W
Wes Mitchell
Guest
-- Chris, Josh and I were at Spartanburg High today for the first two sessions of Shrine Bowl practice. South Carolina has just one commitment in four-star Summerville (S.C.) OL Zack Bailey in the game this year. This should come as no surprise, but Bailey is a massive human being, and there's no doubt that he's got the size to play at the SEC level. When Bailey gets his hands on a defensive lineman, it's over. Bailey is 100 percent firm in his commitment and isn't considering other programs.
-- I spoke with former South Carolina cornerback commitment Jaire Alexander and Alexander will definitely enroll at Louisville in January. He's incredibly solid in that commitment. South Carolina spoke with Alexander right after his commitment to the Cardinals and wanted him to take some time to just think about things, but Alexander told the coaches that he had completely made up his mind and Louisville was where he wants to be, according to Alexander.
The 5-foot-11, 170-pounder says there hasn't been any communication with South Carolina as of late. Alexander said that Steve Spurrier's comments about possibly only being at South Carolina 2-3 years played into his thought process and that he didn't want to go somewhere that there might be a scheme change or a coach that liked to bring in different types of players at his position. Alexander also said Louisville reminds him of Charlotte. Alexander was playing wide receiver for the North Carolina Shrine Bowl team.
-- I've mentioned that I'm high on class of 2015 Spartanburg (S.C.) ATH Cedarius Rookard before and Rookard definitely passes the eye test, though it's hard to get much of a read on him as a safety prospect since there wasn't any hitting today. I've seen Rookard play safety, cornerback, receiver and returner, though, and as I've said before, some people believe he's a better pure athlete than 2016 stud running back Tavien Feaster. Rookard is just simply a playmaker and the catch he made in the state title game ended up on SportsCenter Top 10.
South Carolina offensive line coach Shawn Elliott was by Spartanburg High last Tuesday to check up on Rookard and Feaster and the Gamecocks have told Rookard that they're waiting to see how he does his latest SAT test and that he could get an offer, according to Rookard. We'll, of course, double check with that on the South Carolina end of things to verify the possibility of that offer. Rookard is being recruited hard by a number of smaller schools but told me that North Carolina and Maryland are the other bigger programs who, like South Carolina, have told him that they're monitoring his grades moving forward.
-- Four-star JUCO defensive end commitment Marquavius Lewis' signing ceremony will take place at the Greenwood HS auditorium at 4:00 on Wednesday. Auburn has done all it can to remain in the mix for Lewis, but the word out of Greenwood has been that Lewis is solid to the Gamecocks, though we'll certainly continue to monitor the situation leading up to Wednesday. Lewis met with South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier, defensive line coach Deke Adams and defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward on Saturday.
-- South Carolina met with Palmetto Bay (Fla.) Westminster Christian four-star running back Jordan Cronkrite last Tuesday. I'm told that visit went extremely well and that there's a chance that Cronkrite will take an official visit to South Carolina. He's already taken official visits to West Virginia and Notre Dame.
-- Northwestern (S.C.) Rock Hill ATH Dupree Hart is a great athlete and made an excellent leaping catch during the afternoon session, but he's not near the 5-foot-9 he's listed at. Hart is a great high school football player, but his size has certainly kept him from garnering major offers.
-- South Carolina is no longer recruiting running back Johnny Frasier.
-- I spoke with former South Carolina cornerback commitment Jaire Alexander and Alexander will definitely enroll at Louisville in January. He's incredibly solid in that commitment. South Carolina spoke with Alexander right after his commitment to the Cardinals and wanted him to take some time to just think about things, but Alexander told the coaches that he had completely made up his mind and Louisville was where he wants to be, according to Alexander.
The 5-foot-11, 170-pounder says there hasn't been any communication with South Carolina as of late. Alexander said that Steve Spurrier's comments about possibly only being at South Carolina 2-3 years played into his thought process and that he didn't want to go somewhere that there might be a scheme change or a coach that liked to bring in different types of players at his position. Alexander also said Louisville reminds him of Charlotte. Alexander was playing wide receiver for the North Carolina Shrine Bowl team.
-- I've mentioned that I'm high on class of 2015 Spartanburg (S.C.) ATH Cedarius Rookard before and Rookard definitely passes the eye test, though it's hard to get much of a read on him as a safety prospect since there wasn't any hitting today. I've seen Rookard play safety, cornerback, receiver and returner, though, and as I've said before, some people believe he's a better pure athlete than 2016 stud running back Tavien Feaster. Rookard is just simply a playmaker and the catch he made in the state title game ended up on SportsCenter Top 10.
South Carolina offensive line coach Shawn Elliott was by Spartanburg High last Tuesday to check up on Rookard and Feaster and the Gamecocks have told Rookard that they're waiting to see how he does his latest SAT test and that he could get an offer, according to Rookard. We'll, of course, double check with that on the South Carolina end of things to verify the possibility of that offer. Rookard is being recruited hard by a number of smaller schools but told me that North Carolina and Maryland are the other bigger programs who, like South Carolina, have told him that they're monitoring his grades moving forward.
-- Four-star JUCO defensive end commitment Marquavius Lewis' signing ceremony will take place at the Greenwood HS auditorium at 4:00 on Wednesday. Auburn has done all it can to remain in the mix for Lewis, but the word out of Greenwood has been that Lewis is solid to the Gamecocks, though we'll certainly continue to monitor the situation leading up to Wednesday. Lewis met with South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier, defensive line coach Deke Adams and defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward on Saturday.
-- South Carolina met with Palmetto Bay (Fla.) Westminster Christian four-star running back Jordan Cronkrite last Tuesday. I'm told that visit went extremely well and that there's a chance that Cronkrite will take an official visit to South Carolina. He's already taken official visits to West Virginia and Notre Dame.
-- Northwestern (S.C.) Rock Hill ATH Dupree Hart is a great athlete and made an excellent leaping catch during the afternoon session, but he's not near the 5-foot-9 he's listed at. Hart is a great high school football player, but his size has certainly kept him from garnering major offers.
-- South Carolina is no longer recruiting running back Johnny Frasier.
