, we just gave up big plays and weren't in the right place at the right time to make plays. I look at it as you can't blame it on one person or one group of the team. We played as a team, so everybody messed up and we lost as a team. We're confident that we'll learn from our mistakes and we've had good, hard practices so far this week.

We never like to lose, and hopefully, it won't happen again this season. But if we were going to lose, we're glad it happened now, against a non-region team, rather than to a region team like Fort Dorchester a couple weeks ago.

Recruit's Diary: Justin Parker

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 00:22 EDT

I won't be able to go to the South Carolina's home opener this weekend because I'm going to see my cousin play at Newberry. My plan is to go to a USC game in the near future and then go to another Clemson game soon after that. I'm not sure when or where I'll take my first official visit - probably in the next month or so. I do know that two of my official visits will be at USC and Clemson, but it's still up in the air as to where my other three official visits will be.

It's been interesting watching college football this year because when I watch, I try to see how I might fit in with that team. Like the Clemson-Georgia Tech and South Carolina-Georgia games, the way Clemson and South Carolina came back showed how much fight they have and what kind of coaches they have there. I was impressed by the way they both played.

I bruised my sternum on the second play of last week's game against Fort Dorchester. I kept playing, but the trainers decided to keep me from practicing at full speed on Monday. Of course, that¹s not going to keep me from playing on Friday at Stratford, though.

Last week's game was pretty crazy with all the turnovers in the second half, but it showed how we can be a great defense when we start flying around the ball. We didn't play all that good in the first half, so at halftime, senior linebacker Brandon Frazier and I told the defense that the second half would be ours. We didn't change anything; we just set our mind on making plays. That was a big win for us.

Byrnes defensive pair commit to Tennessee

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 22:07 EDT

Byrnes defensive end Corey Miller has decided on “Rocky Top” instead of the tomahawk chop.

And he’s bringing his bookend buddy, Brandon Willis, with him.

District 5 athletics director and Byrnes offensive coordinator Bobby Bentley confirmed via e-mail Monday that the pair committed to Tennessee late Sunday.

Miller (6-foot-4, 227 pounds), ranked No. 28 on the Rivals.com top 100 list, originally committed to Florida State over the Volunteers, California, North Carolina and UCLA.

The four-star prospect, according to Rivals.com, has 28 tackles and four sacks this season.

Recruiting: Horn lands a dunk with Ellington

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 01:06 EDT

USC BASKETBALL COACH Darren Horn scored perhaps his biggest recruiting victory for the Gamecocks with a commitment from 5-foot-9 point guard Bruce Ellington of Berkeley.

After a very good summer, Ellington’s stock skyrocketed with recruiters and analysts. The standout for the Stags’ football team decided to focus strictly on basketball at the next level.

Ellington committed to Horn on Wednesday but did not announce the pledge until after his football game Friday night, where he scored five touchdowns.

“South Carolina is on the verge of doing some special things,” Ellington said in a release. “I’m excited to be a Gamecock.”

Ellington had basketball offers from Clemson, Southern Cal, Auburn, Miami and others. USC and Clemson offered him in football.

Recruit's Diary: Justin Parker

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 14:43 EDT

I really enjoyed myself at the Clemson game this past weekend, and to tell you the truth, I think that was the biggest football crowd I've ever been around. And that wasn't even a conference game, so I can only imagine how it is when the ACC games come around.

I've been to Division I football games before, but the Clemson crowd was just crazy. I was sitting in the recruiting section with about 30 other senior recruits. About six people from the crowd came up to me and said hi and that they had heard a lot about me. It was a real cool experience.

The visit reminded me of how much I want to go to a college with a big atmosphere and lots of people in the crowd. It's real intense and I like that, and with the schools I'm considering, I'm sure those things will be there.

It felt really good to beat Battery Creek last week, since that's our rival. I thought about it some afterward because that was the last time playing Battery Creek for me and the other seniors. The secondary really stepped up and helped us get the win. Other people were doubting our secondary because they are young, but they really showed what they were about Friday night.

Recruiting: Fulton to be frequent USC visitor

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 01:48 EDT

MANNING DEFENSIVE BACK John Fulton (6-foot, 180 pounds) indicated last week his lean to USC has gotten stronger.

