SPURspective

Steel City Swingman Visits USC this Weekend

2012-02-18T10:13:00.006-05:00

The USC basketball program got a much needed boost on Wednesday night with a one-point win, 57-56, over the Georgia Bulldogs. Head Coach Darrin Horn is hoping to ride this brief wave of momentum through the weekend by winning consecutive, back-to-back SEC games in the Colonial Life Arena for the first time in two years since defeating Kentucky (ranked #1 at the time) 68-62 and Georgia 78-77 in the CLA in late January 2010. A winning environment at home today might pay a lot of dividends both on & off the court for the embattled USC Head Basketball Coach and his future in Columbia.

According to Phil Kornblut of the South Carolina Radio News Network, in the stands watching this Saturday’s game versus LSU on an official visit will be a prospect named Sheldon Jeter from Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. Jeter is a 6’7”, 210 pound perimeter player and rated the #1 2012 prospect in the Greater Pittsburgh Area, per the Pittsburgh Basketball Report. The Keystone state swingman holds offers from South Carolina, Wisconsin, Penn State, Northeastern and Duquesne while the hometown school, Pittsburgh, is still evaluating the hardwood hoopster. Horn and his staff have piqued the interest late in the recruiting game for this Pennsylvania player and securing Jeter's official visit this weekend could propel the Gamecocks to the top of his list of school choices.

IMHO it is quite an accomplishment for the embattled Gamecocks basketball coach to get any basketball prospect to visit the Colonial Life-less Arena this season. I would call Horn and the Gamecocks a long shot to land this prospect’s signature especially if the home town Pitt Panthers extend an offer to Jeter. The 6'7" wing player visited Wisconsin back in early January and named the Badgers his leader post-visit. But anytime you can get a high school kid on campus and show him a game day atmosphere (well in USC’s case a nice arena and warm weather; maybe they can shuttle the young man over to “the Ray” and show him how South Carolina fans show support for a winning program with an established leader) there is always a chance for a university to inevitably "ink" the prospect's signature come the NCAA Spring Basketball Signing period in mid-April thru mid-May.

Coach Horn and the Gamecocks will have to overcome more than likely a sparse crowd and pitiful atmosphere inside the CLA. Also Mother Nature did not do the men’s basketball team any favors today by forcing a doubleheader between USC and VMI in baseball with a Noon start time on Saturay to avoid the rain scheduled in Columbia over the weekend. Even though LSU will not inspire Gamecocks fans to flock to the Colonial Life Arena and watch a basketball game, this game is very winnable for Horn’s program and any win on the schedule for the Gamecocks in front of any prospect is a positive.

SPURspective’s Analysis: Jeter is a solid prospect. He is not a highly rated basketball player but his stock is rising as his senior season unfolds. I would say the likelihood of USC securing a commitment from Jeter is 25% at this moment. It will be hard to pluck a prospect from Big 10 country and Pittsburgh area if Pitt decides to offer Jeter this late in the game. Throw in Horn’s uncertain future at USC after this season and the likelihood of an out-of-state high school senior committing to Carolina is bleak at best!

Go Gamecocks!

USC Baseball News - Williams Going, Going Gone?

2012-02-16T08:05:00.001-05:00

Senior Outfielder/Designated Hitter Jake Williams was noticeably absent off of the 34-man Gamecocks baseball roster. The former Wofford Terrier who transfered to USC two years ago has reportedly left the baseball program due to personal reasons.

If you remember back to last year's College World Series, Williams' star was shining brightest when he made a couple of circus catches down the left field foul line. Then his memorable throw to the plate in the 10th inning to cut down a Florida base runner at home plate which preserved a 1-1 tie and USC eventually wound up winning, 2-1, and take the opening game in the best of three championship series.

Williams, who sat out the 2010 season after transferring from Wofford University, played in 62 games last season, starting 58. He hit .268 with 10 doubles, six triples, two home runs, and 38 runs batted in.

The defending back-to-back NCAA College Baseball Champions open the 2012 baseball season Friday versus VMI.

USC Men’s Basketball – Sound “the Horn” for a Replacement

2012-02-15T12:59:00.002-05:00

USC fans, the proverbial writing is on the wall for the Darrin Horn Er”ror” at the University of South Carolina. The USC men’s basketball team is in such disarray on and off the court it is laughable. We learned yesterday that USC Athletics Director Eric Hyman and Coach Horn ate lunch with a local radio host & former USC Linebacker, Corey Miller, to “clear the air” on the public perception of Coach Darrin Horn’s progress with USC men’s basketball. If you do not live in Columbia or listen to Corey Miller on AM-560 (3-6 p.m. Monday-Friday), the former New York Giants Linebacker has been a boisterous mouthpiece of the anti-Horn sentiment that has been brewing for the last two seasons. Bottom line in college athletics is wins and losses! Since February 2, 2011, when USC defeated LSU 64-56 in Baton Rouge the Gamecocks are 2-18 in SEC Conference games (1-9 this season) that includes an opening round loss to Ole Miss in the SEC Basketball Tournament last year.

When the calendar turns to April 1, 2012, Hyman should give Coach Horn his pink slip and begin the monumental task of rebuilding this beleaguered basketball program. Under the terms of Horn’s contract, USC would have to pay him $2 million if he’s fired prior to the end of the current season. After April 2012, however, the buyout drops to $1.25 million. Hyman will be the biggest April fool if he does not rectify the problem that he created, when, in 2009, in the USC AD’s infinite wisdom, he decided to restructure Horn’s contract after one year at USC when the Gamecocks finished 21-10, 10-6 SEC record and a first round NIT home loss to Southern Conference opponent, Davidson. BTW, in Horn’s first year the SEC was as bad a conference in basketball as it had ever been in years.

So to make a long story short here are six names, IMHO, that should be on Eric Hyman’s speed dial after April Fool’s Day. This list includes realistic candidates that meet monetary obligations and one or two pipe dreams. I would prefer a candidate to have won at multiple schools to demonstrate an ability to win in different environments. This list is strictly my opinion!

USC Basketball Coaching Candidates:
1. Greg Marshall (Wichita State University) – Marshall is a South Carolina native (born in Greenwood, SC) and has coaching roots within the Palmetto state. Marshall is in his fifth season as the Head Coach at Wichita State University. The Shockers play in the “uber”-competitive Missouri Valley Conference, and this year the Shockers have positioned themselves for an invitation to the NCAA Tournament, as long as WSU doesn’t suffer a complete meltdown in the next couple of weeks. In less than five years at WSU, Marshall has compiled an 82-55 win/loss record (.600% winning percentage) to go along with a 38-34 MVC Conference record. Marshall has suffered only one losing season while at WSU and that was his first year. The Greenwood native has also gotten the Shockers into the post-season every season except the 2007-08 campaign. Just this week, Wichita State entered the Top 25 poll for the first time since 2006.

Prior to accepting the Shockers head coaching position, Marshall cut his teeth in Rock Hill at Winthrop University where he made Cinderella look pedestrian every year when it came time for the Big Dance and March Madness. While at Winthrop, Marshall accumulated a 194-83 win/loss record (.700% winning percentage) over a nine-year period. He guided the Eagles to seven NCAA Tournament berths.

