[COLOR= rgb(178, 34, 34)][SIZE= 24px]Recruiting Roundup[/COLOR][/SIZE]
OL Paris Palmer (6-8 305) of Lackawanna JC, PA was offered last Wednesday by USC and he plans to see the Gamecocks up close later this month. Palmer is from Plymouth, NC which is in northeast North Carolina near the Virginia border. He was home for spring break last Friday and during the break he’s going to check out practices at USC and East Carolina. Palmer said right now he has a high interest level in USC. “Basically what they’ve told me is they want me to come in and fight for a spot, they like me and I can fit in well in their system.” Palmer said right now USC, East Carolina, Penn State, Ohio State and Arizona State are five schools he’s highly interested in but he’s not ready to name a top five. He said he’ll take an official visit to Ohio State and he also plans to visit Arizona State. Palmer was not offered by any school out of high school and went to the junior college to improve his grades and his football status. He does not plan to make his decision until after next season. “I want to finish everything I started here at Lackawanna,”Palmer said. “Make sure all my grades stay up. And football related at Lackawanna, I want to make sure I finish strong and I don’t want to let all of these offers get in the way of my focus of what I’m supposed to be doing right now.”Palmer also has offers from Temple and South Florida. He was redshirted last season and will have three to play three starting in 2015. Palmer is on track to graduate in December.
DE Marquavius Lewis of Hutchinson JC, KS and DL DJ Jones of East Mississippi State now have offers from USC and Clemson. Both have become national recruits as they move towards their final season in junior college. Lewis, a Greenwood product who played for two state championships, is thrilled to now have the option of choosing staying close to home, and having a choice within his state. “Everybody knows they lost Clowney and another end so they need someone to come in with a little bit of experience,” Lewis said of USC. “Both of the schools are in-state and both are close to home. It’s another blessing and great opportunity to say I have both offers. But I don’t think it’s a priority to up and choose one of them right away.” He also has offers from Alabama, Florida, Kansas State, Tennessee, Florida, Arkansas, Miami, Missouri, West Virginia and Auburn. “If I just keep a level head about everything, everything will work itself out,” he said. But he admitted his family would like him close to home. He’d like to make his decision by the end of this season. Last season Lewis had 60 tackles with 17 for loss and 6.5 sacks.
Jones grew up a Clemson fan while attending Wren High School, but the Tigers didn’t recruit him in high school. Despite getting that offer, Jones said he wasn’t tempted to commit quickly. “It was more happy than to pull the trigger,” he said. “I know to keep them in my top five, my top ten whenever I go down the list.” Jones also has offers from Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Florida State, Ole Miss, Southern Cal, Mississippi State, Oklahoma State, Kentucky, Arkansas and LSU. Jones was at Clemson Saturday to watch spring practice. He plans to formulate his top ten soon and he expects Clemson and USC to be on that list. There are no favorites at this point. Jones had 49 tackles with 8 sacks last season.
OL Shane Lemieux of Yakima, WA was offered last week by USC and is very interested in the Gamecocks. In fact, he will visit them next weekend. And while in the Palmetto State, he may get over to Clemson as well. Lemieux’s father lives in Lancaster and a friend of his made the contact with USC that got the ball rolling with the Gamecocks. The same friend has also made contact with Clemson and something could be brewing there as well. “The Gamecock, Clemson rivalry, I mean I’m a Gamecock but I’m definitely keeping it open. That would be my first ACC offer. I just want to see where Clemson sees itself going. I’d love to get an offer from them.” Lemieux has visited Oregon, Washington and Washington State in recent weeks.“Gamecocks and Oregon are definitely my top right now. I definitely want to get down to visit Boise State, Arizona State and Cal. They are good teams and I feel like they would be up there too.” Utah offered Lemieux last week and he also has offers from East Carolina and Idaho.