“It could change at any time,” Fulton said, “but right now I’m feeling South Carolina.”

Fulton is favoring the Gamecocks over Alabama, Georgia, Florida and LSU. He plans to take official visits to Georgia for the USC game, to Alabama for the USC game and he will take one to USC. Fulton will be a December graduate.

One of the top uncommitted prospects in Alabama is linebacker Ladarius Owens (6-3, 230) of Bessemer, and he is including Clemson and USC among his schools of interest. He will make an official visit to Florida State this weekend for the Miami game, and he will also take an official visit to LSU. Owens said he will be at Clemson for the Boston College game, and he wants to see USC for the Florida game. He is unsure if those will be official or unofficial visits. Other offers he is considering are Alabama, Auburn, Tennessee, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Kentucky and Arkansas. He does not have a favorite.

Clemson added beef to its 2010 class last week with a commitment from offensive lineman Gif Timothy (6-8, 296) of Middletown, Del. Timothy was committed to BYU in the spring but backed off the Cougars and visited Clemson this summer. That is when the Tigers became a major factor with him. He considered offers from Rutgers, Maryland, Boise State, Utah and Virginia. Clemson recruited Timothy as a left tackle. He is the 18th commitment for the class and the fourth offensive lineman.

Recruiting: LB torn between Tigers, Tide

Mon, 10 Aug 2009 20:45 EDT

Athlete Desmond Brown of Centre, Ala., running back Demont Buice of Gadsden, Ala., and linebacker Victor Beasley (6-foot-4, 220 pounds) of Adairsville, Ga., are close friends and stay in regular contact. The three have talked about playing college football at the same place. Brown committed to Clemson earlier in the summer, and Buice did so over the weekend. That’s leaves Beasley who plans to make a decision this week between Clemson and Alabama. Beasley recently visited Clemson with his parents. He was favoring Alabama prior to the visit but is now finding it hard to make a decision. “It went great,” Beasley said of the visit. “I brought my parents and they fell in love with the place. They (the coaches) showed me the depth chart and, if I came, where I would fit in.”

Clemson also picked up a commitment last week from defensive back Garry Peters (6-1, 180) of Conyers, Ga. He’s the third cornerback to commit to the Tigers.

Beaufort linebacker Justin Parker (6-2, 225) made an unofficial visit to Clemson over the weekend, his first visit to the school. The Tigers and USC are in a battle for Parker and are tired at the top of his list. Parker also has offers from Maryland, Mississippi State, Wake Forest, Central Florida, N.C. State, Syracuse, Vanderbilt, Colorado and South Florida.

Tight end Neil Basford (6-5, 235) of Jacksonville, Fla., made an unofficial visit to USC Saturday with his father. Basford is down to USC, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest and Florida State. The Gamecocks and Demon Deacons are tied for the lead.

LSU has moved into the top five with defensive back John Fulton (6-0, 180) of Manning, bumping Virginia Tech from the group. He continues to favor USC by a narrow margin on Alabama. Florida is third followed by Georgia and LSU. Fulton plans to go to several games at USC this season and wants to make his decision in late November or early December.

Ex-UNC kicker considering USC

Mon, 10 Aug 2009 19:46 EDT

South Carolina coaches are awaiting word from former North Carolina kicker Jay Wooten, who made an unofficial visit to USC last week.

Wooten made 4-of-6 field goals and was 11-for-11 on extra points for the Tar Heels last season, but decided to transfer when he was again slated to back up Casey Barth. Steve Spurrier said Wooten, who also is considering Arkansas, would be welcome to walk on at USC.

— Joseph Person

Recruiting: USC makes the cut with Lattimore

Mon, 03 Aug 2009 00:44 EDT

AND NOW THERE ARE FIVE for Byrnes running back Marcus Lattimore (6-foot, 210 pounds).

Lattimore took an unofficial visit to Penn State late last week with teammate and wide receiver Nick Jones (5-10, 165) and Saturday announced he had cut his list from nine to a final five of USC, North Carolina, Auburn, Oregon and Penn State.