One side note to remember on Marshall. He signed a contract extension after last year, which included a $325k buyout clause. If you are not familiar with WSU Athletics, then you might want to Google Koch Brothers. If you are not familiar with the Koch Brothers, Charles & David, just listen to a liberal/left-wing progressive talking head for a few minutes on television or the radio. These two brothers are the fourth richest ($50 billion) Americans, according to Forbes magazine last year. To put these brothers’ wealth in perspective, Charles Koch is the 18th richest man in the world compared to T.Boone Pickens (Oklahoma State Alumnae), who is somewhere in the 200’s per Forbes magazine. Now guess what the arena name is called where the Shockers play basketball? If you guessed the Charles Koch Arena then you are right! Charles Koch has donated a ton of cash to WSU over the years, and the sentiment in the WSU Athletic family is that the Koch brothers may write a blank check to keep Marshall in Wichita where basketball is the only cash crop in the athletics department. Just something to ponder if/when Marshall is contacted about the USC basketball job. After this season IMHO, Marshall will be a top two or three coaching commodity this off-season. Hyman and the USC Board of Trustees better be ready to ante up a ton of Benjamin”$” to bring back a beloved native son. It was rumored last year that N.C. State offered Marshall around $1.95 million to coach the Wolfpack, but reportedly Marshall turned down the offer to wait for his dream job to open up at South Carolina.

2. Buzz Williams (Marquette University) – Williams is a native of Greenville, Texas. Williams is in his fourth year at the helm of the Golden Eagles where he has amassed an 89-41 (.068% winning percentage) overall record and a 41-25 Big East Conference record (.062% winning percentage). Williams has guided the Golden Eagles to the NCAA Tournament all three previous seasons advancing to the Sweet 16 last year. Marquette University is a member of the Big East Conference and currently 22-5 (9-3, Big East Conference record) this season. Williams has been a Head Coach at two institutions, Marquette and New Orleans University (member of the Sun Belt Conference), and has only suffered one losing season (New Orleans in 2006-07). Marquette is a private institution so therefore is not required to release its employees’ salaries. I do know that Alabama tried to lure him to Tuscaloosa before turning to current coach Anthony Grant.

3. Brad Stevens (Butler University) – Stevens is a native of Greenville, SC before his family relocated to Indiana. Stevens is currently coaching in his fifth season with the Butler Bulldogs in the Horizon League, which is a very competitive mid-major conference. What more needs to be said about the 35-year-old Stevens’ accomplishments at Butler University located in Indianapolis, IN? Butler’s story over the last two years is material only reserved for the motion pictures! Stevens has been a staple on the Bulldogs bench for more than 10 years with the last four-plus being the Head Coach. Under his leadership, Butler has compiled a 133-37 (.078% winning percentage) overall record and a 72-16 Horizon Conference record (.082% winning percentage) in four-plus seasons. The biggest feats that the tiny Hoosier state university has accomplished are back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Basketball National Championship game where they lost to Duke in 2010 and UConn in 2011. Not sure of his buyout clause but Stevens ‘inked” a 12-year extension back in 2010 following the loss to Duke. One interesting note on Stevens is that he does not retain an agent in regards to his coaching contracts. His wife, Tracy, is a labor and employment attorney and she reviewed the legal jargon of his last contract back in 2010, per Seth Davis of CBS Sports. Home Run hire, IMHO!

4. Steve Prohm (Murray State University) – Prohm is a native of Vienna, Virginia. Prohm is currently in his first year as a head coach (24-1 overall record, 12-1 Ohio Valley Conference record) so that would be risky, but he has been a major contributor to the success of the MSU Racers basketball program, which is a member of the Ohio Valley Conference. Prohm succeeded former coach Billy Kennedy (left for Texas A&M) last year. Prior to being named Head Coach last May, he was an assistant at Murray State since 2006. He also served under Dave Dickerson, a Denmark-Olar, SC native, at Tulane University for one season (2005-06). Murray State last made the NCAA Tournament in 2010 where it upset Vanderbilt in the first round. Last year MSU lost in the first round of the NIT Tournament. IMHO, if USC wanted to go cheap Prohm would probably be a viable candidate to replace Horn. I doubt Prohm would be high on Hyman’s list.

5. Scott Drew (Baylor University) – Drew is a native of Kansas City, Missouri. Drew is currently coaching in his ninth season as the Baylor Bears’ Head Coach. Drew also coached one year at Valparaiso University (Indiana), 20-11 overall record. In 2003 Drew took over a scandal-riddled BU program after one player shot & killed a teammate, and the former Head Coach, Dave Bliss, tried to cover up the incident. The Bears basketball program was in shambles after the horrible incident and it took several “lean” years for Drew to rebuild the Baylor basketball program. The basketball team was on probation through 2010 but managed to make three consecutive post-season appearances (two NCAA Tournaments & one NIT appearance) in the midst of probation status. Drew’s body of work is very impressive in Waco considering all of the hurdles he inherited upon his arrival. Under the 41-year-old’s guidance, Baylor has compiled a 148-118 (.056% winning percentage) overall record and a 52-86 (0.38% winning percentage). Over the last four-and-a-half years, Baylor has averaged almost 25 wins per season and nine conference wins per season in a very competitive Big 12 Conference. Drew has also established himself as one of the top recruiters among the AAU circuit, which is a vital ingredient of any successful basketball program not named, Kentucky, Duke, UNC, Kansas or UCLA. IMHO, Drew would be another slam dunk hire to replace Horn. He has already proven an ability to rebuild a program in disarray and USC’s program is definitely a rutter-less ship! Since Baylor University is a private institution the dollar figure tied to his buyout is not available to the public.

6. Oliver Purnell (DePaul University) – Purnell is a native of Berlin, Maryland. I know he is the former Head Coach of the Clemson Tigers men’s basketball program but the man got the Tigers into postseason play six consecutive years, including three straight years into the Big Dance his final three years in Pickens County. In seven seasons at Clemson, Purnell amassed a 138-90 (.061% winning percentage) overall record and a 50-62 (.045% winning percentage) ACC record. To Purnell’s credit at Clemson, he won 93 games his final four years, averaging more than 23 wins per year, and averaged almost nine wins a season in ACC Conference play during that same span. Coach Purnell left Clemson in 2010 to pursue a job at DePaul University, which plays in the Big East Conference. He is currently in the midst of coaching his second full season for the Blue Demons with not much success. In less than two years, Purnell is realizing that the Windy City resurrecting project he signed up for back in 2010 is much more difficult than he may have anticipated. DePaul is the worst team in the Big East Conference even though it is in the city of Chicago where there is an abundance of basketball talent. His overall record at DePaul is 18-36 (.033% winning percentage) in one-plus years while he has endured major hurdles competing within the Big East Conference. The Blue Demons own a 3-26 (.010% winning percentage) Big East Conference record during Purnell’s tenure in Chicago. I know fans may balk at bringing in a former CU Tiger basketball coach, but Gamecocks fans need to set aside their disdain for their upstate brethren and look at what Purnell did recruiting wise and record wise while playing in the ACC. Purnell proved he could mine the state of North Carolina for talent (Charlotte metro area) that was under-utilized by UNC & Duke and he could go into the Atlanta Metro area and pull some talent up I-85 into Pickens County. Let’s face it, Purnell is an above average recruiter that has a proven track record of winning in tough places. DePaul is a tough place to win. He finished 7-24 last year and this year his team is a game under .500 (11-12). So he is making progress in a tough Big East basketball conference. Coach Purnell’s salary at DePaul University is reportedly around $1.8 million per season. He is currently in the second year of a seven-year deal.

SPURspective’s Slant: There will be coaching rumors surrounding the USC men’s basketball program until A.D. Hyman finally pulls the plug on this disaster. It is crystal clear that Horn is in over his head at Carolina and fan apathy is running rampant. It is embarrassing to watch a Gamecocks basketball game on national television in an empty cavernous arena known as the Colonial Life-less Arena. Horn’s buyout drops from $1.8 million pre-April 1, 2012, to $1.25 million post-April 1st. Another season of Coach Darrin Horn at the helm of USC basketball would further bury South Carolina into the basketball abyss and just make the next head coach’s job that much more difficult.