WR KJ Hill (6-0 180) of North Little Rock, AR has been offered by USC along with Alabama, Auburn, Arkansas, Arizona State, Ole Miss, Notre Dame, Arkansas State, Texas Tech, Georgia, Oklahoma and Penn State among others. Hill wants to take all five of his official visits prior to announcing a decision and says he does not have any favorites. He did say, however, he has the Gamecocks high on his meter. “They got coach Spurrier there and I’ve been watching him for a long time,” Hill said. “I like his offense and I think I could fit in there. He has put a lot of players in the NFL. It’s a place I think I could develop and get to the next level.” Hill named Georgia, Oklahoma State, and Alabama as other schools he likes. Hill has plans to visit USC, Alabama and Notre Dame this spring but says nothing is set. He has family in North Carolina.
ATH Jalen Christian of Damascus, MD announced a short list of 11 schools he’s still considering, and USC is on that list. Also making the cut were Duke, Kentucky, Maryland, Nebraska, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Rutgers, Tennessee, Wisconsin and West Virginia. Christian also has offers from Clemson, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Virginia and Virginia Tech. He recently visited Maryland and has been to USC.
East Carolina is the first school to offer OL Shaq Crouch (6-5 333) of Johnsonville according to his coach Lewis Lineburger. Several other schools continue to show a lot of interest in Crouch including USC, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, NC State and North Carolina. Crouch said USC is his favorite right now.
USC last week joined the numerous schools around the country to offer highly skilled TE Jackson Harris (6-5 240) of Columbia, TN. “It’s a big SEC offer that I’m excited about,” Harris said. “Look forward to looking into them.” Clemson was a very early offer for Harris and he visited there last season for the Boston College game. He’s been strong on the Tigers and they remain a factor. “Still think very highly of them, talk to coach Caldwell about every other week,” he said. Harris has visited Alabama and Florida. He doesn’t have any other visits planned right now. He does not have favorites at this point.
Basketball News:
6-6 Shamiek Sheppard of Fishburne Military School in Waynesboro, VA committed to USC last Monday according to his coach Ed Huckaby Jr. Sheppard is a New York City native who signed with Towson in 2013, but after qualifying late, he decided to enroll at Fishburne to enhance his recruiting stock and his coach said he had several other major programs interested in him.
Sheppard made an official visit to USC in early February and the Gamecocks became the frontrunners at that point and Huckaby said Martin was the primary reason for that. “He likes the values that Frank Martin stands for, just like I do,” Huckaby said. “How Frank coaches his team and his desire to win, but more importantly Shamiek really appreciates the discipline and the structure that Frank demands of his players and the accountability.”
Huckaby was certainly aware of the controversy stirred up around Martin last week but said Sheppard is not afraid of that in-your-face style of coaching.
“There’s not a coach in America that doesn’t get in a player’s face and say some tough words,” Huckaby said. “My opinion is Frank has taken a hit to that unnecessarily. I don’t see people making those same comments about some very well known coaches coaching today, so why he gets piled on on that and other coaches get a pass I have no idea.”
Sheppard averaged 17 points and 11 rebounds per game this season and his coach says he’s the type of player he could call on to fill a variety of roles. “His passion is just to win,” he said. “If that requires some offensive output, he’ll do that. The defensive end and glass, he’ll do that. If it’s to play point guard, he’ll do that. He’s a versatile player and that’s something I tried to emphasize.”
Sheppard is very athletic and his coach said he gets his points in a variety of ways. “Mid-range, low block, transition, defensive steals, he’ll hit a three very now and then. He’s a guy that’s going to fill the stats in a lot of areas, but more importantly he’s used to winning.”
Sheppard becomes the third member of USC’s 2014 class joining guards Marcus Stroman and Temarcus Blanton. He will sign during the spring signing period in April.
2014 C Adonis Delarosa of New York will announce April 18. His top 5 is South Carolina, St. John’s, Rutgers, Fordham & Hofstra.
Former USC signee 6-9 Tyrone Haughton of Iowa Western JC has committed to Pittsburgh.
