July 07, 2009
Mack at Klimp Sin Tuesday, USC Wednesday
By Phil Kornblut

Calhoun County OL Eric Mack (6-4 310) spent part of Tuesday at Clemson with his mother and some of his coaches. Mack said it was a very productive visit. "I got a better feeling for Clemson," he said. "When the recruiting first started, I didn't know much about Clemson and I was pushing them off. The more I go up there, the better feeling I get for their coaching staff." Tiger head coach Dabo Swinney was on vacation so Mack spent much of his time with offensive coordinator Billy Napier. "He got to know me better," Mack said. "He talked a little bit about recruiting, how badly they need me. He talked about if I workd hard, and if I pick them, how I might be starting and be an all ACC player." Mack also said his mother enjoyed the visit. "She got a chance to see everything and get a feeling for all that stuff," he said. Wednesday Mack plans to be at USC, not so much to see the school or the coaches but to see his good friend freshman receiver Alshon Jeffery. "I'm going to watch him workout and then go back to his dorm room and chill a little bit," Mack said. "He said the workouts are really killing him right now. I also want to watch the linemen work out." Mack also plans to take visits in the coming weeks to North Carolina, NC State, Florida, Florida State and Miami. He has not cut his list and doesn't have favorites. "Everything is pretty much wide open," Mack said.

July 07, 2009
Gibson commits to USC
By Phil Kornblut

OL Cody Gibson (6-6 260) of Tallahassee, FL committed Tuesday to USC. Gibson made an unofficial visit to USC Sunday and Monday and contacted recruiter Jay Graham Tuesday with his pledge. "I loved the facilities," Gibson said Tuesday night. "Coach (Eric) Wolford is a great coach that I felt a connection with. He has a really good background. At Illinois he had two of the best offensive lines in the country. He's a good coach and I can't wait to play for him. I talked to (redshirt freshman OL) TJ Johnson and and he said all the new coaches made the spirit of the team go up. He said coach Wolford bonded with the offensive line and made them a closer unit. I also got to meet coach Spurrier. He was very cool." Gibson said he also liked the plans the Gamecocks had laid out for him as a future left tackle. "They told me two years from now they expect me to be ready to play," he said. "Coach Wolford told me that multiple times. Getting to play early is a big factor. They are graduating ten offensive lineman over the next two years." Gibson committed to the Gamecocks over offers from Maryland, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa State, East Carolina, Southern Miss, Tulane and Marshall. He is the 13th overall commitment for the Gamecocks and the sixth for the offensive line.

July 08, 2009
Deering now has official USC offer
By Phil Kornblut

ATH Jeremy Deering (6-2 208) of Tampa thought he had only a verbal offer from USC. But as it turns out, Deering has been officially offered by the Gamecocks. The written offer was just late getting to him through the mail. Deering also has offers from North Carolina, South Florida, Central Florida, West Virginia, Iowa, Ole Miss, Purdue, Illinois, Kentucky, Kansas and Marshall. He has not yet narrowed his list.

July 08, 2009
Ash gets another offer
By Eric Guimaraes

DL Richard Ash (6-4 270) of Pahokee, FL has been offered by Southern Cal. He really likes the Trojans. "There probably my favorite right now," said Ash. Ash also has offers from USC, Florida, FSU, Ole Miss, Tennessee, South Florida and many others. He has 22 in all. Ash had favored the Gators but has cooled on them lately. He says he would like to visit USC if "I can get away". However, he says he has not heard from the Gamecocks lately. On the other hand, Ash is hearing from the Vols regularly. "I get mail from them almost every day," said Ash, "I've got a good relationship with the coaches." He has visited Tennessee, Florida, and Florida International this summer and is visiting South Florida tomorrow. Ash has enjoyed his trips saying, "They all have really nice facilities." Ash has not made a list of which schools he will visit on his officials but did say Southern Cal will be one of them.

July 08, 2009
Jeffery Gets First Offer
By Phil Kornblut

Tennessee has made a verbal offer to Calhoun County WR Shamir Jeffery (6-2 195) and will make the offer official on September 1st, the first day juniors can be given official offers. The Vols are the first to make an offer to Jeffery who is expected to be one of the state's top prospects in the 2011 class. He is the brother of USC freshman receiver Alshon Jeffery. USC and Clemson also are expected to offer him.

July 08, 2009
Dunkley loses interest in USC

Just a few weeks ago WR Chris Dunkley (5-11 170) of Pahokee, FL seemed pretty strong on USC, but now he says he has cooled on the Gamecocks. "They haven't talked to me in a while," said Dunkley. "It's too late now. I'm done with them." Dunkley had planned to visit USC in June but the visit never materialized. Later this month, he will camp at both Florida and FSU. Both schools have offered. He also has offers from USC, Miami, Vanderbilt, Boston College, Georgia, Tennessee, West Virginia and Alabama among many other schools. Dunkley did not name a favorite.