USC Football Coach Turns Down Florida Overtures

2012-02-13T15:06:00.000-05:00

According to AM-560 in Columbia, SC, USC Offensive Line Coach/Run Game Coordinator Shawn Elliott has turned down an offer from University of Florida Head Football Coach Wil Muschamp to join the Gators football program. According to sources, Muschamp made a monetary offer to Coach Elliott of almost $100k more than the Camden, South Carolina native was awarded on Friday by the USC Board of Trustees.

Last Friday, the USC BOT increased the salaries of all of the USC football staff for the 2012 & 2013 seasons, except for Quarterbacks Coach G.A. Mangus, who is serving a university self-imposed penalty for his misconduct last July in Greenville, SC when he was arrested for urinating in public.

According to USC Athletics Director Eric Hyman, Elliott received a $115k raise for 2012 bringing his annual salary up to $300k. Coach Elliott earned $185k last season. In 2013, the Camden native’s salary will increase to $315k.

It is being reported that Muschamp offered Elliott around $400k per year to join the Gators staff over the weekend, but Coach Elliott turned down the Gators’ offer to remain in Columbia.

The former Appalachian State player and coach just completed his second season in Columbia coaching the offensive line. The Gamecocks made significant improvement in Coach Elliott’s second season finishing third in the SEC in Rushing Offense (192 rushing yards/game).

There are reports that Florida has hired Utah Offensive Line Coach Tim Davis since Elliott turned down the Gators overtures.

IMO, there are three coaches South Carolina cannot afford to lose: Coach Elliott, Coach Ward and Steve Spurrier. USC has dodged a major blow to the program and should feel indebted to Coach Elliott for his loyalty to the Gamecocks football program. It says a lot about how far Carolina football has advanced the last couple of years when USC coaches are turning down perennial SEC powers to stay in Columbia!

Go Gamecocks!

Former Golden Eagles Coach Lands at USC

2012-02-03T12:13:00.000-05:00

Steve Spurrier has added the final piece to his coaching staff today by hiring Grady Brown, formerly of Southern Mississippi University, where the 34-year-old spent the last two seasons as the Cornerbacks Coach.
Last season under the tutelage of Brown, the Golden Eagles finished seventh nationally in Pass Efficiency Defense. The Conference USA school set an NCAA record in 2011 with eight interceptions returned for touchdowns.

Brown began his coaching career at his alma mater, Alabama A&M, in 2000, where he coached for six seasons. Brown then moved on to Southern University, where he coached Safeties for a year before migrating to LSU in 2008, where he was on staff with current USC Special Teams/Tight Ends Coach Joe Robinson, who is also a recent new hire by Spurrier. At LSU, Brown was an assistant coach on the Strength & Conditioning staff.

Following his stint in Baton Rouge, Brown accepted a job on former USM Head Coach Larry Fedora’s staff, where he coached the Secondary for two years. Brown was the only coach retained by Ellis Johnson at Southern Miss when the former USC Defensive Coordinator replaced Larry Fedora following Fedora accepting the UNC job.

Brown is the fourth on-field football hire for Steve Spurrier following the historical 11-win season. The fifth hire came with the promotion of Strength Coach Joe Connelly to replace former Strength Coach Craig Fitzgerald, who left for Penn State last month. According to the USC press release, Brown will coach the Secondary and assist with the Special Teams. Brown replaces former Safeties Coach Jeep Hunter, who was fired on January 27th.

Welcome Coach Brown and family.

Go Gamecocks!

RB Marcus Lattimore Rehab Update

2012-02-03T11:30:00.000-05:00

Per WIS-TV, South Carolina Running Back Marcus Lattimore is progressing well with regards to rehabbing his injured knee.

The Columbia, SC television station quoted TheBigSpur's Tony Morrell, who said sources close to the program said the junior from Duncan, SC is ahead of schedule in terms of his projected recovery date.

TheBigSpur report stated that Lattimore has begun running straight ahead normally as well as on a treadmill while continuing his therapy in and out of the pool. The USC star Running Back is expected to begin lateral movement towards the end of this month or early in March with aspirations of being 100% by early summer.

Lattimore suffered the injury when a Mississippi State defender rolled up on the Running Back's knee while blocking for Bruce Ellington. It's been almost four months since the former Heisman hopeful injured the left knee back in October of last year.

Congratulations to Marcus Lattimore for his determination and effort to come back better than ever from his knee injury.

Go Gamecocks!

What Can Brown do for USC?

2012-02-02T17:11:00.001-05:00

According to AM-560 in Columbia, current Southern Mississippi University Assistant Coach Grady Brown is the leading candidate to replace the recently fired Jeep Hunter. Sources expect Brown to be on the USC campus within the next 24-48 hours to interview and if all goes well then it is expected that USC Head Coach Steve Spurrier would likely offer the job to Golden Eagles Secondary Coach. Brown just completed his third season in Hattiesburg and was the only assistant retained by new Head Coach and former Gamecocks Defensive Coordinator Ellis Johnson.

Southern Mississippi finished seventh last season nationally in Pass Efficiency Defense and returned an NCAA record eight interceptions for touchdowns.

Prior to being at Southern Mississippi under former Head Coach Larry Fedora, Brown served on the LSU staff under Les Miles as an assistant strength and conditioning coach.

Brown graduated from Alabama A&M in 2000.

Gamecocks Signing Day Recap - Peach State Flavor

2012-02-01T15:31:00.002-05:00

Steve Spurrier and the USC football staff can put a bow on a consensus Top 20 recruiting class, after receiving all 22 Letters of Intent today with more than half of the LOIs coming across the southern border of the Palmetto state. The biggest news story of USC’s National Signing Day today is the 12 Georgia high school football players that will trek northward and play collegiately in Williams-Brice Stadium for the next four to five years. The dozen Peach state products make up almost half of the 25-man class that Head Coach Steve Spurrier will welcome to campus. Georgia produces more than 200 major college prospects annually, trailing only Texas, California and Florida.

For the first time in four years, USC kind of coasted into National Signing Day without any drama. If you remember, the last three National Signing Days for South Carolina had plenty of suspense, like the famous “pumping gas saga” with WR Alshon Jeffery and former UT Coach Lane Kiffin in 2009. Then in 2010, RB Marcus Lattimore, choosing between USC & Auburn, was accompanied by former Auburn RB Stephen Davis inside Lattimore’s church on Signing Day Eve leading to speculation that the Byrnes product would spurn the home state Gamecocks. Fortunately, Lattimore would instead only accept a Gamecocks hat from Davis and select USC as his future home. While last year every red-blooded American USC fan interrupted his/her sweetheart’s Valentine’s Day plans until some kid named Clowney placed a hat on his head and announced for the Gamecocks on ESPN. So it was kind of nice to sit back and relax today. The F5 (refresh) key on many a laptop remains intact today…

Here are some interesting numbers and tidbits from the USC recruiting trail – 2012:

State-by-State Breakdown:

South Carolina (Five) – WR Kwinton Smith, OL Mason Zandi, WR Shaq Roland, TE Jerrell Adams (via Fork Union Prep in Virginia), RB Kendric Salley

North Carolina (Three) – WR Jody Fuller, OL Clayton Stadnik, OL Brock Stadnik

Georgia (Twelve) - RB Mike Davis, CB Chaz Elder, DE Jhaustin Thomas, Safety Kyle Fleetwood, LB T.J. Holloman, DT Carlos Hood, CB Rico McWilliams, CB Chris Moody, OL Joe Harris, DE Darius English, CB T.J. Gurley and Kicker Nick St. Germain

Florida (Three) – TE Kelvin Rainey, Spur Jordan Diggs, OL Cody Waldrop

New Jersey (One) – LB Kaiwan Lewis

Pennsylvania (One) – QB Brendan Nosovitch

USC Coaches Recruiting Body of Work: Who is getting it done on the recruiting trail?

