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Recruiting: Auburn weekend is new brainstorm

Posted on 06.01.09
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Phil Kornblut

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THE NEW FOOTBALL coaching staff at Auburn has brought new tricks to the recruiting process, such as using a stretch limousine to transport Tigers coaches to high schools around Alabama during the May evaluation period.

Something else Gene Chizik brought to the table is The Big Cat Weekend on the Plains — a late May weekend for the Tigers’ top 20 or so targets. The idea is to get these players together in a relaxed setting and sell them on the idea of playing at Auburn. The event took place over the weekend and included two of South Carolina’s top prospects — running back Marcus Lattimore (6 foot, 210 pounds) of Byrnes and offensive lineman Eric Mack (6-4, 310) of Calhoun County. Lattimore has been favoring Auburn since taking an unofficial visit there in mid- April. USC, Clemson, Georgia and Florida State have been high on his list.

Mack was joined by his mother and some of his coaches. He had visited Auburn before and has been strong on the Tigers. Now he says they lead. Mack plans to camp this weekend at Georgia Tech and at Alabama on June 28. He plans to visit Clemson with his mother this summer. USC remains a factor.

Lattimore cut his long list of offers to a final eight on Sunday night. Lattimore’s eight schools are USC, Clemson, Auburn, Alabama, North Carolina, Florida State, Penn State and Maryland.

“I had a blast, the whole weekend was great,” Lattimore said of Big Cat Weekend. “No academics to it, no football to it. I did talk to coach Chizik and he said I would have a big impact if I come. I think I can have a big impact because I’m used to their offense.”

Lattimore said he will take visits this summer to USC, Florida State, North Carolina and Penn State.

“If I had a top five, they would be No. 1,” said Mack of Auburn. He added that he does not have an official top five.

“I enjoyed myself. Everything stood out. I felt like I was a home. We did the Toomer’s Corner thing. We rolled Toomer’s Corner. That was the best experience I’ve ever had.”

Mack also talked some football with the coaches, and they are selling him on early playing time.

“They said I could come down there and big a big impact on their offense,” Mack said.

This coming weekend, Mack will camp at Georgia Tech. He will go to Georgia the following weekend and he will camp at Alabama on June 28. He has no dates set for summer visits or camps with USC or Clemson.

Clemson gained its fifth commitment for 2010 in defensive back Ricky Chaney (6-2, 210) of Battery Creek. He could play outside linebacker with the Tigers. Last season Chaney had 37 tackles with eight for loss, four sacks and four recovered fumbles. All five of Clemson’s commitments for next year are from South Carolina.

New offers for defensive back John Fulton (6-0, 180) of Manning are Auburn, North Carolina, Michigan and Virginia Tech. He has offers from USC, Clemson, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, N.C. State and Tennessee. Fulton said he will visit several schools and camps this summer, including USC and Clemson. His top five is Alabama, Florida, USC, Georgia and Tennessee.

Three offers rolled in for athlete Jerrell Priester (5-10, 185) of Allendale-Fairfax. Kentucky, Duke and Vanderbilt offered the speedster, pushing his total to six. He has offers from Notre Dame, East Carolina and S.C. State.

Clemson has offered athlete Victor Beasley (6-4, 220) of Adairsville, Ga., along with Duke, East Carolina, Louisville, Auburn and Stanford. USC also is showing interest and he plans to camp at Clemson and USC. His top five are Duke, Alabama, Auburn, East Carolina and Louisville.

Athlete Mario Jones (5-8, 180) of Coffeyville JC, Kansas, made an unofficial visit to USC last week before returning to Kansas over the weekend. Jones was escorted around campus by his recruiter Steve Spurrier Jr.

“He let me know where I stood on a scholarship,” the Myrtle Beach native said. “He said the chances I will get one are high.” Jones said he would commit if offered by the Gamecocks. He plays receiver and running back and is on track to graduate in December. He will have three years to play three at the next level.

Clemson has offered athlete Darius Lipford (6-4, 210) of Lenor, N.C., a Duke commitment who has offers from USC, East Carolina, Virginia, Western Carolina and Elon.

“I’m still comfortable with Duke but I want to get some visits in,” said Lipford, who is being recruited as a safety, outside linebacker and receiver. He plans to visit Clemson, USC, Duke, East Carolina and Virginia this fall. Last season, Lipford had 135 tackles and four interceptions.

Clemson is among many offers for running back Giovanni Bernard (5-8, 196) of Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Others are Miami, Florida State, Florida, Oklahoma, Auburn, West Virginia, Notre Dame, Oregon State, Nebraska and Alabama. He plans to narrow his list mid-summer. Last season, Bernard rushed for 1,586 yards and 18 touchdowns.

USC has offered defensive back Jake Skole (6-1, 185) of Roswell, Ga., for football and baseball.

“I don’t want to say I have any favorites,” Skole said, “but playing football and baseball at South Carolina would be pretty cool.”

Clemson has offered in baseball but not football. Skole has football offers from Virginia Tech, Maryland, Wake Forest, East Carolina and Samford. Last season he had 91 tackles with four interceptions. He caught 48 passes with 11 touchdowns.

