Gamecock CB target Wesley Green made some waves recently when he said that Ole Miss was up at the top with South Carolina and also ahead of Georgia, who has been South Carolina's competition. Asked shortly after about Green's comments, I said that they were made after the departure of defensive coordinator Todd Grantham and before Green had any idea who Mark Richt was going to hire. I also said at the time that I felt Georgia was likely to still emerge as the main competition for USC after Richt made a defensive coordinator hire. UGA is still slated to get Green's last official visit the weekend before signing day, is close to home, and I would imagine that Green will like the hire of Jeremy Pruitt.
One thing that South Carolina does have working to its advantage now is that Green will be starting over relationship-wise with Pruitt at Georgia. Pruitt is going to be coaching DBs at UGA as well. On the flip side, Green already has a strong relationship with defensive coordinator and lead recruiter Lorenzo Ward as well as defensive backs coach Grady Brown.
The Rebels would be a team to watch if Green does indeed make an official visit there the following weekend (January 24). I would point out that Green's interest in Ole Miss isn't "brand new". After he decommitted from USC last year, there was a lot of buzz about Ole Miss behind the scenes. Over time, that did seem to fall off and even as recently as within the past couple of weeks Green was saying that his plan was to only visit Georgia and South Carolina. I'm not sure what reopened the situation from Ole Miss, but we will be tracking a potential visit there going forward.
Even before Grantham left Georgia, I felt South Carolina had the edge and I think that has been strengthened now. I believe that Green will come away from his official visit at South Carolina this weekend favoring the Gamecocks pretty heavily even if he does not say it publicly. USC's staff will still have to hold off the Dawgs and Ole Miss.
I've received some questions about how Pruitt moving from FSU to Georgia could affect Seminole commitment and Gamecock target Dexter Wideman. In doing some checking on it, I do not believe it will be a major factor. If anything it could help USC, or at least that's the opinion of some I've spoken with already. It could help USC as far as creating some uncertainty, but Jay Graham has been the primary contact for Wideman in Tallahassee and is the biggest reason Wideman committed there and remains committed (softly) at this time. In short, Wideman is considering other factors more than the defensive coordinator at FSU, such as proximity to home and early playing time. Those things, from what I've gathered will weigh heaviest. As I've been saying, I'm still being told the chances are as good as ever that Wideman ends up pulling a switch and he will be on campus for his official visit this weekend. Again, the thing that could throw a wrench in this is if he ends up making that official visit the final weekend before signing day to FSU. Still no further update on Wideman's academic situation (semester at Saluda ends today) beyond what we have already reported, that it still seems he is not as likely to qualify as things stand. If I pick up something new on that, we will let everyone know.
Some potential good news I picked up for USC pertaining to current commitment Taylor Stallworth. The three-star tackle is still planning on following this weekend's official visit to USC with a trip to Starkville to take an official visit to Mississippi State. Stallworth has said that he is solid to South Carolina and just wants to check out with MSU has to offer and make sure. The good news I referenced is that it looks like Stallworth will be going solo on that trip. Stallworth's father is planning on joining him for the trip this weekend to Columbia, but is scheduled to work next weekend. That could always help USC, who I still think ultimately has the best shot of hanging on to him.
This post was edited on 1/15 11:35 AM by Chris Clark
One thing that South Carolina does have working to its advantage now is that Green will be starting over relationship-wise with Pruitt at Georgia. Pruitt is going to be coaching DBs at UGA as well. On the flip side, Green already has a strong relationship with defensive coordinator and lead recruiter Lorenzo Ward as well as defensive backs coach Grady Brown.
The Rebels would be a team to watch if Green does indeed make an official visit there the following weekend (January 24). I would point out that Green's interest in Ole Miss isn't "brand new". After he decommitted from USC last year, there was a lot of buzz about Ole Miss behind the scenes. Over time, that did seem to fall off and even as recently as within the past couple of weeks Green was saying that his plan was to only visit Georgia and South Carolina. I'm not sure what reopened the situation from Ole Miss, but we will be tracking a potential visit there going forward.
Even before Grantham left Georgia, I felt South Carolina had the edge and I think that has been strengthened now. I believe that Green will come away from his official visit at South Carolina this weekend favoring the Gamecocks pretty heavily even if he does not say it publicly. USC's staff will still have to hold off the Dawgs and Ole Miss.
I've received some questions about how Pruitt moving from FSU to Georgia could affect Seminole commitment and Gamecock target Dexter Wideman. In doing some checking on it, I do not believe it will be a major factor. If anything it could help USC, or at least that's the opinion of some I've spoken with already. It could help USC as far as creating some uncertainty, but Jay Graham has been the primary contact for Wideman in Tallahassee and is the biggest reason Wideman committed there and remains committed (softly) at this time. In short, Wideman is considering other factors more than the defensive coordinator at FSU, such as proximity to home and early playing time. Those things, from what I've gathered will weigh heaviest. As I've been saying, I'm still being told the chances are as good as ever that Wideman ends up pulling a switch and he will be on campus for his official visit this weekend. Again, the thing that could throw a wrench in this is if he ends up making that official visit the final weekend before signing day to FSU. Still no further update on Wideman's academic situation (semester at Saluda ends today) beyond what we have already reported, that it still seems he is not as likely to qualify as things stand. If I pick up something new on that, we will let everyone know.
Some potential good news I picked up for USC pertaining to current commitment Taylor Stallworth. The three-star tackle is still planning on following this weekend's official visit to USC with a trip to Starkville to take an official visit to Mississippi State. Stallworth has said that he is solid to South Carolina and just wants to check out with MSU has to offer and make sure. The good news I referenced is that it looks like Stallworth will be going solo on that trip. Stallworth's father is planning on joining him for the trip this weekend to Columbia, but is scheduled to work next weekend. That could always help USC, who I still think ultimately has the best shot of hanging on to him.
This post was edited on 1/15 11:35 AM by Chris Clark
