Monday, Mar. 02, 2009

Recruiting: Tigers pick up second commitment

CLEMSON PICKED UP its second commitment for 2010 last week: linebacker Jake Nicolopulos (6-foot-2, 225 pounds) of T.L. Hanna. His size makes him unlike any other linebacker on the Clemson roster.

“They want a big mike linebacker to start plugging up holes,” Nicolopulos said. “The other linebackers are kind of skinny and get pushed around by the linemen.”

Last season, Nicolopulos produced 125 tackles with 4 sacks. He has offers from Vanderbilt, Cal and Kentucky, but he grew up a Clemson fan and has attended games at Death Valley his entire life.

Nicolopulos attended Clemson’s junior day last month without an offer. When it came late last week, he eagerly accepted.

“I didn’t think it would come this early,” he said. “I was real excited. My mom was in shock. I’ve always wanted to play football for Clemson.”

Nicolopulos is the first prospect to commit from the 50-plus recruits who attended Clemson’s first junior day last month. The Tigers will have another junior day on Saturday.

Running back Marcus Lattimore (6-0, 210) of Byrnes attended USC’s junior day last month and might attend Clemson’s on Saturday. Lattimore added offers last week from Notre Dame, Auburn and Michigan.

Irmo running back Mustafa Green (6-1, 195) also is considering going to Clemson’s junior day on Saturday. He has offers from the Tigers, USC, North Carolina, West Virginia, Oregon, Notre Dame, Florida and Georgia. He also is thinking about going to Florida for a junior day.

Linebacker Ty Linton (6-2, 210) of Charlotte made an unofficial visit to USC on Wednesday.

“They are really interested and wanted to size me up,” said Linton, who also is a baseball prospect. He has offers from Wisconsin, Duke, West Virginia, Illinois and Miami of Ohio. Clemson also is interested in him for both sports.

Also visiting USC on Wednesday were wide receiver AntuawnBlue (6-1, 185) and defensive back Anquawn Blue (6-1, 190) of Dillon. Antuawn is the more highly coveted of the twins. He was at Clemson’s junior day and was scheduled to be at Tennessee’s on Saturday. USC and Clemson have not offered but are considering doing so.

Running back Mack Brown (5-11, 192) of Atlanta has been to junior days at USC and Florida, and he made an unofficial visit to Georgia on Saturday. He also plans to visit Tennessee soon. Clemson also has offered along with Oklahoma, Georgia Tech, Duke, Louisville, Oregon, Michigan and Arkansas.

Sumter quarterback Stephen Curtis (6-3, 220) attended USC’s junior day last month and gave video to the Gamecock coaches. He also talked with recruiter Ellis Johnson and quarterbacks coach G.A. Mangus. He was scheduled to go Tennessee this past Saturday. He has been to Duke for a junior day. Curtis has been offered by Furman and is also hearing from Maryland, N.C. State, UCLA, LSU, Vanderbilt and North Carolina.

Wide receiver James Baldwin (6-3, 182) of Southern Pines, N.C., has been hearing from USC. He has an offer from East Carolina and attended N.C. State’s junior day. He was scheduled to be at North Carolina on Saturday. Baldwin has had contact from Miami, N.C. State, UCLA, Wisconsin, Michigan State and Tennessee.

Offensive lineman T.J. Leifheit (6-7, 300) of Wilmington, N.C., planned to attend North Carolina’s junior day Saturday. The Tar Heels have offered along with Clemson, USC, N.C. State, Wake Forest, Tennessee, Florida State, California, Texas Tech, Duke, Maryland and East Carolina. He has been to junior days at N.C. State and Duke and has taken an unofficial visit to Wake Forest. He plans to visit Clemson, Florida State, Texas Tech, California and Tennessee.

Defensive back Jonathan Mincy (5-10, 175) of Decatur, Ga., was at Clemson’s junior day last month and likes the Tigers along with Tennessee and Georgia Tech. Clemson has not yet offered. He has offers from Tennessee and Mississippi. He also is hearing from Kentucky and Georgia. He planned to attend Tennessee’s junior day during the weekend. He also attended Georgia Tech’s junior day.

Linebacker Neiron Ball (6-4, 210) of Jackson, Ga., has offers from Clemson, Tennessee, Maryland, Alabama, Syracuse and Oregon. He planned to attend Tennessee’s junior day Saturday and might at Clemson’s this weekend. He also has been hearing from USC, Georgia, Duke, Louisville and Georgia Tech.

Linebacker Prince Shembo (6-2, 225) of Charlotte attended USC’s junior day last month and plans to be at Clemson on Saturday. He was scheduled to be at North Carolina during the weekend. He has offers from N.C. State, Duke, Stanford, Virginia Tech, East Carolina and Illinois. He can also play defensive end.

Athlete Gary Peters (6-1, 180) of Conyers, Ga., plans to be at Clemson’s junior day on Saturday. He has offers from the Tigers, USC, Alabama, Auburn, Tennessee, East Carolina, Maryland and Central Florida. He went to Georgia’s junior day and favors the Bulldogs and Florida. He plans to go to Florida for a junior day. That will be his third visit to Gainesville. He wants to take another visit to Georgia and one to USC. He also is hearing from LSU and Southern Cal.

Wide receiver Tehvyn Brantley (5-10, 170) of Durham, N.C., plans to be at Clemson on Saturday. He has been to Southern Cal’s junior day and has been invited to one at California.

Maryland is showing strong interest in Chesnee running back Josh Jones, who also plays linebacker. He also is hearing from Duke, Georgia, North Carolina and Oklahoma State.

Defensive back Dale Trimble (5-10, 180) of Gadsden, Ala., was scheduled to be at Tennessee’s junior day on Saturday. He also has been to Clemson and Alabama junior days. He has offers from Clemson, Tennessee, Auburn and Mississippi State. He’s also getting interest from Florida.

Manning defensive back John Fulton (6-0, 180) attended Alabama’s junior day last month and was impressed by the school’s football history and tradition. “They talked about nickel packages and dime packages and me having a chance to compete early,” Fulton said. He plans to visit USC and Clemson soon. He has offers from USC, Clemson, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, N.C. State and Tennessee. He does not have a favorite.

A.C. Flora Shrine Bowl kicker Grant Clayton will walk on this fall at The Citadel. He will be given a chance in camp to win the kicking job and if he does, he will go on scholarship.

Basketball news. Junior Damarcus Harrison (6-3) of Greenwood is getting strong interest from BYU, and he is hearing from the College of Charleston.

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