Football Recruiting
A few notes from the Northeast recruiting region here - all of these guys are names I haven't mentioned before who I can tell you are offer guys for the Gamecocks in New Jersey:
Ramsey (NJ) Don Bosco Prep DL Darius Hamilton is a defensive lineman the Gamecock staff is high on. The 6-foot-4, 245-pounder also has offers from Boston College, Michigan, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, and Rutgers. During his junior season, he racked up 65 tackles and 14.5 sacks. Hamilton is a prospect who may visit Columbia at some point to check out the program.
Another is Old Tappan's Devin Fuller. The 6-foot, 185-pounder plays a lot of quarterback for his high school team. He racked up 52 total touchdowns during his junior season, 32 rushing and 20 through the air. If he's got the size, quarterback wouldn't be out of the question for him at the next level but he could also project to play elsewhere. He's got a very impressive offer list. He's fairly open, from what I've told. He has been in contact with G.A. Mangus and there have been some positive returns there.
Long Branch (NJ) offensive lineman Ryan Brodie is another that Carolina has verbally offered and they are very high on. He's an excellent athlete for his size. Boston College, UConn, and Rutgers are his other early offers. The 6-foot-5, 260-pounder has made a name for himself during some camp performances up north during the past couple of years.
Basketball Recruiting
Hoops recruiting notes from Glenn Elrod…
As previously noted, North Carolina forward Montrezl Harrell is off the board for the 2012 recruiting class after committing to Virginia Tech Sunday afternoon. The Hokies vaulted up Harrell's list after a visit to campus two weekends ago for VT's upset win over Duke. Harrell had always listed Virginia Tech in his top 5-7 schools, but it was thought that Wake Forest and South Carolina were two schools that had the upper hand.
With Harrell's commitment to VT, USC will now turn its attention to other prospects on the board for 2012, one being 6'10 big man Joel James. James has quickly become a hot commodity on the recruiting trail due to his size and his potential to dominate the paint on both ends of the court. His current top 5 schools are UNC, USC, Ohio State, Notre Dame, and Florida. Coaches from South Carolina and Notre Dame were at Dwyer HS last week to check in on the junior center. Dwyer is fresh off a 32-1 season and a 5A state championship this past weekend. For the upcoming AAU season, James will run with the Florida Rams - a team that produced current Gamecock Ramon Galloway and future guard Damien Leonard.
6-foot-5, 215-pounder Marcus Hunt from College Park (GA) North Clayton is another name to watch in the 2012 class. South Carolina extended an offer to Hunt back in early February after tracking him this season. Florida State offered hours after the Gamecocks and Alabama, Miami, and Nebraska have previously offered the Rivals150 junior as well. Hunt was described to me by someone very familiar with his game as a "well-rounded, smart basketball player that handles the ball well, shoots well, and is a great teammate". He also has good size and is very versatile. I hope to catch up with Hunt soon to get his thoughts on USC and find out where the Gamecocks stand.
Another prospect who South Carolina will continue to monitor is Florida's Shawn Smith. The 2012 guard recently backed off his pledge to Central Florida. The Knights should still be considered the team to beat, but Smith stated that he wasn't 100% sure of his commitment and wanted to open things back up. I exchanged a couple texts with Smith this week and he reiterated that South Carolina was a school he was still considering. He also mentioned that he wasn't focusing very hard on recruiting right now; instead taking his time getting adjusted to a new prep school he enrolled in last month and a new AAU program (Each 1 Teach 1) he will play with this offseason.
After an impressive junior season that featured a 4A state championship, Irmo's Jordan Roper has picked up a couple new offers and has seen his interest from both in-state programs increase. Roper added offers from VCU, UNC Asheville, and High Point. South Carolina has taken notice of the lefty's play of late and Gamecock coaches have been by recently to see him play as well. Clemson has also been in contact with Roper this week. Both schools will continue to follow his development this summer and it will be interesting to see how his recruitment plays out. With the Gamecock staff's limited scholarship situation, I'm still not sure they will make a move with the junior. If Roper were graduating in a year in which USC had several scholarships, I think things would be different. Tennessee is another school that is starting to show interest.
2012 point guard Braxton Ogbueze from North Carolina committed to Florida on Wednesday. Ogubeze had shown interest in South Carolina early in his recruitment, but things had died down on both sides of late. Ogbueze visited the Gators last week and decided to go ahead and end things.
