DE Dante Sawyer of Suwanee, GA, one of the most touted members of USC’s 2014 recruiting class, won’t join the Gamecocks, or any other major college program, until at least the summer of 2015. Sawyer has decided to enroll now at East Mississippi JC in Scooba, MS. Sawyer attained his G.E.D and knowing he would not be able to qualify for his USC scholarship, he decided to get the process towards becoming eligible under way. Sawyer issued a couple of comments on his Twitter page writing: “Made this move now to better my future, so all you nay sayers can kick rocks,” and “1yr away…just like redshirting not a big difference.” Sawyer hopes to be able to graduate in the Spring of 2015 and that would allow him to meet the SEC requirement that a junior college transfer spend three consecutive semesters at the school before being eligible to transfer. However, by going the junior college route is now free to sign with any school, but on Twitter he assured Gamecock fans he will stick to his original plans. Sawyer wrothe, “I'm still a gamecock..I'm not going anywhere in case y'all were wondering.”
DE Chauncey Rivers of Stone Mountain, GA visited Georgia recently and decided to switch his commitment from USC to the Bulldogs. Rivers says there were several factors that effected his decision. “Georgia has always been in my top three and I’ve been working hard to get an offer from them,” he said. “They offered me about three weeks ago. I got a chance to sit down with the coaches and I just felt comfortable committing to them.” Since making the decision, Rivers has spoken with Lorenzo Ward. “He was a little hurt but he told me that, in the end, it’s my decision,” Rivers said. “He told me he was still going to keep recruiting me.” Rivers also spoke of Georgia’s new defensive coordinator and their plans moving forward. “They’re switching to a 4-3 defense and I think that will give me an opportunity to come in and play as a true defensive end,” he said. “It’s what I want to play in college.” As far as future visits, Rivers is undecided. He admitted that he is unsure as to whether or not he will speak with coaches from other schools moving forward.
DE Michael Barnett of Woodland committed to Virginia Tech last November and appeared to be set on the Hokies. Not any longer. Barnett backed off that pledge and is on the open market, though he’s still favoring the Hokies. “I told (Virginia Tech recruiter) coach Wiles about it and he was pretty mad about it,” Barnett said. “I really like Virginia Tech but I need to look more into broadcasting (his major) and see what schools offer that. I’ve been thinking about it for a couple of weeks.” Barnett listed his new top five as Virginia Tech, NC State, Clemson, Florida State and Alabama. The Crimson Tide offered him on Wednesday. USC also offered him last week. He does not have a timetable for his next decision and no plans for any junior days because of his track schedule. Last season Barnett had 89 tackles with 31 tackles for loss, 7 sacks and 5 forced fumbles.
QB Kelly Bryant of Wren won’t carry out his recruiting much longer according to his coach. “He’s going to look at all the school that have offered, try to visit them all and then make a decision,” coach Jeff Tate said. “He wants to concentrate on his senior season because he graduates in December.” Bryant has offers from Clemson, USC, North Carolina, Georgia Tech, NC State, Ole Miss, Florida, Virginia Tech and Appalachian State. “There’s no clear cut favorite,” Tate said. “He wants to visit all the schools before deciding and everybody his recruiting him as a quarterback. Coach (Chad) Morris (of Clemson) has made clear they want him as a quarterback. USC has not been by and hasn’t had much contact. And he’s not concerned about the number of quarterbacks at a school. He’s willing to redshirt.” Bryant went to Clemson’s junior day earlier this month and visited NC State the next day.
OL Dallas Warmack (6-2 290) committed to Alabama last July but is not ready to shut down his recruiting. USC was among his recent offers and he’s interested in checking out the Gamecocks and others. “I talked to coach Spurrier and he wants me to come up there with one of my teammates (Natrez Patrick),” Warmack said. “I talked to coach Ward a lot, about every couple of weeks. I don’t know that much about South Carolina but I have decent interest in them. My commitment is pretty strong but I plan to take other visits and keep my options open.” Warmack said he and Patrick plan to visit USC this summer. He was supposed to visit Auburn and Alabama recently but the weather interfered. Warmack plays offensive tackle for Mays High but expects to play guard in college.