Steve Spurrier Jr (2) – WR Kwinton Smith, TE Kelvin Rainey

Lorenzo Ward (9) – RB Mike Davis, CB Chaz Elder, DE Jhaustin Thomas, Safety Kyle Fleetwood, LB T.J. Holloman, DT Carlos Hood, CB Rico McWilliams, CB Chris Moody, OL Joe Harris

G.A. Mangus (6) – LB Kaiwan Lewis, DE Darius English, Spur Jordan Diggs, QB Brendan Nosovitch, OL Cody Waldrop, and Kicker Nick St. Germain

Sean Elliott (1) – OL Mason Zandi

Brad Lawing (2) – WR Shaq Roland, TE Jerrell Adams

Jay Graham (now at Tennessee) (4) – WR Jody Fuller, OL Clayton Stadnik, OL Brock Stadnik, RB Kendric Salley

John Butler (now at Penn State) (1) – CB T.J. Gurley

Jeep Hunter (former USC Coach) - None

Judging by the list above, it appears Defensive Coordinator Lorenzo Ward and Quarterbacks Coach G.A. Mangus are earning their paychecks out on the recruiting trail, as well as coaching on the field. Shout out to former RB’s Coach Jay Graham, as well, for his production on the recruiting trail.
Now just because a coach is not the lead recruiter for a prospect, all the USC coaches assist the lead recruiters on all prospects, especially if the coach will be the position coach of the recruit. OL Coach Sean Elliott, DL Coach Brad Lawing and WR Coach Steve Spurrier Jr. all had low commitment numbers, but all three coaches definitely worked behind the scenes to help secure the commitments of all players at their respective positions. Also, sometimes in recruiting cycles a coach’s recruiting territory does not yield a lot of major D-1 prospects, so more time is spent assisting other assistant coaches.

USC Class Tidbits:

→Kicker Nick St. Germain is the first scholarship kicker at USC since Ryan Succop.

→RB Kendric Salley was the first 2012 commitment when he committed to USC on December 3, 2010.

→DB Chris Moody was the last 2012 commitment when he committed to USC on January 30, 2012. Moody was also the only player South Caroina “turned” from another program (Vanderbilt).

→USC beat UGA head-to-head on three recruiting battles inside the Peach State’s borders: OL Joe Harris, CB Chaz Elder and RB Mike Davis

→The Gamecocks signed 10 of the top 75 high school football players from the state of Georgia

→South Carolina beat UGA head-to-head on a highly regarded Florida prospect, OL Cody Waldrop

→South Carolina signed four Parade All-Americans: Quarterback Brendan Nosovitch of Allentown, PA; Wide Receiver Shaq Roland of Lexington, SC; Offensive Lineman Brock Stadnik of Greensboro, NC; and Defensive End Darius English of Powder Springs, GA.

→Quarterback Brendan Nosovitch won the Maxwell Football Club’s First Pennsylvania Player of the Year Award. Nosovitch finished his senior season with 3,809 passing yards and 39 touchdowns. He rushed for 841 yards on 134 carries and 20 touchdowns. Nosovitch holds the PA state record for career passing yards with 12,809 yards.

→Wide Receiver Shaq Roland 2012 named the South Carolina Mr. Football Award winner (4th year in a row USC signed South Carolina Mr. Football award recipient)

→With the signing of Jordan Diggs today, USC now has three sets of Gamecock legacies on its roster: Kelcy Quarles (father Buddy played at USC in the mid 1980s), brothers Gerald Dixon & Gerald Dixon Jr. (father Gerald Sr. played at USC in the late 1980s) and Jordan Diggs (father played at USC in the mid 1980s).

→Three teammates from Stephenson High School in Stone Mountain, GA signed with South Carolina: RB Mike Davis, DL Carlos Hood and DB Kyle Fleetwood

→Consecutive years that two teammates, DE Darius English and Kicker Nick St. Germain, from McEachern High School in Powder Springs, GA signed with South Carolina. Last year LB Marcquis Roberts and TE Rory Anderson signed with the Gamecocks

→RB Mike Davis’ older brother, James, played collegiately at Clemson University last decade

→In the last two recruiting classes, USC has signed 21 players from the state of Georgia in contrast the Gamecocks have signed only 13 recruits from South Carolina

Star Rankings:

247sports: 5-star (0), 4-star (11), 3-star (12), 2-star (2)

ESPN: 5-star (0), 4-star (10), 3-star (14), 2-star (1)

Rivals: 5-star (0), 4-star (8), 3-star (15), 2-star (2)

Scout: 5-star (1; Shaq Roland), 4-star (5), 3-star (18), 2-star (1)

Team Rankings (Unofficial):
247sports: 15
ESPN: 15
Rivals: 19
Scout: 10

SPURspective will breakdown more national recruiting news while comparing the rest of the Southeastern Conference’s recruiting classes and rankings later this week.

Go Gamecocks!

USC Pre-Signing Day Tidbits

2012-01-31T11:52:00.003-05:00

It’s less than 24 hours before National Signing Day, an unofficial holiday (really it is!) especially in the Deep South, when thousands of high school prospects across the country will sign their John Hancock’s on the dotted line with their chosen institutions. The University of South Carolina is expected to bring in a full class of 25 freshmen (no JUCO’s) even though only 22 high school freshmen will sign Letter-of-Intents (LOI’s) because three players (OL Brock Stadnik, OL Clayton Stadnik and TE Kelvin Rainey) have already enrolled at USC for this semester and did not sign LOI’s. There will be wall-to-wall coverage of NSD on ESPN and ESPNU starting at nine o’clock Wednesday morning. For guys like me who salivate 24/7 over football recruiting, the first Wednesday of every February is hopefully a time when new gridiron talent will continue to bolster the football depth chart at the University of South Carolina.

Leading up to National Signing Day, there is usually some sort of drama around every college football program. This year to coin a cliché, “the hay is already in the barn” accurately depicts the situation at USC. Steve Spurrier Jr., USC Recruiting Coordinator, and the rest of the Gamecocks staff have done a remarkable job of nailing down a very talented class. Spurrier Jr. took a different strategy this year in his inaugural season as recruiting coordinator and really got after securing verbal commitments early in the recruiting process versus past practices at South Carolina. Since the calendar turned to 2012, the Gamecocks were only pursuing five to eight high school prospects. As of January 1st the Gamecocks have secured five verbal commitments (Running Back Mike Davis, Safety Jordan Diggs, Corner Back Chaz Elder, Kicker Nick St. Germain and Corner Back Chris Moody) with more than likely the last verbal commitment coming yesterday when McDonough, GA Henry High School athlete Chris Moody de-committed from Vanderbilt and verbally committed to USC.

Now the Gamecocks coaches are still communicating with a couple of prospects, DE Tyriq McCord (committed to Miami) and DB Elijah Shumate (committed to Notre Dame). I do not expect any Signing Day drama for South Carolina, good or bad, but you never know when you are dealing with 17 and 18-year-old kids. The USC coaches will begin receiving LOI faxes tomorrow around seven o’clock in the morning. A lot of the Gamecock commitments will hold Signing Day ceremonies at their respective high schools in front of the student body and local media. Usually the recruit will sign his LOI to the school along with a signature of a parent or legal guardian. USC has sent out 22 LOI’s (remember three players have already enrolled and did not sign LOI’s) to its verbal commitments to abide new SEC rules that went into effect this year to eliminate “over signing” at all 14 SEC member schools. If Carolina or another SEC institution is expecting a Signing Day surprise, then a Letter-of-Intent must have been sent to the football prospect and would count against the 25-man signing limit if the student athlete chooses “said” SEC institution.

