Team Notes
The "Keys to the Game" article will be up tomorrow shortly after noon…
If Antonio Allen is unable to go for Thursday's game, Alonzo Winfield will be the starter as he was before Allen won the job. Many of you have asked about freshman Damario Jeffery getting more snaps, and Thursday will be a good opportunity for him to do just that as he would then be the backup at SPUR.
Stephen Garcia has put together two straight good performances, and he will need a third if Carolina is to beat Ole Miss on Thursday night. I expect the game to have plenty of offense, and Carolina has shown that they have some firepower in them. The only question is whether or not Garcia and company will be able to ignite it. I believe they will be able to move the ball on Ole Miss, the key will be taking advantage of opportunities and limiting turnovers.
Carolina's defense has some questions going into the game with some players being banged up, but they have a chance to actually be stronger than before. Getting Ladi Ajiboye back as well as Nathan Pepper, limited as he may be, is a huge boost to the defensive front.
Carolina's linebackers will also need to play very well as they could go to some three-man front at times to combat Ole Miss' Wild Rebel scheme. It is important for the line to be disruptive in these situations and let Shaq Wilson and Josh Dickerson make plays in the middle in that type of scheme.
There have been a ton of questions about the Carolina Walk. All I know for sure is that it is normally 2 hours and 15 minutes prior to kickoff, in the southwest corner of the stadium.
Football Recruiting
I caught up with Myrtle Beach (SC) junior QB Everett Golson. He will not be attending the game Thursday night, but did say that he would like to visit Columbia when the Gamecocks play Florida. He has not spent a lot of time on his recruitment lately, and as such held off on naming his current leader. All indications are that he still likes North Carolina a lot, and basketball plays a factor in that. He is still planning on playing both sports in high school and possibly in college.
Here's the most updated list of visitors for Thursday, along with notes on where USC stands with each prospect. One tidbit here is that commit Brandon Golson will not make it because they will be resting up for their game Friday night.
Jacob Baxter: Junior, ATH, Cayce (SC) Brookland-Cayce: Baxter runs the ball for Brookland-Cayce and recently began playing linebacker for them as well. He projects as a fullback or linebacker at the next level. USC is aware of him and will track him.
Roderick Byers: Junior, DE, Rock Hill (SC) Northwestern: Byers, once a Clemson lean, was very impressed on a recent trip to Columbia and then named the Gamecocks his leader. He has no offers yet but I've talked to a source who is high on his potential. USC will have a good shot if they offer.
Gerald Dixon: Junior, DT, Rock Hill (SC) Northwestern: The first Dixon brother plays tackle and recently picked up a tender from the Gamecocks, who lead.
Gerald Dixon: Junior, DE, Rock Hill (SC) South Pointe: The second of the Dixon boys is a defensive end at cross-town South Pointe. He also has the Gamecocks on top.
Phillip Dukes: Junior, DT, Manning (SC): Carolina is tracking the junior tackle, who has USC in his top group. At the moment, Clemson, who has offered, has the edge.
John Fulton: Senior, CB, Manning (SC): Coveted senior corner will take in his first Gamecock game of the season. USC sits in his top five with a slight lead over Alabama right now, and it will come down to his official visits.
Tony Hillman: Junior, WR, Duncan (SC) Byrnes: Hillman has played in the injured Nick Jones' place and has reportedly done well filling in. He will join his other Byrnes teammates.
Nick Jones: Senior, WR, Duncan (SC) Byrnes: Jones will return to the Rebels' squad for their big showdown with STA in October. He plans on taking some official visits but USC has a great chance with him.
Jazz King: Senior, WR, Duncan (SC) Byrnes: Not a likely offer for USC, and he actually has Ole Miss in his top 2 right now along with Kansas.
Marcus Lattimore: Senior, RB, Duncan (SC) Byrnes: One of the headliners of the group, I told you Lattimore planned on visiting Monday evening in the Early Edition. He has expanded his group to about seven schools and currently has one slot remaining for official visits between North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. I would be very surprised if he did not take one to Columbia. USC has a good shot with him.
Torian Richardson Senior, WR, Duncan (SC) Byrnes: Carolina had him in camp, but not a likely offer. I think he could very well end up at Mississippi State with former teammate Ricco Sanders.
Jonathan Rumph: Junior, WR, Cayce (SC) Brookland-Cayce: Junior wideout flashes potential but is inconsistent right now. To his credit, he does not have a ton of opportunities in his offense. Needs to work on his speed as well, but Carolina is aware of him.
Lateek Townsend: Junior, LB, Bennettsville (SC) Marlboro County: Athletic linebacker is scheduled to be in Columbia. USC will continue evaluating him and he is an offer candidate. Clemson is out in front for him.
Shakeem Wharton: Sophomore, RB, Duncan (SC) Byrnes: The sophomore, who we have mentioned multiple times in the past has a lot of talent and is a likely offer for the Gamecocks when the time is right. From everything he has said, he is high on USC.
Tramell Williams: Senior, OL, Jacksonville (FL) Lee - USC Commitment
Basketball Recruiting
The Stacey Poole saga is set to end tomorrow evening around 5:00, when Poole will make his announcement for either Kentucky or South Carolina.
Ryan has checked with multiple sources on this one and here is what we have gathered:
At this time, we are going to project Poole to Kentucky. It would not be shocking at all if he picked South Carolina, as Mike Boynton, Darrin Horn and staff have done a great job with Poole regardless.
Carolina has some things working in their favor: proximity to home, immediate playing time, a burgeoning program. Poole did not take an official to USC.
Kentucky has the tradition, they have John Calipari who Poole thinks highly of, and he took an official visit there. In the end, it is just looking like Kentucky might just be too much to overcome.