USC secondary coach Grady Brown has gone back down to South Florida to seek out more help and he’s made an offer to DB Damon Arnette (6-2 185) of Fort Lauderdale. What makes Arnette an interesting story is he’s never played cornerback before but that will be his position moving forward. He played receiver last season but stood out at corner at a camp in December and things have taken off for him. The Gamecocks offered along with Florida State, Hawaii, Indiana and Kentucky. He’s also hearing from Miami, Wake Forest, Michigan State and Central Florida. “Coach Brown is very helpful with this whole recruiting process,” Arnette said. “He tells me they really want me up there and I can help South Carolina a lot. He sees a lot of potential in me and he wants to be my coach. He likes my aggression and my size.” Arnette has not been to USC but plans to camp there June 13th. He did go to Miami’s junior day. He’s not claiming favorites right now. “My mind is open.” He could have a decision around the end of the school year or by the end of summer.
USC has offered QB Lamar Jackson (6-2 185) of Boynton Beach, FL He also has offers from Clemson, Florida State, Syracuse, Nebraska, Cincinnati, Utah State and Akron. Jackson said style of offense USC runs attracted him, and he liked how Connor Shaw played in those offenses. “I could fit in,” he said. Right now he has a top ten, in no order, of USC, Clemson, Florida State, Oregon, West Virginia, Baylor, Auburn, Texas A&M, Florida and Nebraska. He also has interest in Georgia Tech. Last season Jackson passed for 1688 yards and 25 touchdowns and rushed for 1401 yards and 16 scores. He wants to make his decision before the end of his senior season.
USC is keeping up the heat on DB Rashard Causey of Fort Lauderdale and that work has paid off with a set date for an unofficial visit for the spring game weekend in April. Causey had planned to visit USC January 17th but had to play in a 7 on 7 event. Causey talks regularly with Gamecock recruiter Grady Brown and talks daily with former teammate and current Gamecock linebacker Skai Moore. “He’s like my big brother,” Causey said. Right now USC and Miami are tied at the top of his list with Michigan, Southern Cal and UCLA also in the mix. He plans to visit the California schools this summer. He’ll put together an official top ten list after spring.
OL Ryan Bates of Westminster, PA, who had USC high up on his list, committed to Penn State after making an unofficial visit and meeting with James Franklin for the first time.
Highly recruited DL Adam McLean of North Potomac, MD has nearly 30 offers at this point and they include USC, Clemson, Michigan State, Ole Miss, Nebraska, Alabama, Florida State, Florida, Maryland, North Carolina, NC State, Penn State, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest. McLean made an unofficial visit to USC recently and was greatly impressed. ‘I had a great time, they showed me great hospitality,” McLean said. “I really enjoyed the facilities and the academics, all the things I got to see. They really showed me a good time.” McLean spent a lot of time with freshman OL Na’Ty Rodgers and was given a campus tour by graduate assistant Shaq Wilson. “The guys were in there on their off day working and that shows how dedicated they are to getting better,” McLean said. Right now McLean doesn’t have a short list. He has also visited Maryland, Wake Forest and Nebraska. He plans to visit Penn State soon and he will return to USC in March for a spring practice. “South Carolina is a school I’m very interested in,” he said. “It’s SEC football and I can go in and be an impact player. They are definitely sitting up there.” McLean doesn’t plan to announce a decision until his national all-star game, either Army All American or Under Armour, but that could change. “I may have a commitment this summer if it hits me.” Last season McLean 47 tackles with 10 tackles for loss, 7 sacks and 12 pass deflections.
USC offered one of the state’s top 2015 prospects in RB Ty’son Williams of Crestwood. The Gamecocks join Clemson, Florida State, North Carolina, Georgia, NC State, Duke and Appalachian State on his offer list. “I was happy that it finally came thru,” Williams said. “I like their loyal fans and I like what they’re doing developing their players.” Williams will go to USC’s upcoming junior day. He has not yet formed a favorites’ list. Last season he rushed for 1516 yards and 16 touchdowns.