Here is a list of 22 USC verbal commitments on National Signing Day Eve that are expected to sign Letter-of-Intents:

Shaq Roland
Mike Davis
Jody Fuller
Chaz Elder
Kwinton Smith
Kaiwan Lewis
Jerrell Adams
Joe Harris
Darius English
Jordan Diggs
Cody Waldrop
Brendan Nosovitch
Jhaustin Thomas
T.J. Gurley
Kyle Fleetwood
Chris Moody
Rico McWilliams
Carlos Hood
T.J. Holloman
Kendric Salley
Nick St. Germain
Mason Zandi

*Note: Brock Stadnik, Clayton Stadnik and Kelvin Rainey are already enrolled in school and therefore do not sign LOI’s.

Starting tomorrow morning SPURspective will be monitoring all of the signing day action bright & early and will bring you any breaking news on USC’s recruiting front.

I’ll breakdown the Gamecocks Signing Day haul with plenty of analysis and let you the fans know what coaches on USC’s staff really have made a difference on the recruiting trail this year and which signees we can expect to make an immediate impact on the gridiron in 2012.

Go Gamecocks!

Moody Has a "Mood Swing" in His Commitment

2012-01-30T11:35:00.001-05:00

According to TheBigSpur, Georgia Athlete Chris Moody has switched his verbal commitment from Vanderbilt to South Carolina. Moody visited USC this past weekend after committing to Vanderbilt the weekend of Jan. 22nd while on an Official Visit. Moody becomes the 25th USC verbal commitment. Lorenzo Ward is the lead recruiter for Moody and represents the ninth Peach State product that Ward has secured this 2012 recruiting cycle out of Georgia.

Coach Jeep Hunter Off of USC Staff

2012-01-27T11:43:00.001-05:00

According to TheBigSpur.com, USC football Assistant Coach Jeep Hunter is no longer a part of the football staff. Hunter had just completed his third season with the Gamecocks. This past year, he coached Safeties in the Secondary. No names mentioned as of right now of possible replacements.

USC Men’s Basketball – Wins & Losses Bottom Line

2012-01-23T15:09:00.002-05:00

In our second installment of the Darrin Horn Era, we’ll take a look at the fourth year head coach’s win/loss record versus non-conference opponents, versus Southeastern Conference competition, Horn’s SEC Tournament record and post-season performance. Upward mobility in the SEC is always challenging and generally coaches are given a four to five year window to turn around a fledgling program upon arrival. The first task of any new coach is to upgrade its talent on campus. By & large Horn’s recruiting classes, especially his 2010 group, have been judged as improvements in changing the DNA of the Gamecocks basketball program. I discussed this topic in my first installment. If you missed it here is a link to the first installment of this three-part series:

USC Recruiting

The second benchmark of any program, and the single most important, IMHO, is win/loss record. Under Head Coach Darrin Horn, the Gamecocks have compiled a 58-52 overall record in three-and-a-half seasons. A disparaging sign for a coach entering his fourth year in charge of a turning around the fortunes of a college basketball program is to be facing a third sub-.500% season at this juncture in his tenure on the job. The big, red heron that raises red flags is that of Horn’s 58 career victories while at South Carolina, 36% (21) came in his initial year, when he inherited players like Devan Downey, Zam Frederick, Dominique Archie, Mike Holmes and Sam Muldrow. Horn’s seasonal win total in Columbia has declined each season since the former Western Kentucky University Head Coach has been at the helm of the USC men’s basketball program.

Here is a breakdown of Horn’s win/loss record at South Carolina:
2008-09: 21-10 (SEC record: 10-6)
Signature Wins: at #19 Baylor (85-84), #24 Florida (70-69), at #24 Kentucky (78-77)
Bad Losses: at College of Charleston (82-80, OT), Tennessee (86-70)

2009-10: 15-16 (SEC record: 6-10)
Signature Wins: Richmond (76-58), #1 Kentucky (68-62), at #19 Vanderbilt (77-73)
Bad Losses: at Wofford (68-61), at #14 Tennessee (79-53), at UGA (66-61), Mississippi State (76-63)

2010-11: 14-16, (SEC record: 5-11)
Signature Wins: Clemson (64-60), #22 Vanderbilt (83-75, OT), at Florida (72-69)
Bad Losses: at Ohio State (79-57), at Furman (91-75), Boston College (85-70), Auburn (79-64), at #23 Vanderbilt (78-60), #17 Florida (79-60), at #22 Kentucky (90-59), at Georgia (64-48)

2011-12: 8-10, (SEC record: 0-4)
Signature Wins: at Clemson (58-55)
Bad Losses: at Elon (58-53), Tennessee State (64-63), vs #1 UNC (87-62), Vanderbilt (67-57), Florida (79-65), Auburn (63-52)

So before we look at records versus competition, here is a staggering thought. Horn and his squad quite possibly could begin SEC league play this year, 0-10, as the Gamecocks play six games (Alabama, at Ole Miss, at Florida, Kentucky, at Tennessee and at Arkansas) where USC will be considered the underdogs before hosting Georgia at the CLA on February 15th.

Non-Conference Record:
Horn’s Non-Conference record is 37-17 in three-plus seasons. He has one victory over a ranked opponent (#19 Baylor in his first season, 85-84) on the road. His record against BCS Conference competition is 4-12 with two of those wins coming against an unranked Clemson team last year, 64-60, at the CLA and this season at Clemson, 58-55. His fourth victory against a BCS-level opponent was against South Florida 69-66 in a tournament two years ago. His average margin of victory against BCS conference opponents is 2.75 points/game. In contrast, USC’s average margin of loss under Horn versus BCS Conference competition is 12.3 points/game. Horn has a single win at the Colonial Life Arena against a BCS-level opponent in three-plus years: Clemson (2010, 64-60).

Another disturbing trend under Horn is the annual loss to a Southern Conference opponent on the road. An SEC school, even with subpar talent like USC’s, should never lose a single game to a non-BCS school each year like College of Charleston (2008), Wofford (2009), Furman (2010) and Elon (2011). The inability to win on the road against inferior competition reflects poor coaching and inexcusable execution of a game plan.

Bottom line: Darrin Horn has “padded” his win total (33) versus lesser opponents to the tune of .057% winning percentage. Most of his wins have come at the CLA against the likes of S.C. State, Furman, Southeast Louisiana, Western Carolina and Radford. Let’s remember the Gamecocks lost to Tennessee State this season at home!

Conference Record:
Horn’s Southeastern Conference record is 21-31 in three-plus seasons. Horn won ten conference games in his first season, when the SEC East Division was not very good and the conference as a whole was mediocre. Since year one, Horn’s teams have compiled an 11-25 record without winning a conference game yet this season. In the last 16 SEC Conference games (regular season), the Gamecocks are 2-14. During that span of games, the average loss is 14.5 points/game, while the two wins came against SEC West bottom feeders, LSU & Ole Miss, last season by an average of 7.5 points/game.

The Gamecocks have not won an SEC game since February 22, 2011 at home against Ole Miss, 79-73, and currently own a seven-game regular season conference losing streak. The last time Horn’s Gamecocks defeated a ranked SEC team on the road was March 6, 2010 at #19 Vanderbilt, 77-73 and that was with Dave Odom players (Downey, Muldrow, Frederick and Raley-Ross). Under the Horn regime, the Gamecocks have not defeated Mississippi State (0-3; regular season and 0-1; SEC Tournament) or Tennessee (0-6). Against the top four teams in the SEC East Division (UK, UF, VU and UT), Carolina is 9-18 and in the midst of a nine-game losing streak to those four teams. Against the top four teams in the SEC West (Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi St and Ole Miss), South Carolina is 5-7. Against the rest of the SEC (Georgia, Auburn and LSU), the Gamecocks are 7-6.