A few notes from the Northeast recruiting region here - all of these guys are names I haven't mentioned before who I can tell you are offer guys for the Gamecocks in New Jersey:
Ramsey (NJ) Don Bosco Prep DL Darius Hamilton is a defensive lineman the Gamecock staff is high on. The 6-foot-4, 245-pounder also has offers from Boston College, Michigan, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, and Rutgers. During his junior season, he racked up 65 tackles and 14.5 sacks. Hamilton is a prospect who may visit Columbia at some point to check out the program.
Another is Old Tappan's Devin Fuller. The 6-foot, 185-pounder plays a lot of quarterback for his high school team. He racked up 52 total touchdowns during his junior season, 32 rushing and 20 through the air. If he's got the size, quarterback wouldn't be out of the question for him at the next level but he could also project to play elsewhere. He's got a very impressive offer list. He's fairly open, from what I've told. He has been in contact with G.A. Mangus and there have been some positive returns there.
Long Branch (NJ) offensive lineman Ryan Brodie is another that Carolina has verbally offered and they are very high on. He's an excellent athlete for his size. Boston College, UConn, and Rutgers are his other early offers. The 6-foot-5, 260-pounder has made a name for himself during some camp performances up north during the past couple of years.
Basketball Recruiting
Hoops recruiting notes from Glenn Elrod…
As previously noted, North Carolina forward Montrezl Harrell is off the board for the 2012 recruiting class after committing to Virginia Tech Sunday afternoon. The Hokies vaulted up Harrell's list after a visit to campus two weekends ago for VT's upset win over Duke. Harrell had always listed Virginia Tech in his top 5-7 schools, but it was thought that Wake Forest and South Carolina were two schools that had the upper hand.
With Harrell's commitment to VT, USC will now turn its attention to other prospects on the board for 2012, one being 6'10 big man Joel James. James has quickly become a hot commodity on the recruiting trail due to his size and his potential to dominate the paint on both ends of the court. His current top 5 schools are UNC, USC, Ohio State, Notre Dame, and Florida. Coaches from South Carolina and Notre Dame were at Dwyer HS last week to check in on the junior center. Dwyer is fresh off a 32-1 season and a 5A state championship this past weekend. For the upcoming AAU season, James will run with the Florida Rams - a team that produced current Gamecock Ramon Galloway and future guard Damien Leonard.
6-foot-5, 215-pounder Marcus Hunt from College Park (GA) North Clayton is another name to watch in the 2012 class. South Carolina extended an offer to Hunt back in early February after tracking him this season. Florida State offered hours after the Gamecocks and Alabama, Miami, and Nebraska have previously offered the Rivals150 junior as well. Hunt was described to me by someone very familiar with his game as a "well-rounded, smart basketball player that handles the ball well, shoots well, and is a great teammate". He also has good size and is very versatile. I hope to catch up with Hunt soon to get his thoughts on USC and find out where the Gamecocks stand.
Another prospect who South Carolina will continue to monitor is Florida's Shawn Smith. The 2012 guard recently backed off his pledge to Central Florida. The Knights should still be considered the team to beat, but Smith stated that he wasn't 100% sure of his commitment and wanted to open things back up. I exchanged a couple texts with Smith this week and he reiterated that South Carolina was a school he was still considering. He also mentioned that he wasn't focusing very hard on recruiting right now; instead taking his time getting adjusted to a new prep school he enrolled in last month and a new AAU program (Each 1 Teach 1) he will play with this offseason.
After an impressive junior season that featured a 4A state championship, Irmo's Jordan Roper has picked up a couple new offers and has seen his interest from both in-state programs increase. Roper added offers from VCU, UNC Asheville, and High Point. South Carolina has taken notice of the lefty's play of late and Gamecock coaches have been by recently to see him play as well. Clemson has also been in contact with Roper this week. Both schools will continue to follow his development this summer and it will be interesting to see how his recruitment plays out. With the Gamecock staff's limited scholarship situation, I'm still not sure they will make a move with the junior. If Roper were graduating in a year in which USC had several scholarships, I think things would be different. Tennessee is another school that is starting to show interest.
2012 point guard Braxton Ogbueze from North Carolina committed to Florida on Wednesday. Ogubeze had shown interest in South Carolina early in his recruitment, but things had died down on both sides of late. Ogbueze visited the Gators last week and decided to go ahead and end things.
