As has been mentioned on TigerIllustrated.com, Clemson has taken pole position for Virginia defensive end Clelin Ferrell at this time. Rivals.com's Adam Friedman reports that he is set to announce on Wednesday afternoon.
Now, defensive end recruiting is something we have gone over here at GamecockCentral.com on several occasions but with this news it's time to provide a refresher and a look at where things stand at that position. USC could opt to take as many as five prospects at that position in the 2015 class.
Already the Gamecock staff has Arden Key once again in a week.
Under the USC staff's ideal scenario, big-time JUCO product Marquavius Lewis would be paired with those three. The Gamecocks hosted Lewis on a weekend visit in May that went extremely well and Lewis named USC his leader after that trip (no surprise there). That visit was followed up by a trip to Auburn, and that visit was also one that Lewis enjoyed. The Tigers would have to be considered USC's biggest competition, although Lewis' family members seem to prefer that he make a return back to his roots in the Palmetto State which of course helps USC's cause.
If it played out that way, it leaves one more slot, one in which the aforementioned Ferrell was a candidate. Some of the other names to continue to watch there:
I've mentioned here on more than one occasion not to forget about another junior college defensive end that South Carolina is familiar with in Georgia Military's Devante Covington. The North Carolina product did not qualify out of the 2012 class after signing with USC but the Gamecock staff has kept tabs on him ever since. Both Deke Adams and Joe Robinson (the area recruiter) have been involved in the recruitment and if Covington's academic situation continues to improve then there is a good chance that USC decides to go on him once again.
In-state defensive lineman Albert Huggins could start his career as an end and then transition to tackle but is still someone that the Gamecock staff is recruiting. His next step is going to check out some suitors outside of the Palmetto State including Auburn, Florida, Florida State, and Georgia. There is a school of thought by some that Huggins may not end up leaving the state, and that could indeed the case. I still put Clemson as the program with the edge, in part due to his familiarity and comfort level with the program. If Huggins and those around him do prefer him to stay in state, that could end up giving the Gamecocks a boost but there is still work to do to be able to overcome the advantage Clemson has at this point, in my mind.
Virginia's Ricky Deberry had an excellent visit to Columbia with his father last season for the Clemson game, one that the pair still talk about frequently. Tennessee, Clemson, and South Carolina are all programs that come up with Deberry although he has plenty of other trips coming up this summer. A return visit to USC is possible as well.
North Carolina's Darian Roseboro, as recently documented here, is in the process of re-shuffling his top ten after making more visits, and South Carolina could get in there if he has a good trip as he's planning on seeing USC in the next two or three weeks. As I mentioned on our last Roseboro update, it was sort of surprising that the Gamecocks were left out of his final ten recently given some of the interest that Roseboro had shown up to that point. Regardless, USC may be able to make a move with him later this month.
Virginia's Darrell Taylor could also visit this summer and seems intrigued by the Gamecocks along with Florida out of the SEC.
By the way, USC is still making efforts to get Virginia five-star Josh Sweat on campus for a visit. Nothing new to report on that front, but something to keep in mind. Tennessee and Georgia could get visits this summer from the SEC already.
South Carolina has offered a 2016 defensive back out of Texas in Eric Monroe who also has offers from Houston, Kentucky, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, and UCLA.
We haven't been heavily tracking all-purpose back Bryce Love and the Gamecocks lately; I received further confirmation on that and we're still not tracking him going forward on South Carolina's board.
Gamecock 2016 tight end target Naseir Upshur plans on visiting Michigan and Michigan State this month on June 12. South Carolina is in a strong position early with the Philly product, who is tight with current Gamecock David Williams.
Three "in case you missed them stories" from around the Rivals network pertaining to Gamecock targets:
2016 Maryland OL in this story.
His teammate that also has a USC offer, OL also talks about USC here.
Bigtime 2016 New Jersey defensive tackle as he tells Rivals.com in this interview.
This post was edited on 6/3 3:38 PM by Chris Clark
Now, defensive end recruiting is something we have gone over here at GamecockCentral.com on several occasions but with this news it's time to provide a refresher and a look at where things stand at that position. USC could opt to take as many as five prospects at that position in the 2015 class.
Already the Gamecock staff has Arden Key once again in a week.
Under the USC staff's ideal scenario, big-time JUCO product Marquavius Lewis would be paired with those three. The Gamecocks hosted Lewis on a weekend visit in May that went extremely well and Lewis named USC his leader after that trip (no surprise there). That visit was followed up by a trip to Auburn, and that visit was also one that Lewis enjoyed. The Tigers would have to be considered USC's biggest competition, although Lewis' family members seem to prefer that he make a return back to his roots in the Palmetto State which of course helps USC's cause.
If it played out that way, it leaves one more slot, one in which the aforementioned Ferrell was a candidate. Some of the other names to continue to watch there:
I've mentioned here on more than one occasion not to forget about another junior college defensive end that South Carolina is familiar with in Georgia Military's Devante Covington. The North Carolina product did not qualify out of the 2012 class after signing with USC but the Gamecock staff has kept tabs on him ever since. Both Deke Adams and Joe Robinson (the area recruiter) have been involved in the recruitment and if Covington's academic situation continues to improve then there is a good chance that USC decides to go on him once again.
In-state defensive lineman Albert Huggins could start his career as an end and then transition to tackle but is still someone that the Gamecock staff is recruiting. His next step is going to check out some suitors outside of the Palmetto State including Auburn, Florida, Florida State, and Georgia. There is a school of thought by some that Huggins may not end up leaving the state, and that could indeed the case. I still put Clemson as the program with the edge, in part due to his familiarity and comfort level with the program. If Huggins and those around him do prefer him to stay in state, that could end up giving the Gamecocks a boost but there is still work to do to be able to overcome the advantage Clemson has at this point, in my mind.
Virginia's Ricky Deberry had an excellent visit to Columbia with his father last season for the Clemson game, one that the pair still talk about frequently. Tennessee, Clemson, and South Carolina are all programs that come up with Deberry although he has plenty of other trips coming up this summer. A return visit to USC is possible as well.
North Carolina's Darian Roseboro, as recently documented here, is in the process of re-shuffling his top ten after making more visits, and South Carolina could get in there if he has a good trip as he's planning on seeing USC in the next two or three weeks. As I mentioned on our last Roseboro update, it was sort of surprising that the Gamecocks were left out of his final ten recently given some of the interest that Roseboro had shown up to that point. Regardless, USC may be able to make a move with him later this month.
Virginia's Darrell Taylor could also visit this summer and seems intrigued by the Gamecocks along with Florida out of the SEC.
By the way, USC is still making efforts to get Virginia five-star Josh Sweat on campus for a visit. Nothing new to report on that front, but something to keep in mind. Tennessee and Georgia could get visits this summer from the SEC already.
South Carolina has offered a 2016 defensive back out of Texas in Eric Monroe who also has offers from Houston, Kentucky, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, and UCLA.
We haven't been heavily tracking all-purpose back Bryce Love and the Gamecocks lately; I received further confirmation on that and we're still not tracking him going forward on South Carolina's board.
Gamecock 2016 tight end target Naseir Upshur plans on visiting Michigan and Michigan State this month on June 12. South Carolina is in a strong position early with the Philly product, who is tight with current Gamecock David Williams.
Three "in case you missed them stories" from around the Rivals network pertaining to Gamecock targets:
2016 Maryland OL in this story.
His teammate that also has a USC offer, OL also talks about USC here.
Bigtime 2016 New Jersey defensive tackle as he tells Rivals.com in this interview.
This post was edited on 6/3 3:38 PM by Chris Clark