DB Desmond Cain of Delray Beach, FL continues to favor USC but is not ready to move towards a commitment. “I’m nervous for some reason,” Cain said. “I want to play as a true freshman and I want to make sure I’m at home.” With that in mind, Cain plans to visit USC again this summer. He attended the Black Magic Camp last summer and that’s where he impressed the Gamecocks. “I went up there and they loved me for receiver, but they are recruiting me for DB,” said Cain who is a cornerback. He talked with recruiter Grady Brown about three weeks ago. “He seems pretty interested,” Cain said. He also has offers from Cincinnati and SMU and is also hearing from Tennessee, Miami and Bowling Green. Last season Cain had 6 interceptions returning one for a score. He also had over a thousand all-purpose yards on offense.
USC was one of the early offers for RB Dexter Williams (6-1 190) of Orlando. Williams went into February with no offers but after an impressive showing at a combine in Florida, the offers began to flow in. Miami, Florida, Ohio State, Tennessee and Tennessee also have offered. Williams rushed for 1072 yards and 3 touchdowns last season.
WR JJ Arcega-Whiteside of Dorman visited North Carolina recently as he begins to make his rounds this winter. The Tar Heels are showing interest but have not offered yet. Arcega-Whiteside is also hearing from USC and has been invited to their junior day. He plans to camp at several schools this summer including USC, Clemson and North Carolina. Arcega-Whiteside has offers from Appalachian State and Elon but says he does not have any favorites.
Basketball News:
6-6 Shamiek Sheppard of Fishburne Military Prep, VA could be a USC commitment by the end of the month. Sheppard took an official visit to USC earlier this month and that’s been his only trip. He doesn’t have any other scheduled at this point according to his coach. “Everybody is comfortable with where they are at,” coach Ed Huckaby Jr. said. “I haven’t talked to Shamiek much more about it or talked to Frank (Martin) any more about it. They like each other. I would think something will happen within the next week or two, by the end of February. I haven’t pressed the issue with either one. He might have decided but I purposely haven’t engaged him in that conversation. I want him to sit on it.” Sheppard is part of an all-star program that has a dozen Division One prospects according to his coach. Sheppard, who signed with Towson out of high school in New York, is averaging 17 points and 11 rebounds per game this season.
Martin was in New York last week to watch 6-11 Adonis Delarosa perform, and perform he did scoring 23 points with 12 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks according to Ben Baskin writing on ZagsBlog. Delarosa told the reporter USC, St. Johns, Fordham and Pittsburgh are the four schools showing him the strongest interest right now
DE Chauncey Rivers of Stone Mountain, GA visited Georgia recently and decided to switch his commitment from USC to the Bulldogs. Rivers says there were several factors that effected his decision. “Georgia has always been in my top three and I’ve been working hard to get an offer from them,” he said. “They offered me about three weeks ago. I got a chance to sit down with the coaches and I just felt comfortable committing to them.” Since making the decision, Rivers has spoken with Lorenzo Ward. “He was a little hurt but he told me that, in the end, it’s my decision,” Rivers said. “He told me he was still going to keep recruiting me.” Rivers also spoke of Georgia’s new defensive coordinator and their plans moving forward. “They’re switching to a 4-3 defense and I think that will give me an opportunity to come in and play as a true defensive end,” he said. “It’s what I want to play in college.” As far as future visits, Rivers is undecided. He admitted that he is unsure as to whether or not he will speak with coaches from other schools moving forward.
DE Michael Barnett of Woodland committed to Virginia Tech last November and appeared to be set on the Hokies. Not any longer. Barnett backed off that pledge and is on the open market, though he’s still favoring the Hokies. “I told (Virginia Tech recruiter) coach Wiles about it and he was pretty mad about it,” Barnett said. “I really like Virginia Tech but I need to look more into broadcasting (his major) and see what schools offer that. I’ve been thinking about it for a couple of weeks.” Barnett listed his new top five as Virginia Tech, NC State, Clemson, Florida State and Alabama. The Crimson Tide offered him on Wednesday. USC also offered him last week. He does not have a timetable for his next decision and no plans for any junior days because of his track schedule. Last season Barnett had 89 tackles with 31 tackles for loss, 7 sacks and 5 forced fumbles.