Clemson and USC are in touch with defensive back Lo Wood (5-11, 176) of Apopka, Fla., but have not offered. He has offers from Mississippi, Georgia Tech, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, Notre Dame, West Virginia, Louisville, Purdue, Stanford and Central Florida. Wood plans to leave Florida for college. He has visited Notre Dame, Michigan and Georgia Tech. He had 35 tackles and five interceptions last season.

Defensive back Cadarious Sanders (6-0, 185) of LaGrange, Ga., has interest in USC and Clemson but has not been offered by either. “They both told me there were going to offer,” he said. Sanders has offers from LSU, Central Florida, South Florida, Louisville, Mississippi, Southern Miss, Middle Tennessee State and Appalachian State. Sanders said he wants to visit USC and Ole Miss this summer.

Clemson is a major player with defensive back Reggie Wilkins (5-9, 167) of Shelby, N.C. “I’m very interested in Clemson and playing under (secondary coach) coach Harbison,” Wilkins said. “They are real high on my list.” He has offers from the Tigers, N.C. State, Colorado, East Carolina, Marshall, Georgia Southern and Western Carolina. USC also is showing interest and wants to see him in camp. Wilkins is getting interest from Tennessee, North Carolina, Michigan State and Wake Forest.

USC made a verbal offer to athlete Jeremy Deering (6-2, 208) of Tampa. He is being recruited for running back, receiver and defensive back. Deering claims other offers from North Carolina, Central Florida, South Florida, West Virginia, Iowa, Mississippi, Purdue, Illinois, Kentucky, Kansas and Marshall. There is no favorite.

Clemson and USC are offers for tight end Kevin Haplea (6-4, 245) of Annandale, N.J. He has 19 offers, including Florida State, Miami, North Carolina, N.C. State, Oklahoma, Rutgers, Purdue and West Virginia. This summer he plans to visit Clemson, USC, Florida, Miami, Florida State and North Carolina. Last season, Haplea had 17 catches for 226 yards and two touchdowns. He also plays defense and had 58 tackles with 12 sacks.

USC has inquired about offensive lineman Etuale Feo (6-5, 340) of Butte JC, California, through his coach. Feo said he has not heard directly from the Gamecocks. Feo is a native of Washington State and will have three years to play two after graduating next spring.

Clemson and USC have shown interest in wide receiver Keith Mumphrey (6-2, 197) of Vienna, Ga., but have not offered. He has offers from Vanderbilt, Mississippi State, Oklahoma State, Arkansas, Michigan State and Middle Tennessee. He is hearing from Georgia, Nebraska, Georgia Tech, Florida State and Wake Forest.

Athlete Renoldo Grate (6-0, 186) of Kingstree plays quarterback and safety and has drawn interest from USC, according to his coach Will Lampkin. “They want him in a one-day camp for evaluation,” Lampkin said. Grate has visited Georgia Tech and has drawn interest from Furman, Harvard and Georgetown. Grate plans to graduate in January.

Airport quarterback W.T. Murden (6-2, 185) will attend camps this summer at Mississippi State, North Carolina, Vanderbilt, N.C. State, Illinois, Maryland, Wisconsin, Virginia and East Carolina. He has not been offered.

Defensive lineman Tyran Veal (5-10, 255) of Keenan signed with North Greenville. Veal was a two-year starter for the Raiders.

Junior quarterback Price Litton (6-3, 209) of Charlotte is getting strong interest from USC, Clemson, Notre Dame and Georgia. “South Carolina told his coach he’s their top quarterback prospect for 2011,” Litton’s father said. “He talks to Clemson and Georgia about once a week.” Litton is drawing interest from Florida, Tennessee, Illinois, Virginia, North Carolina, Colorado and UCLA. He plans to camp this summer at USC, Clemson, Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina and Notre Dame.

Clemson has made a verbal offer to junior linebacker Lateek Townsend (6-3, 198) of Marlboro County, according to his coach Dean Boyd. Townsend is drawing interest from USC, North Carolina, N.C. State, Georgia Tech, Maryland and Virginia Tech. Townsend made 191 tackles last season.

Basketball. USC offered 6-8 R.J. Slawson of Fort Dorchester. He has offers from the College of Charleston, S.C. State and UNC Wilmington. Auburn is close to offering. Slawson said Clemson has invited him to camp and wants to evaluate him there. He is hearing from Temple, Georgia and Memphis.

USC remains interested in 6-7 Will Yeguete of Florida Air Academy in Melbourne, Fla., according to his coach. “They are recruiting him heavily, to be quite honest,” Aubin Goporo said. USC has not offered. Florida and Alabama are showing interest. He has offers from Virginia Tech and Auburn.

USC Aiken signed 6-8 Kyle Cannon, who is transferring from Oklahoma, and 5-10 Re’mon Nelson of Canal Winchester, Ohio.

Baseball. Junior centerfielder Jake Williams is transferring to USC from Wofford according to the BigSpur.com and could be eligible right away because Wofford does not offer his major and USC does. Williams hit .304 with nine home runs this season. He was a freshman All-American in 2008.

USC added a commitment for their 2010 class from RHP/INF Drake Thomason of Eastside. He is a quarterback for the Eagles’ football team and passed for 2,500 yards last season.

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