July 08, 2009
Florida corner has USC in lead group
By Phil Kornblut

USC is among the leaders for DB Ricardo Allen (5-10 176) of Daytona Beach, FL. Allen said his favorties right now are USC, Wake Forest, Purdue and Michigan. Allen says the way USC deploys their corners is what makes the Gamecocks appealing to him. "The corners they play, they put you out there to play," Allen said. "The corners can play at average size. I like that they play smaller corners." Allen also is getting interest from Florida State and Miami. He has camped at Miami and will go to Florida State Saturday for a one day camp. He plans to visit USC at the end of the month. Allen said he doesn't have a leader. Last season he had 4 interceptions and said only 5 catches were made against him all season.

July 08, 2009
Florida receiver counts USC among favorites
By Phil Kornblut

USC is one of the frontrunners right now for slot receiver Ace Sanders (5-9 165) of Bradenton, FL. "I told my mom that's going to be one of my official visits," Sanders said. "Steve Spurrier, that's a big part of it right now. He's a national championship coach, a legend. It would be an honor to play for him. And, they like to throw the ball, too." West Virginia, Purdue and South Florida are the other team's on Sanders's favorites list. There is not leader. He also has offers from Indiana, Syracuse and Iowa and is getting interest from Florida, Texas Tech, Georgia and Florida State. He has camped at South Florida and Florida and will camp at Georgia next weekend. Sanders said he'd like to make a decision by the end of August or in early September. Last season he had 31 catches for 600 yards and 6 touchdowns.

July 08, 2009
Frazier to visit USC
By Eric Guimaraes

DL Kendrick Frazier (6-3 260) of Denmark Olar says he will visit USC on July 27. Frazier says he was invited by correspondance. "I think there is something going on that day," he said. "They invited me to attend so I'm going." Frazier has offers from USC, Kentucky, NC State, Maryland, Coastal Carolina, and SC State. He says Clemson is nearing an offer. Frazier says there is an "85 percent chance" he will choose a South Carolina school. "It's closer to home," said Frazier. "If I ever need my family, they're just a phone call away. That isn't so easy if I leave the state." He likes both Clemson and South Carolina saying, "you are always playing in front of 75,000 fans against tough competition." He also says he likes the idea of playing in the southeast region. "This has got to be the toughest area to play in the United States of America because we're a bunch of country boys and we're coming out you strong." Frazier did not name any favorites.

What happened here?

JD

From what I'm hearing/reading, he never really showed great interest in USC, we have several other WR prospects we are high on that show greater interest in us, and we aren't taking a lot of WRs for this class. Probably a combination of all the above. Dunkley is a great prospect no doubt, and most likely would have been at or near the top of our offer list at his position, but apparently the coaches felt he was a waste of effort....

July 09, 2009
USC among offers for Florida safety
By Phil Kornblut

DB Brian Robinson (5-11 190) of Ft. Lauderdale, FL is holding eight offers right now including one from USC. Some of the others are Rutgers, Tennessee and Miami. Robinson said Florida State, Purdue and Wake Forest are also very interested. Robinson said he's looking to learn more about USC. His only camp activity this summer was at Rutgers. He does not have a favorite.

July 09, 2009
Bama LB still interested in USC, TATERS
By Eric Guimaraes

LB Barry James (6-1 260) of Mobile, AL says he would like to take official visits to both USC and Clemson. "I want to go during the football season, hopefully," said James. This summer, James has camped at South Alabama for a 7 on 7 camp and go to day camps at Auburn and Alabama on July 17 and 18. He says he is being told that he may get larger in college and be moved to the line. "They were telling me I'll probably gain weight in college and play defensive line or something like that," he said. James has offers from USC, Clemson, South Alabama, Arkansas, Arkansas State, and Auburn. He is garnering interest from Alabama, Mississippi State, Southern Miss, Tennessee, Notre Dame, and FSU. He does not have any favorites.

July 10, 2009
In state junior to visit USC Sunday
By Phil Kornblut

OL Brandon Shell (6-7 290) of Goose Creek will make an unofficial visit to USC Sunday. Shell is the nephew of NFL Hall of Fame offensive lineman Art Shell and is regarded as one of the state's top prospects for the 2011 class. Clemson, Maryland and NC State are among the other schools already showing strong interest and expected to make official offers September 1st.

July 11, 2009
Moore, Hamilton announce decisions
By Phil Kornblut

Two players who held offers from USC made their college commitment announcements Saturday. Linebacker Kendall Moore (6-3 231) of Raleigh committed to Notre Dame, and DB Jakar Hamilton (6-2 190) of Georgia Military and Strom Thurmond High School announced for Georgia.