QB Kelly Bryant of Wren won’t carry out his recruiting much longer according to his coach. “He’s going to look at all the school that have offered, try to visit them all and then make a decision,” coach Jeff Tate said. “He wants to concentrate on his senior season because he graduates in December.” Bryant has offers from Clemson, USC, North Carolina, Georgia Tech, NC State, Ole Miss, Florida, Virginia Tech and Appalachian State. “There’s no clear cut favorite,” Tate said. “He wants to visit all the schools before deciding and everybody his recruiting him as a quarterback. Coach (Chad) Morris (of Clemson) has made clear they want him as a quarterback. USC has not been by and hasn’t had much contact. And he’s not concerned about the number of quarterbacks at a school. He’s willing to redshirt.” Bryant went to Clemson’s junior day earlier this month and visited NC State the next day.
OL Dallas Warmack (6-2 290) committed to Alabama last July but is not ready to shut down his recruiting. USC was among his recent offers and he’s interested in checking out the Gamecocks and others. “I talked to coach Spurrier and he wants me to come up there with one of my teammates (Natrez Patrick),” Warmack said. “I talked to coach Ward a lot, about every couple of weeks. I don’t know that much about South Carolina but I have decent interest in them. My commitment is pretty strong but I plan to take other visits and keep my options open.” Warmack said he and Patrick plan to visit USC this summer. He was supposed to visit Auburn and Alabama recently but the weather interfered. Warmack plays offensive tackle for Mays High but expects to play guard in college.
USC secondary coach Grady Brown has gone back down to South Florida to seek out more help and he’s made an offer to DB Damon Arnette (6-2 185) of Fort Lauderdale. What makes Arnette an interesting story is he’s never played cornerback before but that will be his position moving forward. He played receiver last season but stood out at corner at a camp in December and things have taken off for him. The Gamecocks offered along with Florida State, Hawaii, Indiana and Kentucky. He’s also hearing from Miami, Wake Forest, Michigan State and Central Florida. “Coach Brown is very helpful with this whole recruiting process,” Arnette said. “He tells me they really want me up there and I can help South Carolina a lot. He sees a lot of potential in me and he wants to be my coach. He likes my aggression and my size.” Arnette has not been to USC but plans to camp there June 13th. He did go to Miami’s junior day. He’s not claiming favorites right now. “My mind is open.” He could have a decision around the end of the school year or by the end of summer.
USC has offered QB Lamar Jackson (6-2 185) of Boynton Beach, FL He also has offers from Clemson, Florida State, Syracuse, Nebraska, Cincinnati, Utah State and Akron. Jackson said style of offense USC runs attracted him, and he liked how Connor Shaw played in those offenses. “I could fit in,” he said. Right now he has a top ten, in no order, of USC, Clemson, Florida State, Oregon, West Virginia, Baylor, Auburn, Texas A&M, Florida and Nebraska. He also has interest in Georgia Tech. Last season Jackson passed for 1688 yards and 25 touchdowns and rushed for 1401 yards and 16 scores. He wants to make his decision before the end of his senior season.
USC is keeping up the heat on DB Rashard Causey of Fort Lauderdale and that work has paid off with a set date for an unofficial visit for the spring game weekend in April. Causey had planned to visit USC January 17th but had to play in a 7 on 7 event. Causey talks regularly with Gamecock recruiter Grady Brown and talks daily with former teammate and current Gamecock linebacker Skai Moore. “He’s like my big brother,” Causey said. Right now USC and Miami are tied at the top of his list with Michigan, Southern Cal and UCLA also in the mix. He plans to visit the California schools this summer. He’ll put together an official top ten list after spring.
OL Ryan Bates of Westminster, PA, who had USC high up on his list, committed to Penn State after making an unofficial visit and meeting with James Franklin for the first time.
