Black Magic camp performance insights
07/27/13
A small but talented group of prospects from the 2014, 2015, and 2016 recruiting classes worked out at Williams-Brice Stadium on Friday evening for USC's annual late summer camp, renamed this year to Black Magic.
Here is a look at how many of the prospects that worked out performed on the field; keeping in mind that this was a shorter workout and there was not a lot of time to get in-depth evaluations:
Four quarterbacks were in attendance, and all eyes were on Aiken (S.C.) South Aiken signal-caller Bo Baldwin. The 6-foot-5 Baldwin was camping at USC for the second time this summer in hopes of earning an offer and likely helped his case more with his performance. Baldwin has a strong arm and can make the throws he will need to in college and already looks like he is in a college program with his size. Baldwin is a pretty good athlete for his size and while he's certainly not a finished product he has some intriguing tools with which to work.
Atlanta's Kevin Johnson from the 2015 class is around 5-foot-10, so he is undersized but the ball comes off of his hand well; he has some zip behind his passes and he looked pretty accurate on Friday. If he can grow some, he certainly has a chance to pick up more major offers. Dillon's Avery McCall has been solid (or better than solid) in every single setting GamecockCentral.com staff has scouted him in; whether in-game scenarios or camps. McCall is also not the biggest or tallest, but he too has a good arm and his accuracy always stands out making throws down the field or on intermediate patterns.
Daniel Thompson, the younger brother of current Gamecock quarterback Dylan Thompson was also in attendance.
Linebacker Johnathan Sutton essentially received a private workout from linebackers coach Kirk Botkin. Sutton's film is excellent; he packs a punch and can move all over the field. On Friday, he was one of the best looking prospects out there from a physical standpoint and he's athletic enough to hold up in coverage or run sideline to sideline to chase plays down. He's built very well and is a physical player.
Greenwood (S.C.) CB Kaleb Chalmers has the look of a cornerback and has pretty good size for the position. He has good footwork and speed but I will say at times had some struggles here and there in man coverage. In fairness, he tripped once but he looks like a guy with a lot of tools that needs some polishing in his one-on-one coverage.
Gamecock commitment Darin Smalls had a strong day in coverage. Matched up against Havelock (N.C.) 2015 WR Michael Bowman, he had a couple of reps in which he locked down the talented junior wideout. Smalls was able to get his hands on Bowman initially and then run down the field with him playing tight coverage. On one rep, Bowman ran a comeback and Smalls read it all the way and was able to jump the route to bat the ball down. Bowman did get the best of him on a ball thrown down the field. Smalls is at his best when he's able to play physically near the line.
Speaking of Bowman, he was the most impressive pass-catcher in attendance. He looks to have added some good weight to his frame, he ran solid routes and caught everything I saw thrown his way.
2015 DB Desmond Cain also played a bit of receiver and had a couple of excellent reps; he was intriguing at that spot. Cain's size stood out to me; he's a thick guy for a cornerback.
Gamecock tight end commitment Kalan Ritchie is up to around 230 pounds or so now and he looks a little more comfortable to me catching the ball and running routes now than the first time I saw him in a setting like the one on Friday night. He still has a tendency to fight the ball and he is never going to be a big downfield threat in that department. Ritchie's strength is his blocking, something that he does not have a chance to show off in a camp setting. I think Ritchie is still an intriguing prospect at tight end particularly if he can improve his footspeed and ball skills; he could also play defensive end or if he could grow enough, offensive tackle in my mind. South Carolina recruited and offered as a tight end.
I like the film on South Aiken (SC) 2015 DE Rasool Clemons but no doubt after seeing him in person for a second time he needs to add a good bit of weight. He's got the height, long arms and a frame that could add some weight but he's on the skinny side right now. He does move around well and certainly flashes playmaking ability on film.
Orangeburg (SC) Orangeburg-Wilkinson 2015 DL Albert Huggins looked good running around in drills; definitely an interior guy at the next level. Just from seeing him in the past, I know he could stand to improve his pass-rush array a bit but given that he's going to be a tackle at the next level I think he's a very strong prospect. He's in the high 270, 280 pound range at this time. It was tough to get a read on the linemen, to be honest because there were not one-on-one drills between the sides at this camp.
A quartet of offensive linemen attended the camp. Four-star Latta (S.C.) OL Donell Stanley is absolutely a guard at the next level in my opinion. I think Stanley will need to reshape a bit once he hits a college weight program, but he has good footwork and a strong base.
Boiling Springs (S.C.) OL Noah Green did not look quite as big to me as I anticipated on the field. Gamecock OL commitment Malik Young, to me was the most impressive guy on the hoof just eyeballing him. He was the most athletic guy out there and has added some good weight and strength. He also showed off some quick hands in the drills that Shawn Elliott put the guys through.
Gamecock legacy 2015 OL Mason Veal definitely looked the part physically and moved around well. He's a smart kid that is very strong in the weight room. Again, because of the lack of one-on-ones it was hard to get a thorough evaluation other than a few select drills.
Joe Blue, Mark Fields, Dexter Wideman, Shaq Davidson, Terry Godwin, and Bryce Love all attended but did not work out on the field.