“It really wasn’t difficult,” Lattimore said. “I kind of had an idea when I came back from Penn State. I knew the schools I wanted in my five and felt comfortable with the players and coaches. I’m going to go by the season and see how they use their running backs. The records of the teams won’t matter.”

Clemson was one of the schools cut by Lattimore.

“I just didn’t get that feeling there when I was on campus,” Lattimore said.

Byrnes’ Lattimore keeps 2 of 5 alive

Sun, 26 Jul 2009 23:58 EDT

BYRNES RUNNING BACK Marcus Lattimore (6-foot, 210 pounds) decided on three of his final five schools.

Lattimore says Oregon, Penn State and North Carolina will be in his final five. That leaves USC, Clemson, Auburn, Alabama, Florida State and Maryland from Lattimore’s hoping to land in his final two spots. And Lattimore said only one of the in-state schools will make the cut. Lattimore was at USC’s camp Saturday, and he made an unofficial visit to Clemson earlier in the week.

USC’s final prospect camp of the summer produced one commitment in defensive back Cadarious Sanders (6-0, 185) of LaGrange, Ga. The Gamecocks view Sanders as a cornerback. He also had offers from Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Vanderbilt. He is the 16th commitment for USC’s 2010 class.

Manning defensive back John Fulton (6-0, 180) told TheBigSpur.com that USC is his favorite. Fulton had been favoring Alabama much of the summer. He also likes Georgia and Florida.

Clemson’s commitment count for 2010 reached nine with a pledge from offensive lineman Kalon Davis (6-5, 335) of Chester. Davis had been favoring the Tigers and took an unofficial visit Friday to make the commitment in person to Dabo Swinney and staff. Davis also had offers from Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, NC State, Mississippi State, South Florida, Wisconsin, Penn State, Kentucky and East Carolina.

Standout crop of Carolina QBs has coaches salivating

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 02:34 EDT

The juniors are coming. And they’re bringing the Year of the Quarterback with them.

Things could change, of course, but the Carolinas are looking at a remarkable crop of football-playing rising high school juniors. A surprising number of them are quarterbacks.

In fact, there may be more quality quarterback prospects in the two states in the Class of 2011 than in any prior group.

Most, like Butler (N.C.) High’s Christian LeMay, have already stirred things up as sophomores. His good work has duly impressed his coach, Mike Newsome.

“I was told by one recruiting analyst that by the time he’s a senior, Christian has a chance to be the best quarterback prospect in the country,” Newsome said.

Recruiting: DB Peters close to picking Tigers

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 23:36 EDT

A VISIT TO CLEMSON LAST week had defensive back Garry Peters (6-foot-1, 180 pounds) of Conyers, Ga., humming “Tiger Rag.”

“It’s my favorite school right now,” Peters said. “I liked the facilities, the coaches and the players. Coach (Dabo) Swinney wasn’t there but I hung out with coach Rumph and he showed me around. He said they are losing a lot of people and there’s a good possibility to come in next year and play within the next two years.”

Peters said the Tigers lead Alabama. “I’m thinking about a commitment (to Clemson) but I have to talk to my family,” he said.

Clemson also has moved to the front with linebacker Justin Parker (6-2, 225) of Beaufort, who has see-sawed between the Tigers and USC.

“Clemson is leading right now,” said Parker’s older brother Jeff, who is advising him during the recruiting process. “He has spoken with Clemson more.”

Recruiting: OL Williams sees Ill., picks USC

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 23:03 EDT

USC LANDED ONE of its major targets for the offensive line with a commitment from Tramell Williams (6-foot-2, 260 pounds) of Jacksonville, Fla., but the Gamecocks missed on Logan Stewart (6-5, 278) of Boiling Springs, who opted for Vanderbilt.

Williams had been favoring the Gamecocks for weeks but did not firm up his decision until after visiting Illinois. Early playing time was a factor.

“I can honestly see myself playing there as a freshman or a redshirt,” he said.

The Gamecocks had felt good about their chances with Stewart. But after attending a camp at Vanderbilt and receiving an offer, he decided on the Commodores.

“I just like the staff and the academics,” Stewart said. “It just felt like home.”