Monday, Jun. 29, 2009

Recruiting: OL Williams sees Ill., picks USC

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.”

Stewart also had offers from East Carolina, Air Force, Appalachian State and Western Carolina.

USC also added a commitment last week from defensive back Brison Williams (6-0, 180) of Warner Robins, Ga. Williams impressed the Gamecocks secondary coaches during a camp performance and earned an offer as a cornerback. USC is his only offer, but he has also drawn interest from Florida, N.C. State and Purdue.

USC has 11 commitments for the 2010 class, four for the offensive line. A fifth O-lineman commitment is expected to fall Tuesday when offensive lineman Corey Robinson (6-7, 295) of Havelock, N.C., makes his announcement at a news conference at his school. Robinson has drawn interest from N.C. State, North Carolina, East Carolina and Duke.

Offensive lineman Eric Mack (6-4, 310) of Calhoun County spent much of Wednesday at USC with his mother. “I saw the campus and checked out the academics,” Mack said. “And my mom loved it. But I’m not ready to make a decision. Everybody is even. I’ll decide on signing day.”

Mack plans to visit Clemson, North Carolina and N.C. State this summer.

Another offensive lineman considering a USC offer is Jake DeBoef (6-8, 270) of State College, Pa. He has offers from Temple, Purdue, Buffalo, Ohio, Miami of Ohio, North Carolina, N.C. State and Illinois. Penn State is interested and he was at a camp there over the weekend. DeBoef plans to visit USC in July on his way home from Florida’s camp. He plans to visit North Carolina and N.C. State on that trip. He does not have a favorite.

Byrnes running back Marcus Lattimore (6-0, 210) and teammate wide receiver Nick Jones (5-10, 165) visited USC last week. USC is one of the final eight with Lattimore along with Clemson, Auburn, Alabama, North Carolina, Florida State, Penn State and Maryland. He does not have a favorite.

Jones has offers from Michigan, Northern Illinois and Georgia Southern. He likes the Gamecocks but is not ready to name a favorite.

Clemson and USC will make the cut with defensive end/offensive lineman Henry Anderson (6-6, 245) of College Park, Ga., when he gets to a final 10. Anderson said Georgia Tech, Stanford and Virginia will be on the list. He will visit Wisconsin on Tuesday and might see Michigan. He will camp at Florida State on July 10 and he plans to visit Georgia Tech.

Athlete Darius Lipford (6-4, 210) of Lenoir, N.C., has been a Duke commitment but is talking to Clemson, USC and others. He has visited Duke and was scheduled to visit Virginia last Thursday. He said Clemson and USC want him to visit and he will try to get to both.

Linebacker Ferlando Bohanna (6-0, 240) of Memphis favors Clemson by a small margin over North Carolina.

“Coach (Kevin) Steel has been following up with me since the 10th grade and we have a good chemistry,” Bohanna said. “He knows a lot about me.”

Bohanna said Oregon would become his favorite if they offered because his cousin is an assistant coach there. He has offers from Middle Tennessee and Southern Miss.

Clemson and USC missed the cut with defensive back Cody Riggs (5-9, 165) of Fort Lauderdale when he trimmed his list to Florida, Georgia, Notre Dame, Tennessee and Florida State.

Riggs’s teammate, defensive back Keion Payne (6-0, 165), remains interested in USC, which is one of his 19 offers. He talked recently with recruiter Jeep Hunter.

“I think they are a great school and I can see myself there,” Payne said. He has offers from Miami, Michigan, Oklahoma State, Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee, Florida State, Oregon and Mississippi.

Tight end Neil Brasford (6-5, 235) of Jacksonville, Fla., was scheduled to stop by USC over the weekend as part of a three-school tour that included Wake Forest and Virginia Tech. He has been to Florida State for a camp and to Florida for an unofficial visit. Brasford has offers from USC, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Florida State, Arkansas, Indiana, East Carolina, Miami and Minnesota. He does not have favorites.

Defensive end Jordan Allen (6-6, 258) of West Monroe, La., has a Clemson offer along with Michigan, LSU, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Texas, Minnesota, Colorado, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Southern Miss, Tulane and others. He does not have favorites but likes the SEC schools and Texas the most.

Offensive lineman Arie Kouandjio (6-6, 314) of Hyattsville, Md., added offers from Notre Dame and Auburn, pushing him above 25. USC also is an offer and he said he is still considering the Gamecocks. He has visited Rutgers and West Virginia.

Wide receiver Chris Dunkley (5-11, 170) of Pahokee, Fla., had planned to visit USC early last week but could not make it. He plans to visit USC in the fall. Dunkley has more than 30 offers.

USC remains involved with defensive lineman D.J. McCellion (6-0, 275) of Delray Beach, Fla. He camped at Minnesota and Georgia and will be going to Central Florida and Tennessee. He plans to take official visits this fall to USC, Tennessee, Oklahoma State, Florida and Kansas.

Defensive back Dovant’a Davis (6-2, 175) of Gainesville, Fla., plans to make USC one of his official visits. He has offers from the Gamecocks, Louisville, Arkansas, Central Florida, Miami, Rutgers, Iowa State, Troy and Liberty. He is hearing from Florida, Mississippi, Kentucky, LSU and others. He has camped at LSU and UCF.

Clemson and USC remain under consideration by defensive lineman Michael Thornton (6-2, 276) of Stone Mountain, Ga., who will cut his list to five in July. His top three are Auburn, Miami and Mississippi. Thornton said he will visit Clemson in mid-July, and he still likes USC because it was his first offer. He has been to Georgia, Georgia Tech and Alabama and will try to visit N.C. State, Mississippi, Tennessee and Arkansas.

Clemson commitment defensive back Breshaud Breeland of Allendale-Fairfax sustained a knee injury in a seven-on-seven passing league Friday at Orangeburg-Wilkinson. The extent of the injury will not be known until an MRI is performed.

Defensive lineman Thomas Teal (6-2, 315) of Marlboro County committed to N.C. State. He had offers from Baylor, Duke, East Carolina, Illinois and S.C. State.

Wide receiver Anthony Creecy (6-0, 195) of Durham, N.C., has offers from Clemson and USC, but he committed to N.C. State last week.

USC offer defensive back Jonathan Mincy (5-11, 170) of Decatur, Ga., committed to Auburn.

Another USC target, defensive lineman Tavaris Barnes (6-5 250) of Jacksonville, Fla., committed last week to Florida State.

Basketball. Stacey Poole (6-5) of Jacksonville, Fla., has been targeted by Clemson and USC. He has offers from Indiana, Florida, Xavier and Miami. He likes Oklahoma and Louisville. Poole said the Tigers and Gamecocks have been on him since early in his recruiting and he likes both. He visited Clemson earlier this month and attended a team camp at USC. He does not have a favorite and plans to sign in November. Last season Poole averaged 26 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists per game.

Baseball. LHP Wes Cook (6-2) of Central Alabama JC committed to USC for the 2010 class. Cook is a native of Montgomery, Ala. As a freshman last season he was 10-0 with a 2.29 ERA. He struck out 81 in 94 innings and walked 26.

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