Link: http://southcarolina.rivals.com/showmsg.asp?fid=1825&tid=190030243&mid=190030243&sid=1017&style=2
07/27/13
A small but talented group of prospects from the 2014, 2015, and 2016 recruiting classes worked out at Williams-Brice Stadium on Friday evening for USC's annual late summer camp, renamed this year to Black Magic.
Here is a look at how many of the prospects that worked out performed on the field; keeping in mind that this was a shorter workout and there was not a lot of time to get in-depth evaluations:
Four quarterbacks were in attendance, and all eyes were on Aiken (S.C.) South Aiken signal-caller Bo Baldwin. The 6-foot-5 Baldwin was camping at USC for the second time this summer in hopes of earning an offer and likely helped his case more with his performance. Baldwin has a strong arm and can make the throws he will need to in college and already looks like he is in a college program with his size. Baldwin is a pretty good athlete for his size and while he's certainly not a finished product he has some intriguing tools with which to work.
Atlanta's Kevin Johnson from the 2015 class is around 5-foot-10, so he is undersized but the ball comes off of his hand well; he has some zip behind his passes and he looked pretty accurate on Friday. If he can grow some, he certainly has a chance to pick up more major offers. Dillon's Avery McCall has been solid (or better than solid) in every single setting GamecockCentral.com staff has scouted him in; whether in-game scenarios or camps. McCall is also not the biggest or tallest, but he too has a good arm and his accuracy always stands out making throws down the field or on intermediate patterns.
Daniel Thompson, the younger brother of current Gamecock quarterback Dylan Thompson was also in attendance.
Linebacker Johnathan Sutton essentially received a private workout from linebackers coach Kirk Botkin. Sutton's film is excellent; he packs a punch and can move all over the field. On Friday, he was one of the best looking prospects out there from a physical standpoint and he's athletic enough to hold up in coverage or run sideline to sideline to chase plays down. He's built very well and is a physical player.
Greenwood (S.C.) CB Kaleb Chalmers has the look of a cornerback and has pretty good size for the position. He has good footwork and speed but I will say at times had some struggles here and there in man coverage. In fairness, he tripped once but he looks like a guy with a lot of tools that needs some polishing in his one-on-one coverage.
Gamecock commitment Darin Smalls had a strong day in coverage. Matched up against Havelock (N.C.) 2015 WR Michael Bowman, he had a couple of reps in which he locked down the talented junior wideout. Smalls was able to get his hands on Bowman initially and then run down the field with him playing tight coverage. On one rep, Bowman ran a comeback and Smalls read it all the way and was able to jump the route to bat the ball down. Bowman did get the best of him on a ball thrown down the field. Smalls is at his best when he's able to play physically near the line.
Speaking of Bowman, he was the most impressive pass-catcher in attendance. He looks to have added some good weight to his frame, he ran solid routes and caught everything I saw thrown his way.
2015 DB Desmond Cain also played a bit of receiver and had a couple of excellent reps; he was intriguing at that spot. Cain's size stood out to me; he's a thick guy for a cornerback.
Gamecock tight end commitment Kalan Ritchie is up to around 230 pounds or so now and he looks a little more comfortable to me catching the ball and running routes now than the first time I saw him in a setting like the one on Friday night. He still has a tendency to fight the ball and he is never going to be a big downfield threat in that department. Ritchie's strength is his blocking, something that he does not have a chance to show off in a camp setting. I think Ritchie is still an intriguing prospect at tight end particularly if he can improve his footspeed and ball skills; he could also play defensive end or if he could grow enough, offensive tackle in my mind. South Carolina recruited and offered as a tight end.
I like the film on South Aiken (SC) 2015 DE Rasool Clemons but no doubt after seeing him in person for a second time he needs to add a good bit of weight. He's got the height, long arms and a frame that could add some weight but he's on the skinny side right now. He does move around well and certainly flashes playmaking ability on film.
Orangeburg (SC) Orangeburg-Wilkinson 2015 DL Albert Huggins looked good running around in drills; definitely an interior guy at the next level. Just from seeing him in the past, I know he could stand to improve his pass-rush array a bit but given that he's going to be a tackle at the next level I think he's a very strong prospect. He's in the high 270, 280 pound range at this time. It was tough to get a read on the linemen, to be honest because there were not one-on-one drills between the sides at this camp.
A quartet of offensive linemen attended the camp. Four-star Latta (S.C.) OL Donell Stanley is absolutely a guard at the next level in my opinion. I think Stanley will need to reshape a bit once he hits a college weight program, but he has good footwork and a strong base.
Boiling Springs (S.C.) OL Noah Green did not look quite as big to me as I anticipated on the field. Gamecock OL commitment Malik Young, to me was the most impressive guy on the hoof just eyeballing him. He was the most athletic guy out there and has added some good weight and strength. He also showed off some quick hands in the drills that Shawn Elliott put the guys through.
Gamecock legacy 2015 OL Mason Veal definitely looked the part physically and moved around well. He's a smart kid that is very strong in the weight room. Again, because of the lack of one-on-ones it was hard to get a thorough evaluation other than a few select drills.
Joe Blue, Mark Fields, Dexter Wideman, Shaq Davidson, Terry Godwin, and Bryce Love all attended but did not work out on the field.
Link: http://southcarolina.rivals.com/showmsg.asp?fid=1825&tid=190030243&mid=190030243&sid=1017&style=2