Highly recruited DL Adam McLean of North Potomac, MD has nearly 30 offers at this point and they include USC, Clemson, Michigan State, Ole Miss, Nebraska, Alabama, Florida State, Florida, Maryland, North Carolina, NC State, Penn State, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest. McLean made an unofficial visit to USC recently and was greatly impressed. ‘I had a great time, they showed me great hospitality,” McLean said. “I really enjoyed the facilities and the academics, all the things I got to see. They really showed me a good time.” McLean spent a lot of time with freshman OL Na’Ty Rodgers and was given a campus tour by graduate assistant Shaq Wilson. “The guys were in there on their off day working and that shows how dedicated they are to getting better,” McLean said. Right now McLean doesn’t have a short list. He has also visited Maryland, Wake Forest and Nebraska. He plans to visit Penn State soon and he will return to USC in March for a spring practice. “South Carolina is a school I’m very interested in,” he said. “It’s SEC football and I can go in and be an impact player. They are definitely sitting up there.” McLean doesn’t plan to announce a decision until his national all-star game, either Army All American or Under Armour, but that could change. “I may have a commitment this summer if it hits me.” Last season McLean 47 tackles with 10 tackles for loss, 7 sacks and 12 pass deflections.
USC offered one of the state’s top 2015 prospects in RB Ty’son Williams of Crestwood. The Gamecocks join Clemson, Florida State, North Carolina, Georgia, NC State, Duke and Appalachian State on his offer list. “I was happy that it finally came thru,” Williams said. “I like their loyal fans and I like what they’re doing developing their players.” Williams will go to USC’s upcoming junior day. He has not yet formed a favorites’ list. Last season he rushed for 1516 yards and 16 touchdowns.
DB Desmond Cain of Delray Beach, FL continues to favor USC but is not ready to move towards a commitment. “I’m nervous for some reason,” Cain said. “I want to play as a true freshman and I want to make sure I’m at home.” With that in mind, Cain plans to visit USC again this summer. He attended the Black Magic Camp last summer and that’s where he impressed the Gamecocks. “I went up there and they loved me for receiver, but they are recruiting me for DB,” said Cain who is a cornerback. He talked with recruiter Grady Brown about three weeks ago. “He seems pretty interested,” Cain said. He also has offers from Cincinnati and SMU and is also hearing from Tennessee, Miami and Bowling Green. Last season Cain had 6 interceptions returning one for a score. He also had over a thousand all-purpose yards on offense.
USC was one of the early offers for RB Dexter Williams (6-1 190) of Orlando. Williams went into February with no offers but after an impressive showing at a combine in Florida, the offers began to flow in. Miami, Florida, Ohio State, Tennessee and Tennessee also have offered. Williams rushed for 1072 yards and 3 touchdowns last season.
WR JJ Arcega-Whiteside of Dorman visited North Carolina recently as he begins to make his rounds this winter. The Tar Heels are showing interest but have not offered yet. Arcega-Whiteside is also hearing from USC and has been invited to their junior day. He plans to camp at several schools this summer including USC, Clemson and North Carolina. Arcega-Whiteside has offers from Appalachian State and Elon but says he does not have any favorites.
Basketball News:
6-6 Shamiek Sheppard of Fishburne Military Prep, VA could be a USC commitment by the end of the month. Sheppard took an official visit to USC earlier this month and that’s been his only trip. He doesn’t have any other scheduled at this point according to his coach. “Everybody is comfortable with where they are at,” coach Ed Huckaby Jr. said. “I haven’t talked to Shamiek much more about it or talked to Frank (Martin) any more about it. They like each other. I would think something will happen within the next week or two, by the end of February. I haven’t pressed the issue with either one. He might have decided but I purposely haven’t engaged him in that conversation. I want him to sit on it.” Sheppard is part of an all-star program that has a dozen Division One prospects according to his coach. Sheppard, who signed with Towson out of high school in New York, is averaging 17 points and 11 rebounds per game this season.
Martin was in New York last week to watch 6-11 Adonis Delarosa perform, and perform he did scoring 23 points with 12 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks according to Ben Baskin writing on ZagsBlog. Delarosa told the reporter USC, St. Johns, Fordham and Pittsburgh are the four schools showing him the strongest interest right now