[COLOR= rgb(178, 34, 34)][SIZE= 24px]Damon Arnette remains solid with USC: ‘I’ll be sure after my visits’[/COLOR]
Jan. 16, 2015[/SIZE]
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The final stretch of recruiting has been tougher than usual on the South Carolina football team.
A 7-6 season, different numbers being thrown around on how much longer Steve Spurrier will remain coach, and questions about what changes, if any, will be made to the coaching staff have led to seven decommits since October.
A fallout like that can naturally have fans wondering which recruits remain firm in their commitments or who might be the next to decommit.
In the case of St. Thomas Aquinas cornerback Damon Arnette, there’s not too much to worry about.
“I’m still strong with them because I still feel like they have the best opportunity for me, and it’s going to be hard for anybody else to beat that,” says the 6-foot-2, 188-pounder being recruited to the Gamecocks to bolster the secondary as a bigger corner. “The thing about South Carolina last time I visited there, I could just see myself at the school, and I didn’t get that same feeling from any other visits that I went on. That’s what I thought was special about South Carolina.”
That said, Arnette will still visit a couple of Big Ten rivals before he is 100 percent sure of his plans.
After canceling a planned Louisville visit, he will take a trip this weekend to Michigan, which crept into his picture recently and offered him a scholarship. He will visit USC the weekend of Jan. 23, then head to Ohio State the weekend of Jan. 30.
“I’ll be sure after my visits. Right now, I’m solid, but I’ll be 100 percent after my visits or I’ll know if I’m not 100 percent after my visits,” Arnette said. “Their opportunity sounds just as good as South Carolina. I just have a better relationship with the South Carolina coaches.
“If the better opportunity presents itself, then I’m going to have to go with the better hand.”
Sometimes in recruiting, a school that already has a commitment from a player eases up on its communication with him while other schools trying to convince him to flip put on a full-court press.
That’s not the case in Arnette’s recruitment. He says the Gamecocks are still the team recruiting him the hardest, and he speaks with defensive backs coach Grady Brown every day while talking to Spurrier once a week – much more communication than he has with coaches from Michigan or Ohio State.
Arnette says one thing that could shake up his recruitment is if there are changes to the staff, especially to coaches he’s already developed a close bond with.
“The impression I have is that [defensive coordinator Lorenzo] Ward, Coach Brown are going to be around for a while. Coach Spurrier, I’m not sure, but I know he’s at least going to be there while I’m there,” Arnette said. “I know I’m going to have time with him to develop a great relationship – same with Coach Ward, and I already have a great relationship with Coach Brown.
“If any of those guys were to leave before I get there, I’d be surprised.”
As far as the decommitments go, Arnette was developing a good relationship with fellow defensive back Mark Fields before he departed from the class.
“We were saying how we were going to come in, our class was the class that was going to turn everything around,” Arnette said. “I thought he was pretty strong on it, so when I heard he decommitted, I was kind of surprised, but I know that’s how things go sometimes.”
Arnette as a senior had three interceptions, three sacks and five pass deflections.
A factor working in South Carolina’s favor is rising sophomore cornerback Al Harris Jr., who was teammates with Arnette in high school, as well as Chris Lammons, who played against Harris and Arnette while at Plantation High, which is in the same district as St. Thomas Aquinas in Broward County in South Florida.
“That is a big factor because going into a situation knowing who your competition is and knowing you have a relationship with him, it makes it easier to handle,” Arnette said.
“[Harris is] excited for me to come up there. He was just saying how he’s going to show me around. He’s trying to get me mentally prepared for everything. He said the coaches are tough up there, but he said being at St. Thomas, I should be easily adjusted to that because our coaches down here are tough – just like college coaches.”
DB class
South Carolina has five defensive backs in the 2015 class and could add one more.
... Octavis Johnson, 6-0, 180; 4 stars, Homerville, Ga.
... Damon Arnette, 6-2, 188; 3 stars, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
... Toure Boyd, 6-1, 193; 3 stars, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.