Bottom line: Clearly, the last two seasons, the SEC is getting better while South Carolina is getting worse! The Gamecocks are not competing against the upper echelon of the Southeastern Conference, while just treading water (one game over .500) against similar conference competition.

Southeastern Conference Tournament Record:
In three SEC Conference Basketball tournament appearances, the Gamecocks are 0-3 where the average loss is 10 points/game. In two of the three losses, Mississippi State (2009) & Ole Miss (2011), the Gamecocks never really put up much of a fight. In the opening-round loss to Alabama in 2010, the Gamecocks unraveled in the second half surrendering a double-digit lead before losing by five points.

Bottom line: The Gamecocks have not won a single game in the SEC Tournament under Darrin Horn and two of the three losses have been by double digits and greater than ten points.

Post Season:
Under Darrin Horn, the Gamecocks have participated in one post-season tournament game. In 2009, the Gamecocks hosted Davidson (Southern Conference opponent) at the CLA in an opening round NIT game and lost 70-63. Horn’s predecessors, Fogler and Odom, had the Gamecocks in the NCAA Tournament by their fourth year. Barring a miracle, this team will not see postseason play for a fourth straight year under Darrin Horn.

Bottom line: The lack of postseason play during Horn’s tenure defines the demise of this program the last two-plus years. Even under Odom, the Gamecocks participated in multiple NIT tournaments and won back-to-back NIT titles in 2005 & 2006. Coach Horn has demonstrated he cannot guide his team to postseason play when facing BCS-level competition. Remember when Horn’s Western Kentucky University team reached the Sweet 16 back in 2008; the Hilltoppers (#12 seed) defeated two non-BCS schools, (#5 seed) Drake University & (#13 seed) San Diego State before losing to UCLA.

In the last installment of this three-part series, SPURspective will list some possible candidates to replace Darrin Horn and what it will cost South Carolina to replace Darrin Horn at season’s end.

Go Gamecocks!

Gamecocks Defensive Back Suspended

2012-01-21T20:08:00.000-05:00

University of South Carolina Head Football Coach Steve Spurrier announced this afternoon that freshman Safety Brison Williams has been suspended indefinitely from the football team.
"Brison Williams has been suspended for conduct detrimental to the South Carolina football team," said Coach Spurrier.
Williams, a freshman from Warner Robins, Georgia, played in eight games for the Gamecocks in 2011, recording 11 tackles.

USC Strength Coach Craig Fitzgerald Resigns

2012-01-20T17:40:00.000-05:00

Per Gamecocksonline, Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach Joe Connolly has been named as the South Carolina Gamecocks' Head Football Strength & Conditioning Coach, head coach Steve Spurrier announced today. Connolly replace Craig Fitzgerald, who has resigned to pursue other opportunities.

Connolly has been a member of the South Carolina Strength & Conditioning staff since 2009. The Massachuesetts native began his career at Harvard where he worked for two years, assisting with all 41 sports at the Ivy League school. He then served as an assistant strength & conditioning coach at Louisville, working with football.

Go Gamecocks!

Adams Finally a Part of the Gamecock Family

2012-01-19T12:30:00.001-05:00

Per TheBigSpur, the NCAA Clearinghouse finally approved Tight End Jerell Adams' enrollment to the University of South Carolina today. Adams, a former four-star prospect, will not be able to enroll this semester and thus participate in spring practice because he has already missed too many classes, but he will enroll in May. Adams is a former South Carolina Shrine Bowl member and signed with USC last year. He unfortunately did not make grades out of high school and attended Fork Union Prep in Virginia for a semester last fall to improve his academics.

Adams is a native of Summerton, SC and played his high school football at Scott’s Branch.

Go Gamecocks!

The Horn Era“ror” - Recruiting Shortcomings

2012-01-19T09:17:00.000-05:00

It’s ironic that nearly four years ago the University of South Carolina played the ultimate April Fool’s Day on its fan base. On April 1, 2008, USC Athletics Director Eric Hyman made the first, most significant coaching hire at South Carolina since he arrived from Texas Christian University, TCU, in 2005. At this press conference, A.D. Hyman introduced to Gamecocks Nation a young, energetic, up-and-coming head coach from Western Kentucky University named Darrin Horn. Horn had just completed the most successful season at his alma mater with a surprising run to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Basketball Tournament.

Horn was a polar opposite of former USC Head Basketball Coach Dave Odom. Odom was longer in the tooth, played a brand of basketball (half-court offense versus 94 feet of helter-skelter) that was not resonating with fans in the Colonial Life Arena and, most importantly, was not the most enthusiastic recruiter when it came to the AAU basketball circuit where a lot of the top high school talent is mined these days by college coaches.

Recruiting was the first chord that Horn chimed in during his introductory press conference. The Tom Crean disciple (Horn coached under current Indiana Head Coach Tom Crean at Marquette University) said, “The key to being a great coach is being a great recruiter.” Gamecocks’ fans clamored for a young, energizer-bunny head coach that could open doors for Carolina amongst the AAU hotbeds (Atlanta or Charlotte), where successful college basketball coaches feed their programs annually. Unfortunately, Darrin Horn burnt the recruiting bridge to Atlanta within a few weeks on the job, when he told former Dave Odom recruit, Darius Morrow (now at East Carolina University), that he could come to USC, but he would not play a lot of minutes. Horn’s abrasive attitude rubbed several high school coaches in the Atlanta Metro area the wrong way and subsequently USC has been black-balled from the Atlanta AAU circuit since the incident.

So with Atlanta out of the picture as far as a recruiting territory for South Carolina, the Gamecocks coaching staff turned their attention north of the border and within the Palmetto state’s borders. Horn has targeted prospects in North and South Carolina and has had some degree of success signing a total of nine players.

“Another great thing is that we have talent in this state. Let me tell you about my recruiting philosophy. We are going to start on the inside and work our way out. We've done that everywhere I've ever been, and it's led to great success. There is talent in this state. We are going to put a fence up around the state of South Carolina, and the best players in the state are going to be recruited to play at the University of South Carolina,” said Horn back at his introductory press conference at USC.

Since Horn arrived at South Carolina, he has done a decent job of keeping the top Palmetto state talent within our state’s borders. In four recruiting cycles at USC, Coach Horn has signed two of the state’s top home grown talents. In 2010, Horn signed point guard Bruce Ellington, four-star prospect, out of Berkeley High School in Moncks Corner, and then last year the Gamecocks inked shooting guard Damien Leonard, four-star prospect, out of J.L. Mann High School in Greenville. Horn and his staff have signed a total of six basketball prospects from South Carolina: Ellington (2010), Leonard (2011), Johndre Jefferson, JUCO transfer, (2009/graduated last year), Eric Smith, three-star prospect, (2010), R.J. Slawson, three-star prospect, (2010) and Carlton Geathers, three-star prospect, (2010).

The only prospect that has had any degree of impact on the basketball program is sophomore Bruce Ellington, who, during his freshman season, averaged just over 14 points a game. This year Ellington split time between football and basketball and understandably his progression on the hardwood has been stunted this year, because he is not concentrating solely on basketball. The Moncks Corner native has participated in ten basketball games this season and is averaging 11 points/game, while in 17 games freshman SG Damien Leonard is averaging 6.6 points/game. Ellington is the second highest scorer on the team behind senior forward Malik Cooke. Leonard is amongst the top four scorers on the team so far this season.

The other three Palmetto state players on the Gamecocks roster are collectively averaging 12.4 points/game this season. All three players are currently role players off the bench.