The Miami native signed with USC when Darrin Horn was the coach, but was told by Frank Martin he would not be able to get him into school academically.
OL Paris Palmer (6-8 305) of Lackawanna JC, PA was offered last Wednesday by USC and he plans to see the Gamecocks up close later this month. Palmer is from Plymouth, NC which is in northeast North Carolina near the Virginia border. He was home for spring break last Friday and during the break he’s going to check out practices at USC and East Carolina. Palmer said right now he has a high interest level in USC. “Basically what they’ve told me is they want me to come in and fight for a spot, they like me and I can fit in well in their system.” Palmer said right now USC, East Carolina, Penn State, Ohio State and Arizona State are five schools he’s highly interested in but he’s not ready to name a top five. He said he’ll take an official visit to Ohio State and he also plans to visit Arizona State. Palmer was not offered by any school out of high school and went to the junior college to improve his grades and his football status. He does not plan to make his decision until after next season. “I want to finish everything I started here at Lackawanna,”Palmer said. “Make sure all my grades stay up. And football related at Lackawanna, I want to make sure I finish strong and I don’t want to let all of these offers get in the way of my focus of what I’m supposed to be doing right now.”Palmer also has offers from Temple and South Florida. He was redshirted last season and will have three to play three starting in 2015. Palmer is on track to graduate in December.
DE Marquavius Lewis of Hutchinson JC, KS and DL DJ Jones of East Mississippi State now have offers from USC and Clemson. Both have become national recruits as they move towards their final season in junior college. Lewis, a Greenwood product who played for two state championships, is thrilled to now have the option of choosing staying close to home, and having a choice within his state. “Everybody knows they lost Clowney and another end so they need someone to come in with a little bit of experience,” Lewis said of USC. “Both of the schools are in-state and both are close to home. It’s another blessing and great opportunity to say I have both offers. But I don’t think it’s a priority to up and choose one of them right away.” He also has offers from Alabama, Florida, Kansas State, Tennessee, Florida, Arkansas, Miami, Missouri, West Virginia and Auburn. “If I just keep a level head about everything, everything will work itself out,” he said. But he admitted his family would like him close to home. He’d like to make his decision by the end of this season. Last season Lewis had 60 tackles with 17 for loss and 6.5 sacks.
Jones grew up a Clemson fan while attending Wren High School, but the Tigers didn’t recruit him in high school. Despite getting that offer, Jones said he wasn’t tempted to commit quickly. “It was more happy than to pull the trigger,” he said. “I know to keep them in my top five, my top ten whenever I go down the list.” Jones also has offers from Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Florida State, Ole Miss, Southern Cal, Mississippi State, Oklahoma State, Kentucky, Arkansas and LSU. Jones was at Clemson Saturday to watch spring practice. He plans to formulate his top ten soon and he expects Clemson and USC to be on that list. There are no favorites at this point. Jones had 49 tackles with 8 sacks last season.
OL Shane Lemieux of Yakima, WA was offered last week by USC and is very interested in the Gamecocks. In fact, he will visit them next weekend. And while in the Palmetto State, he may get over to Clemson as well. Lemieux’s father lives in Lancaster and a friend of his made the contact with USC that got the ball rolling with the Gamecocks. The same friend has also made contact with Clemson and something could be brewing there as well. “The Gamecock, Clemson rivalry, I mean I’m a Gamecock but I’m definitely keeping it open. That would be my first ACC offer. I just want to see where Clemson sees itself going. I’d love to get an offer from them.” Lemieux has visited Oregon, Washington and Washington State in recent weeks.“Gamecocks and Oregon are definitely my top right now. I definitely want to get down to visit Boise State, Arizona State and Cal. They are good teams and I feel like they would be up there too.” Utah offered Lemieux last week and he also has offers from East Carolina and Idaho.