... Antoine Wilder, 5-11, 175; 3 stars, Atlanta
... Darin Smalls, 5-11, 180; 3 stars, Summerville, SC
Jan. 16, 2015[/SIZE]
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The final stretch of recruiting has been tougher than usual on the South Carolina football team.
A 7-6 season, different numbers being thrown around on how much longer Steve Spurrier will remain coach, and questions about what changes, if any, will be made to the coaching staff have led to seven decommits since October.
A fallout like that can naturally have fans wondering which recruits remain firm in their commitments or who might be the next to decommit.
In the case of St. Thomas Aquinas cornerback Damon Arnette, there’s not too much to worry about.
“I’m still strong with them because I still feel like they have the best opportunity for me, and it’s going to be hard for anybody else to beat that,” says the 6-foot-2, 188-pounder being recruited to the Gamecocks to bolster the secondary as a bigger corner. “The thing about South Carolina last time I visited there, I could just see myself at the school, and I didn’t get that same feeling from any other visits that I went on. That’s what I thought was special about South Carolina.”
That said, Arnette will still visit a couple of Big Ten rivals before he is 100 percent sure of his plans.
After canceling a planned Louisville visit, he will take a trip this weekend to Michigan, which crept into his picture recently and offered him a scholarship. He will visit USC the weekend of Jan. 23, then head to Ohio State the weekend of Jan. 30.
“I’ll be sure after my visits. Right now, I’m solid, but I’ll be 100 percent after my visits or I’ll know if I’m not 100 percent after my visits,” Arnette said. “Their opportunity sounds just as good as South Carolina. I just have a better relationship with the South Carolina coaches.
“If the better opportunity presents itself, then I’m going to have to go with the better hand.”
Sometimes in recruiting, a school that already has a commitment from a player eases up on its communication with him while other schools trying to convince him to flip put on a full-court press.
That’s not the case in Arnette’s recruitment. He says the Gamecocks are still the team recruiting him the hardest, and he speaks with defensive backs coach Grady Brown every day while talking to Spurrier once a week – much more communication than he has with coaches from Michigan or Ohio State.
Arnette says one thing that could shake up his recruitment is if there are changes to the staff, especially to coaches he’s already developed a close bond with.
“The impression I have is that [defensive coordinator Lorenzo] Ward, Coach Brown are going to be around for a while. Coach Spurrier, I’m not sure, but I know he’s at least going to be there while I’m there,” Arnette said. “I know I’m going to have time with him to develop a great relationship – same with Coach Ward, and I already have a great relationship with Coach Brown.
“If any of those guys were to leave before I get there, I’d be surprised.”
As far as the decommitments go, Arnette was developing a good relationship with fellow defensive back Mark Fields before he departed from the class.
“We were saying how we were going to come in, our class was the class that was going to turn everything around,” Arnette said. “I thought he was pretty strong on it, so when I heard he decommitted, I was kind of surprised, but I know that’s how things go sometimes.”
Arnette as a senior had three interceptions, three sacks and five pass deflections.
A factor working in South Carolina’s favor is rising sophomore cornerback Al Harris Jr., who was teammates with Arnette in high school, as well as Chris Lammons, who played against Harris and Arnette while at Plantation High, which is in the same district as St. Thomas Aquinas in Broward County in South Florida.
“That is a big factor because going into a situation knowing who your competition is and knowing you have a relationship with him, it makes it easier to handle,” Arnette said.
“[Harris is] excited for me to come up there. He was just saying how he’s going to show me around. He’s trying to get me mentally prepared for everything. He said the coaches are tough up there, but he said being at St. Thomas, I should be easily adjusted to that because our coaches down here are tough – just like college coaches.”
DB class
South Carolina has five defensive backs in the 2015 class and could add one more.
... Octavis Johnson, 6-0, 180; 4 stars, Homerville, Ga.
... Damon Arnette, 6-2, 188; 3 stars, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
... Toure Boyd, 6-1, 193; 3 stars, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.
... Antoine Wilder, 5-11, 175; 3 stars, Atlanta
... Darin Smalls, 5-11, 180; 3 stars, Summerville, SC