The "Keys to the Game" article will be up tomorrow shortly after noon…
If Antonio Allen is unable to go for Thursday's game, Alonzo Winfield will be the starter as he was before Allen won the job. Many of you have asked about freshman Damario Jeffery getting more snaps, and Thursday will be a good opportunity for him to do just that as he would then be the backup at SPUR.
Stephen Garcia has put together two straight good performances, and he will need a third if Carolina is to beat Ole Miss on Thursday night. I expect the game to have plenty of offense, and Carolina has shown that they have some firepower in them. The only question is whether or not Garcia and company will be able to ignite it. I believe they will be able to move the ball on Ole Miss, the key will be taking advantage of opportunities and limiting turnovers.
Carolina's defense has some questions going into the game with some players being banged up, but they have a chance to actually be stronger than before. Getting Ladi Ajiboye back as well as Nathan Pepper, limited as he may be, is a huge boost to the defensive front.
Carolina's linebackers will also need to play very well as they could go to some three-man front at times to combat Ole Miss' Wild Rebel scheme. It is important for the line to be disruptive in these situations and let Shaq Wilson and Josh Dickerson make plays in the middle in that type of scheme.
There have been a ton of questions about the Carolina Walk. All I know for sure is that it is normally 2 hours and 15 minutes prior to kickoff, in the southwest corner of the stadium.
Football Recruiting
I caught up with Myrtle Beach (SC) junior QB Everett Golson. He will not be attending the game Thursday night, but did say that he would like to visit Columbia when the Gamecocks play Florida. He has not spent a lot of time on his recruitment lately, and as such held off on naming his current leader. All indications are that he still likes North Carolina a lot, and basketball plays a factor in that. He is still planning on playing both sports in high school and possibly in college.
Here's the most updated list of visitors for Thursday, along with notes on where USC stands with each prospect. One tidbit here is that commit Brandon Golson will not make it because they will be resting up for their game Friday night.
Jacob Baxter: Junior, ATH, Cayce (SC) Brookland-Cayce: Baxter runs the ball for Brookland-Cayce and recently began playing linebacker for them as well. He projects as a fullback or linebacker at the next level. USC is aware of him and will track him.
Roderick Byers: Junior, DE, Rock Hill (SC) Northwestern: Byers, once a Clemson lean, was very impressed on a recent trip to Columbia and then named the Gamecocks his leader. He has no offers yet but I've talked to a source who is high on his potential. USC will have a good shot if they offer.
Gerald Dixon: Junior, DT, Rock Hill (SC) Northwestern: The first Dixon brother plays tackle and recently picked up a tender from the Gamecocks, who lead.
Gerald Dixon: Junior, DE, Rock Hill (SC) South Pointe: The second of the Dixon boys is a defensive end at cross-town South Pointe. He also has the Gamecocks on top.
Phillip Dukes: Junior, DT, Manning (SC): Carolina is tracking the junior tackle, who has USC in his top group. At the moment, Clemson, who has offered, has the edge.
John Fulton: Senior, CB, Manning (SC): Coveted senior corner will take in his first Gamecock game of the season. USC sits in his top five with a slight lead over Alabama right now, and it will come down to his official visits.
Tony Hillman: Junior, WR, Duncan (SC) Byrnes: Hillman has played in the injured Nick Jones' place and has reportedly done well filling in. He will join his other Byrnes teammates.
Nick Jones: Senior, WR, Duncan (SC) Byrnes: Jones will return to the Rebels' squad for their big showdown with STA in October. He plans on taking some official visits but USC has a great chance with him.
Jazz King: Senior, WR, Duncan (SC) Byrnes: Not a likely offer for USC, and he actually has Ole Miss in his top 2 right now along with Kansas.
Marcus Lattimore: Senior, RB, Duncan (SC) Byrnes: One of the headliners of the group, I told you Lattimore planned on visiting Monday evening in the Early Edition. He has expanded his group to about seven schools and currently has one slot remaining for official visits between North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. I would be very surprised if he did not take one to Columbia. USC has a good shot with him.
Torian Richardson Senior, WR, Duncan (SC) Byrnes: Carolina had him in camp, but not a likely offer. I think he could very well end up at Mississippi State with former teammate Ricco Sanders.
Jonathan Rumph: Junior, WR, Cayce (SC) Brookland-Cayce: Junior wideout flashes potential but is inconsistent right now. To his credit, he does not have a ton of opportunities in his offense. Needs to work on his speed as well, but Carolina is aware of him.
Lateek Townsend: Junior, LB, Bennettsville (SC) Marlboro County: Athletic linebacker is scheduled to be in Columbia. USC will continue evaluating him and he is an offer candidate. Clemson is out in front for him.
Shakeem Wharton: Sophomore, RB, Duncan (SC) Byrnes: The sophomore, who we have mentioned multiple times in the past has a lot of talent and is a likely offer for the Gamecocks when the time is right. From everything he has said, he is high on USC.
Tramell Williams: Senior, OL, Jacksonville (FL) Lee - USC Commitment
Basketball Recruiting
The Stacey Poole saga is set to end tomorrow evening around 5:00, when Poole will make his announcement for either Kentucky or South Carolina.
Ryan has checked with multiple sources on this one and here is what we have gathered:
At this time, we are going to project Poole to Kentucky. It would not be shocking at all if he picked South Carolina, as Mike Boynton, Darrin Horn and staff have done a great job with Poole regardless.
Carolina has some things working in their favor: proximity to home, immediate playing time, a burgeoning program. Poole did not take an official to USC.
Kentucky has the tradition, they have John Calipari who Poole thinks highly of, and he took an official visit there. In the end, it is just looking like Kentucky might just be too much to overcome.