Since Horn’s arrival at USC, he has signed a total of 13 players. His first class consisted of four players:

Lakeem Jackson (Jr): three-star prospect (North Carolina); very limited offensive player & poor shooter
Ramon Galloway: three-star prospect (Florida); transferred to LaSalle last year & averaging 15 pts/game
Stephen Spinella: three-star prospect (New Jersey); transferred to Monmouth last year; no longer playing
Johndre Jefferson: JUCO transfer/(Lake Marion, SC): played two years; graduated last year

→Not one single member of Horn’s first recruiting class made a significant impact on the USC basketball program. IMHO, not a single player improved under Horn’s coaching and only one player remains on the team - Jackson!

Horn’s second recruiting class was full of Palmetto state players. He signed six players in 2010:

Bruce Ellington (Soph): four-star prospect (South Carolina); face of the program; starting point guard
R.J. Slawson (Soph): three-star prospect (South Carolina); role player off the bench; decent sixth man
Eric Smith (Soph): three-star prospect (South Carolina); role player; backup point guard
Damontre Harris (Soph): four-star prospect (North Carolina); developing as a decent SEC post player
Carlton Geathers (Rfresh): three-star prospect (South Carolina); below-marginal SEC big man; project
Brian Richardson (Soph): three-star prospect (North Carolina); spot-up shooter; limited offensive skills

→Horn’s second recruiting class is the core of Horn’s basketball product and more than likely will be his downfall since not a single player has drastically improved in year two under Horn’s guidance.

Horn’s third recruiting class included three players in 2011:
Damien Leonard (Fr): four-star prospect (South Carolina); 3-pt shooter, limited shot maker off the dribble
Anthony Gill (Fr.): three-star prospect (North Carolina); skilled big man; high basketball “IQ”
Brenton Williams (JUCO/Jr): three-star prospect (Florida/JUCO); injuries have led to little impact so far

→Horn’s third class has two highly skilled players in Leonard and Gill. Both players were highly recruited and hopefully will improve as the year progresses. Williams was a lightly recruited player out of a Florida Junior College and has missed more than half of the games due to injury.

Horn’s fourth recruiting class is a nice “bookend” to his first class and on paper devoid of talent as a black cloud hovers around the men’s basketball program:
Tyrone Haughton: three-star prospect (Florida); decent low post player on defense but will need extensive coaching at the next level

→Remember, Horn had two Florida prospects, Ian Baker & Carlos Morris, de-commit because of Horn’s uncertainty as the head coach of South Carolina post-2012 season.

Horn is toxic in recruiting circles due to his tumultuous tenure at USC since the end of the 2011 season, when multiple players walked away from the program for multiple reasons. Recruiting is the life blood of any college program and the lack of difference makers on the court at the Colonial Life Arena has created apathy in the fan base and coined the label Colonial Life-“less” Arena. The recruiting evaluations of Coach Horn have been his own worst nemesis in four years at the helm of USC basketball. The future is bleak concerning USC basketball and with the current talent on the roster; recruiting has been a huge part of the disastrous recipe since Horn arrived in Columbia. The apathy of the fan base is apparent when you see the games on television and the crowds are so sparse that it is embarrassing to even be seen by a national audience.

I guess the joke will be on USC if Horn is allowed to continue to patrol the sidelines at the CLA after this season.

SPURspective’s Note: I will run a three-part series on the state of USC basketball under Darrin Horn: Recruiting, Win/Loss Record and Future Replacements,

Go Gamecocks!

South Carolina Football Recruiting Board

2012-01-17T17:14:00.000-05:00

Football recruiting junkies are almost two weeks away from National Signing Day (February 1st), which is always the first Wednesday in the month of February. The Gamecocks currently stand at 24 verbal commitments after receiving a big commitment from Stephenson High School/Stone Mountain, Georgia four-star RB Mike Davis on Friday night during the Georgia native’s official visit to USC’s campus. Three of the 24 verbal commitments (Brock Stadnik, Clayton Stadnik and Kelvin Rainey) enrolled into South Carolina early to participate in spring practice. A fourth early enrollee possibility, Jerrell Adams, more than likely will not be cleared in time by the NCAA Clearinghouse to begin classes at USC this semester, so he will have to wait and enroll in May.

So basically the Gamecocks have three to four scholarships to offer for the 2012 class because only 25 high school, prep or JUCO combination of players can sign Letters-of-Intent on National Signing Day. Plus, once classes begin in the fall, the Gamecocks must be at or under the 85 NCAA-mandated scholarship limit. Also keep in mind that South Carolina might have self-imposed or NCAA-imposed scholarship reductions related to the 2010 “Whitney-gate,” where USC athletes were getting discounted housing accommodations from a Columbia area hotel. If there are scholarship reductions, that squeezes the 2012 scholarship numbers even tighter for the football coaching staff.

So here is a current breakdown of the USC Recruiting Board with verbal commitments in BOLD.

Quarterback:

Brendan Nosovitch – Pennsylvania/Official Visit Date: 01/14/2012

Running Back:

Kendric Salley – South Carolina/Official Visit Date: 01/14/2012
Mike Davis – Georgia/Official Visit Date: 01/13/2012

Wide Receivers:

Shaq Roland – South Carolina/Official Visit Date: 01/14/2012
Kwinton Smith – South Carolina/Official Visit Date: 01/14/2012
Jody Fuller – North Carolina/Official Visit Date: 11/11/2011

Quinshad Davis –South Carolina/Davis (6’4”/185 pounds) currently does not have an official visit date with USC. He visited Wake Forest last weekend. He plans to see UNC on 1/21 and Tennessee on 1/28. Shawn Elliott is Davis’ recruiter for the Gamecocks.

Tight Ends:

Jerrell Adams – South Carolina//Official Visit Date: 11/18/2011
Kelvin Rainey – Florida//Official Visit Date: 11/12/2011

Offensive Line:

Brock Stadnik – North Carolina/Official Visit Date: 11/12/2011
Clayton Stadnik – North Carolina/Official Visit Date: 11/11/2011
Cody Waldrop - Florida/Official Visit Date: 09/23/2011
Mason Zandi – South Carolina/Official Visit Date: 01/14/2012
Joe Harris - Georgia/Official Visit Date: 01/14/2012

Defensive Line:

Darius English - Georgia/Official Visit Date: 01/14/2012
Carlos Hood - Georgia/Official Visit Date: 01/14/2012
Jhaustin Thomas - Georgia/Official Visit Date: 01/21/2012

Tyriq McCord – Florida/McCord is a Miami commitment that USC lead for his services throughout, until the Friday night prior to McCord selecting the ‘Canes on national television in the Army All-American game. I believe distance from home was a big factor for McCord, but I get the feeling USC is not giving up on this Tampa product just yet. Mangus is his lead recruiter.

Dalvin Tomlinson – Georgia/Tomlinson (6’3”/275 pounds) had an early offer from the Gamecocks but USC cooled on the defensive tackle prospect, as the Gamecocks focused on other d-line prospects. Now per Phil Kornblut, USC has rekindled interest in the Atlanta Metro area player, as Lorenzo Ward visited Tomlinson on Tuesday at his school, Henry County High School, which is also home of USC defensive back target Chris Moody. USC’s numbers are tight, but it appears the Gamecocks would like to secure one more commitment on the defensive line in this class. Currently, UGA and Georgia Tech would have to be considered the leaders for Tomlinson, but Ward hopefully can reignite Carolina’s interest in time to secure an official visit date for Tomlinson to USC’s campus over the next three weekends.

Josh Dawson – Georgia/Dawson (6’4”/220 pounds) is a Vanderbilt commitment, but there are the proverbial reports that he is looking around at other options. A lot of kids begin to second guess themselves as Signing Day nears and so competing schools, especially in the Southeastern Conference, will pounce on a kid that seems to teeter on a decision. If there is a city in America where USC can go out of state and win a head-to-head battle with a home state school, i.e., UGA or Georgia Tech, it is the Atlanta Metro area where USC’s ace recruiter Lorenzo Ward has really established the Gamecocks as big-time players in recruiting circles. So right now it is unknown if South Carolina will really push Dawson, but he is a new name that has surfaced on the d-line board.

