Football Recruiting
One prospect you can expect Lorenzo Ward to check up on during the evaluation period (I hear as soon as Thursday) is Decatur (GA) Columbia LB Demarcus Sherod. Louisville, Oklahoma State, and Marshall have offered and Clemson, Auburn, and others are showing interest.
I talked to a source who saw Carolina TE target Rory Anderson at a recent seven-on-seven event who raved about his potential. He's maybe 200-205 pounds, so he will need to put on some weight, but he really runs well, gets off the line, and can make plays flexed out. I believe he's someone that USC has a chance to be a big factor with as the process goes on. USC has been listed consistently as second on his list despite him not having visited Columbia yet.
Ellis Johnson was by Darlington Tuesday checking in on ATH Dominique Cooper. While I get the feeling that Cooper really wants to keep the process going so he can try to add some more offers to his list, South Carolina is in good shape with him still.
I also continue to hear that Darlington (SC) CB signee Victor Hampton is doing well in the classroom. He's scheduled to finish up his coursework this summer, and how well he finishes will determine if he's got any academic work left to do before arriving at USC.
As I posted on the board earlier, Carolina has now offered Valdosta (GA) Lowndes DB Geraldo Orta. I'll be trying to reach him for a follow-up interview. Jeep Hunter was by the school earlier this week and went ahead and pulled the trigger. Clemson and Tennessee have also offered Orta.
Brad Lawing was by the school of Greenville (NC) South Central LB Montese Overton today, and I'll also be trying to reach him to see where things stand with his recruitment.
Here's what I've gathered on Marlboro County (SC) LB Lateek Townsend:
Ellis Johnson is the recruiter of record on Townsend and actually completed an evaluation period stop to the school earlier this afternoon.
Keeping in mind that not a lot can be accomplished on a visit like that (the point of the visits are to either evaluate a prospect's athletic/academics and talk to the coaching staff, as there is no contact with the prospects), I hear that the situation there is still the same.
Townsend is often quoted about his interest in other schools and even recently said something to the effect that USC was leading for him.
However, all signs point to that just being talk from Townsend. His intention right now is to go to Clemson, and whether or not he's publicly committed that's a fact.
I have heard some rumblings that he's not completely sold on going there , but that there is simply too much working in Clemson's favor for him to not end up there as things stand. The Tigers have had a lot of help for a long time in that situation.
Things could always change (it's recruiting), but that's where it is right now. If we get into the football season and Townsend starts taking unofficial visits to USC and there's more legitimate talk behind the scenes about other programs being big factors, then that will be more telling than his public comments
.As I posted earlier, Jeep Hunter was by the school of DB offer Rodney O'Neal earlier today. I hear that Carolina believes they are in good shape there.
Steve Spurrier, Jr. was in the Jacksonville area today, here's some notes from those visits:
He dropped by First Coast High and checked in on the prospects there, including junior DB Jared Henry. One interesting note is that while Henry has named Maryland to me as his leader frequently, he has Carolina on top now. He's planning on visiting Columbia sometime over the summer, and they are a big factor for him.
First Coast, among their other prospects, has sophomore WR Chris Black who already has several verbal offers including USC.
He also stopped by Ed White to check in on OL offer recipient Kaleb Johnson. He seems pretty open and plans on taking all of his visits, etc. I'll be following up with him to get the latest tonight.
Junior also dropped by Yulee (FL) on Wednesday. That happens to be the home of sophomore TE prospect Kelvin Rainey. Carolina is the early leader there.
Please note: If you have any questions at all about this report, please visit today's AskGamecockCentral.com thread!
This post was edited on 5/5 6:53 PM by Chris Clark
One prospect you can expect Lorenzo Ward to check up on during the evaluation period (I hear as soon as Thursday) is Decatur (GA) Columbia LB Demarcus Sherod. Louisville, Oklahoma State, and Marshall have offered and Clemson, Auburn, and others are showing interest.
I talked to a source who saw Carolina TE target Rory Anderson at a recent seven-on-seven event who raved about his potential. He's maybe 200-205 pounds, so he will need to put on some weight, but he really runs well, gets off the line, and can make plays flexed out. I believe he's someone that USC has a chance to be a big factor with as the process goes on. USC has been listed consistently as second on his list despite him not having visited Columbia yet.
Ellis Johnson was by Darlington Tuesday checking in on ATH Dominique Cooper. While I get the feeling that Cooper really wants to keep the process going so he can try to add some more offers to his list, South Carolina is in good shape with him still.
I also continue to hear that Darlington (SC) CB signee Victor Hampton is doing well in the classroom. He's scheduled to finish up his coursework this summer, and how well he finishes will determine if he's got any academic work left to do before arriving at USC.
As I posted on the board earlier, Carolina has now offered Valdosta (GA) Lowndes DB Geraldo Orta. I'll be trying to reach him for a follow-up interview. Jeep Hunter was by the school earlier this week and went ahead and pulled the trigger. Clemson and Tennessee have also offered Orta.
Brad Lawing was by the school of Greenville (NC) South Central LB Montese Overton today, and I'll also be trying to reach him to see where things stand with his recruitment.
Here's what I've gathered on Marlboro County (SC) LB Lateek Townsend:
Ellis Johnson is the recruiter of record on Townsend and actually completed an evaluation period stop to the school earlier this afternoon.
Keeping in mind that not a lot can be accomplished on a visit like that (the point of the visits are to either evaluate a prospect's athletic/academics and talk to the coaching staff, as there is no contact with the prospects), I hear that the situation there is still the same.
Townsend is often quoted about his interest in other schools and even recently said something to the effect that USC was leading for him.
However, all signs point to that just being talk from Townsend. His intention right now is to go to Clemson, and whether or not he's publicly committed that's a fact.
I have heard some rumblings that he's not completely sold on going there , but that there is simply too much working in Clemson's favor for him to not end up there as things stand. The Tigers have had a lot of help for a long time in that situation.
Things could always change (it's recruiting), but that's where it is right now. If we get into the football season and Townsend starts taking unofficial visits to USC and there's more legitimate talk behind the scenes about other programs being big factors, then that will be more telling than his public comments
.As I posted earlier, Jeep Hunter was by the school of DB offer Rodney O'Neal earlier today. I hear that Carolina believes they are in good shape there.
Steve Spurrier, Jr. was in the Jacksonville area today, here's some notes from those visits:
He dropped by First Coast High and checked in on the prospects there, including junior DB Jared Henry. One interesting note is that while Henry has named Maryland to me as his leader frequently, he has Carolina on top now. He's planning on visiting Columbia sometime over the summer, and they are a big factor for him.
First Coast, among their other prospects, has sophomore WR Chris Black who already has several verbal offers including USC.
He also stopped by Ed White to check in on OL offer recipient Kaleb Johnson. He seems pretty open and plans on taking all of his visits, etc. I'll be following up with him to get the latest tonight.
Junior also dropped by Yulee (FL) on Wednesday. That happens to be the home of sophomore TE prospect Kelvin Rainey. Carolina is the early leader there.
Please note: If you have any questions at all about this report, please visit today's AskGamecockCentral.com thread!
This post was edited on 5/5 6:53 PM by Chris Clark
