Recruiting: Star system has flaws, coach says

USC DEFENSIVE LINE coach Brad Lawing has recruited hundreds of players over his more than 20 years as a college coach. He has signed players rated highly by the recruiting analysts and players whom the analysts ignored.

In Lawing’s opinion, the rating of players and the ranking of signing classes is a scam.

“I can take a three-star and make him a four-star, and I can take a four-star and make him a three- or two-star with the contacts I have,” Lawing said. “That’s how ridiculous recruiting on the Internet is. I took Chris Culliver (USC safety) from a three- to a five-star in three weeks. All you’ve got to do is talk to the right people.”

Lawing added that a danger of the rating systems is the fans are sometimes misled about the talent level of a prospect and a class overall.

“There are a lot of staffs getting fired for unrealistic expectations,” Lawing said.

Lawing has been recruiting defensive lineman Kelcy Quarles (6-foot-5, 270 pounds) of Greenwood, who has been a USC commitment since November. Quarles had been looking at other schools as interest in him grew, but last week he and he his father decided to end the process and stick with the Gamecocks.

“We’re finished with it,” Buddy Quarles said. Quarles plans to graduate in December and enroll in January.

Offensive lineman Trammell Williams (6-2, 260) of Jacksonville, Fla., picked up a USC offer last week and is favoring the Gamecocks. “Coach (Steve) Spurrier called and offered me,” Williams said. “It was a bit overwhelming talking to him, but I kind of figured they might offer me.” He has an offer from Vanderbilt and is expecting one from Miami. He is hearing from Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Tennessee, Boston College and Rutgers.

USC is showing interest in offensive lineman Perry Meiklejohn (6-3, 307) of Miami, who has offers from Central Florida and Tennessee State. He is hearing from Tennessee, Miami, Michigan, Marshall, Georgia Tech and Kentucky.

Offensive lineman David Beasley (6-4, 316) of Columbus, Ga., has offers from USC, Southern Miss, Louisville, UCLA, Arkansas, Arkansas State, Mississippi, South Alabama, Memphis and others. Clemson is showing interest. Beasley favors Louisville and Southern Miss because they have been showing the most interest. Beasley said Clemson came by his school recently, and he is hoping for an offer from the Tigers.

Defensive back Sharrod Golightly (5-11 175) of Decatur, Ga., is very interested in USC and holds an offer from the Gamecocks. “They put a lot of defensive backs into the league (NFL),” Golightly said. “You cannot ignore that.” He has offers from Mississippi, Vanderbilt, UAB, Tennessee and New Mexico. He is getting interest from Georgia, Georgia Tech, Oklahoma and Indiana.

USC offered Byrnes wide receiver Nick Jones (5-10, 165) last week and he now favors the Gamecocks. “I feel real good about it,” Jones said. “It made me feel like they care about me a lot. It made me feel real good about the South Carolina program.” Jones said he wants to make a decision before the season. He has offers from Northern Illinois and Georgia Southern and is getting strong interest from Penn State. Jones said he will camp at USC, Penn State and Florida.

USC is one of 24 offers for offensive lineman Andrew Donnal (6-7, 280) of Whitehouse, Ohio. Some other offers are Michigan, Michigan State, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Purdue, Vanderbilt, Maryland, Kansas and N.C. State.

The Gamecocks also offered offensive lineman Danny Foose (6-6 310) of Paramus, N.J., and he is interested in the idea of playing for Spurrier. “He’s a great coach and has been for a long time,” Foose said. “It would be an honor to play for him.” Foose also has offers from Rutgers, Boston College, Louisville, South Florida, Minnesota, Illinois, Akron and Stanford.

Another New Jersey lineman with a USC offer is defensive lineman James Kittredge (6-4, 255) of Ramsey, whose father played for the Gamecocks in the early ’70s. He holds offers from Vanderbilt, Duke, N.C. State, Michigan State, Rutgers, Louisville, Central Florida, Pitt, Maryland, Colorado, Virginia and West Virginia.

USC is an offer for tight end Trey Millard (6-3, 250) of Columbia, Mo., and he is interested. “They just put their tight end in the NFL and he played a lot like I would play,” Millard said. Millard has offers from Oklahoma, Kansas, Wyoming, Arkansas, Missouri, Syracuse, Iowa and Stanford. He is hearing from Oklahoma State.

USC made an offer last week to defensive lineman Darius Kilgo (6-4, 305) of Charlotte. He has offers from Illinois, Tennessee, Maryland, East Carolina and Minnesota. Kilgo is getting interest from Auburn, North Carolina, Duke, N.C. State, Georgia Tech and Georgia. He will camp at USC, Duke, North Carolina and N.C. State and said his top three are USC, Tennessee and East Carolina.

Athlete Mario Jones (5-8, 180) of Coffeyville JC in Kansas is drawing USC interest. The Myrtle Beach native plans to visit this week while home for summer break. Jones, who plays receiver and running back, said he is getting interest from TCU and Marshall. He is on track to graduate in December and will have three years of eligibility.

Clemson and USC continue to show interest in tight end Cameron Fordham (6-4, 235) of Duluth, Ga., but have not offered. He has been offered by Syracuse, Central Florida, UAB and Richmond. He is getting interest from Auburn and Tennessee. Fordham said USC wants to see him in camp. He will camp at Tennessee on June 2. Fordham said he likes Clemson, Auburn, Central Florida, Tennessee and Virginia Tech.

Defensive back Tony Grimes (6-0, 170) of Hollywood, Fla., added offers from Georgia, Alabama and Ohio State. USC is one of his offers.

Recruiters going through Marlboro County High this spring took a long look at offensive lineman/defensive lineman Thomas Teal (6-1, 325) according to coach Dean Boyd. “South Carolina is real high on him, and so is Clemson,” Boyd said. “Neither one has offered. USC wants him as an offensive lineman but they are concerned about his height. Coach Steele (of Clemson) likes him a lot as a defensive lineman.” Teal has offers from Georgia Tech, Illinois and N.C. State. He is getting interest from North Carolina.

Recruiters also checked out offensive lineman Thomas Brown (6-5, 2755), quarterback Elliott Alford (6-2, 185) and defensive end Lee Pegues (6-2, 255). Pegues has offers from Duke and Georgia Southern.

Boiling Springs offensive lineman Austin Crowe (6-3, 190) has been invited to camps at Vanderbilt, N.C. State and East Carolina. He is also getting interest from The Citadel and Wofford.

Coaches from Clemson, USC, Buffalo, Western Michigan, Tennessee, N.C. State, North Carolina, Vanderbilt and Rutgers were among those checking out Sumter quarterback Stephen Curtis (6-3, 220) and offensive lineman Marques Pair (6-6, 260) of Sumter High this spring. They have not been offered.

Linebacker Ty Linton (6-2, 210) of Charlotte, who drew interest from USC and Clemson for football and baseball, committed to North Carolina last week.

Basketball. USC women’s coach Dawn Staley signed 5-8 Ebony Wilson of Rend Lake JC in Illinois. Wilson is a New Jersey native and will have three years of eligibility. Wilson was the conference freshman of the year last season after averaging 15 points and 6 rebounds per game. ...

Clemson’s men’s recruiting class is ranked 25th nationally by ESPN.