WR KJ Hill (6-0 180) of North Little Rock, AR has been offered by USC along with Alabama, Auburn, Arkansas, Arizona State, Ole Miss, Notre Dame, Arkansas State, Texas Tech, Georgia, Oklahoma and Penn State among others. Hill wants to take all five of his official visits prior to announcing a decision and says he does not have any favorites. He did say, however, he has the Gamecocks high on his meter. “They got coach Spurrier there and I’ve been watching him for a long time,” Hill said. “I like his offense and I think I could fit in there. He has put a lot of players in the NFL. It’s a place I think I could develop and get to the next level.” Hill named Georgia, Oklahoma State, and Alabama as other schools he likes. Hill has plans to visit USC, Alabama and Notre Dame this spring but says nothing is set. He has family in North Carolina.
ATH Jalen Christian of Damascus, MD announced a short list of 11 schools he’s still considering, and USC is on that list. Also making the cut were Duke, Kentucky, Maryland, Nebraska, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Rutgers, Tennessee, Wisconsin and West Virginia. Christian also has offers from Clemson, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Virginia and Virginia Tech. He recently visited Maryland and has been to USC.
East Carolina is the first school to offer OL Shaq Crouch (6-5 333) of Johnsonville according to his coach Lewis Lineburger. Several other schools continue to show a lot of interest in Crouch including USC, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, NC State and North Carolina. Crouch said USC is his favorite right now.
USC last week joined the numerous schools around the country to offer highly skilled TE Jackson Harris (6-5 240) of Columbia, TN. “It’s a big SEC offer that I’m excited about,” Harris said. “Look forward to looking into them.” Clemson was a very early offer for Harris and he visited there last season for the Boston College game. He’s been strong on the Tigers and they remain a factor. “Still think very highly of them, talk to coach Caldwell about every other week,” he said. Harris has visited Alabama and Florida. He doesn’t have any other visits planned right now. He does not have favorites at this point.
Basketball News:
6-6 Shamiek Sheppard of Fishburne Military School in Waynesboro, VA committed to USC last Monday according to his coach Ed Huckaby Jr. Sheppard is a New York City native who signed with Towson in 2013, but after qualifying late, he decided to enroll at Fishburne to enhance his recruiting stock and his coach said he had several other major programs interested in him.
Sheppard made an official visit to USC in early February and the Gamecocks became the frontrunners at that point and Huckaby said Martin was the primary reason for that. “He likes the values that Frank Martin stands for, just like I do,” Huckaby said. “How Frank coaches his team and his desire to win, but more importantly Shamiek really appreciates the discipline and the structure that Frank demands of his players and the accountability.”
Huckaby was certainly aware of the controversy stirred up around Martin last week but said Sheppard is not afraid of that in-your-face style of coaching.
“There’s not a coach in America that doesn’t get in a player’s face and say some tough words,” Huckaby said. “My opinion is Frank has taken a hit to that unnecessarily. I don’t see people making those same comments about some very well known coaches coaching today, so why he gets piled on on that and other coaches get a pass I have no idea.”
Sheppard averaged 17 points and 11 rebounds per game this season and his coach says he’s the type of player he could call on to fill a variety of roles. “His passion is just to win,” he said. “If that requires some offensive output, he’ll do that. The defensive end and glass, he’ll do that. If it’s to play point guard, he’ll do that. He’s a versatile player and that’s something I tried to emphasize.”
Sheppard is very athletic and his coach said he gets his points in a variety of ways. “Mid-range, low block, transition, defensive steals, he’ll hit a three very now and then. He’s a guy that’s going to fill the stats in a lot of areas, but more importantly he’s used to winning.”
Sheppard becomes the third member of USC’s 2014 class joining guards Marcus Stroman and Temarcus Blanton. He will sign during the spring signing period in April.
2014 C Adonis Delarosa of New York will announce April 18. His top 5 is South Carolina, St. John’s, Rutgers, Fordham & Hofstra.
Former USC signee 6-9 Tyrone Haughton of Iowa Western JC has committed to Pittsburgh.
The Miami native signed with USC when Darrin Horn was the coach, but was told by Frank Martin he would not be able to get him into school academically.
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