Kenderius Whitehead – Georgia/Whitehead (6’5”/210 pounds) is still uncommitted and recently took a visit to Clemson University this past weekend. As things stand right now, UGA and Clemson would have to be considered the top two choices in the race for this four-star prospect’s signature. Ward also paid a visit to Whitehead on Tuesday during his swing through the ATL. USC would have to be considered a long shot to come from behind and sway Whitehead, but with Ward’s presence in Atlanta this year, never count out the Gamecocks.

Linebackers:

Kaiwan Lewis – New Jersey/Official Visit Date: 01/14/2012
T.J. Holloman - Georgia/Official Visit Date: 01/14/2012

Spurs:

Jordan Diggs – Florida//Official Visit Date: 11/25/2012

Safety:

Kyle Fleetwood - Georgia/Official Visit Date: 01/14/2012
T.J. Gurley - Georgia/Official Visit Date: 01/14/2012

Elijah Shumate – New Jersey/Shumate committed to Notre Dame on national television during the Army All-American Game. USC was once a strong leader for Shumate, particularly after his official visit last November, but once Shumate took an official visit to South Bend, the Irish overtook USC’s lead and gained Shumate’s verbal commitment. The Gamecocks continue communication with the Garden state product, but, IMHO, Shumate is South Bend bound. Mangus is the lead recruiter for Shumate.

Chris Moody – Georgia/Moody is uncommitted at this point in the recruiting process, and USC has renewed its interest in the Peach state athlete. Moody played quarterback in high school, but South Carolina is recruiting Moody as a Safety at the college level. After Shumate committed to Notre Dame, the Gamecocks turned the recruiting heat back up on the McDonough, GA native, and have tentatively set up an official visit date to USC on January 27th for Moody. Lorenzo Ward is the lead recruiter for Moody.

Cornerbacks:

Chaz Elder – Georgia/ Official Visit Date: 11/25/2011
Rico McWilliams – Georgia/ Official Visit Date: 01/14/2012

Kicker:

Nick St. Germain - Georgia/ Official Visit Date: 01/14/2012

In quite a contrasting approach to recruiting this year, the Gamecocks have pretty much put a bow on the 2012 recruiting cycle with just maybe 2-3 uncommitted players still being aggressively pursued by USC’s coaches. Now names may surface on the South Carolina recruiting board with two weeks left to NSD, but for the most part, the Gamecock coaches are focusing on the 2013 underclassmen and getting a jumpstart on next year’s class, because remember, college football recruiting is 24/7, 365 days a year.

Go Gamecocks!

South Carolina Native to Be New USC Running Backs Coach

2012-01-16T11:43:00.000-05:00

Steve Spurrier has completed his 2012 staff by hiring former Citadel running back Everette Sands to replace Jay Graham, who departed in December for his alma mater, Tennessee. Sands just completed his first season in Raleigh, as the Running Backs Coach for the N.C. State Wolfpack. Sands has been in the college coaching ranks for 16 years coaching mostly at the FBS & FCS levels at institutions like Elon (1996-98), The Citadel (1999-2000), Ohio University (2001-2004), The Citadel (2005-2010) and NC State (2011). Sands has coached almost his entire career at the Running Backs position.

The Conway, SC native inherits a loaded backfield in Columbia with the return of Marcus Lattimore, Brandon Wilds, Shon Carson, Kenny Miles and the expected signature of RB Mike Davis after his verbal commitment to USC this weekend.

During his one-year stint in Raleigh, Sands recruited two players during the 2011 cycle: Myrtle Beach DE Tyler Knox and RB Shadrach Thornton of Hinesville, GA.

As a player at The Citadel, Sands was an All-Southern Conference player all four years, 1990-1993, and never recorded a single negative yard in four college years of rushing the football.

Welcome to the Gamecocks Nation Coach Sands & family!

Go Gamecocks!

Four Gamecock Commitments Named Parade All-Americans

2012-01-15T16:10:00.000-05:00

The 2012 Parade All-American Team was published today and four Gamecock commitments were recognized. The four players are Quarterback Brendan Nosovitch of Allentown, PA; Wide Receiver Shaq Roland of Lexington, SC; Offensive Lineman Brock Stadnik of Greensboro, NC; and Defensive End Darius English of Powder Springs, GA.

The Palmetto state had three representatives on the team: the aforementioned Shaq Roland, Wando High School Defensive Lineman Gimel President and Gaffney High School Wide Receiver Quinshad Davis. A total of 53 high school seniors represented 27 states and one player from the District of Columbia (Washington D.C.).

Congratulations to the four Gamecock commitments on this achievement!

Go Gamecocks!

South Carolina Nabs First 2013 Football Commitment

2012-01-14T22:30:00.001-05:00

Momentum in recruiting is a wave the Gamecocks are riding into National Signing Day and tonight USC got its first commitment for---2013. One day after getting a verbal commitment from highly touted RB Mike Davis, the Gamecocks secured a verbal commitment from D.J. Park an offensive lineman from Dillon High School down in the Pee Dee area of South Carolina. Park is a four-star prospect and ranked the number 217th best prospect in the 2013 class according to 247sports. The massive 6’5” 315 pound road grader is a top five prospect in the 2013 class of South Carolina high school rising seniors.

Park was on an unofficial visit to USC on Saturday and committed to his recruiting coach Shawn Elliott. Elliott will ironically be Park’s position coach when the Dillon native arrives at South Carolina in August of 2013. Elliott offered Park last July when high school junior attended the Gamecocks Showcase Camp.

Park comes from a strong high school program down in Dillon, SC. His teammate wide receiver Kwinton Smith is a verbal commitment to USC in the 2012 class. Smith is on his official visit to Carolina this weekend. Park has some highly touted teammates that also have offers from USC. Offensive lineman Bryce King has a USC offer and the Gamecocks lead for the 2013 interior o-line prospect. Also USC is tracking Dillon RB Jabo Lee who has yet to receive a USC offer.

Per TheBigSpur, Park had multiple offers to consider like Auburn, Clemson, East Carolina, Florida, LSU, N.C. State, UNC, Tennessee, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest.

With Park’s commitment, the Gamecocks are off to a fantastic start inside the borders of the Palmetto state in regards to recruiting for the next cycle. Remember recruiting is 365 days a year and most importantly it is about relationships. Even though Spurrier has lost some assistant coaches like Ellis Johnson and Jay Graham, Spurrier has kept a key core of coaches, Spurrier Jr., Brad Lawing and Shawn Elliott, who have built trusted relationships with high school coaches around this state over the years and have positioned the Gamecocks to have a very strong haul of the top S.C. talent in 2013.

Go Gamecocks!

Top Georgia Running Back Commits to South Carolina

2012-01-13T23:55:00.000-05:00

Per TheBigSpur, Stephenson High School Running Back Mike Davis has committed to USC during his official visit this weekend. The Stone Mountain, GA native is a 247sports Top 50 high school prospect and is the top rated back in the state of Georgia. Davis is the third prospect, Carlos Hood & Kyle Fleetwood, to pledge to the Gamecocks from Stephenson HS in the 2012 recruiting cycle. He is the eleventh verbal commitment for the Gamecocks from the Peach state.
Davis was a one-time Florida commitment but had a falling out with the Gators’ staff and re-opened his recruitment back in early December of last year. USC Defensive Coordinator Lorenzo Ward has been the point man on Davis’ recruitment all along and never gave up on the highly regarded prospect from the Atlanta Metro area even when he was a verbal commitment to Florida.

Heading into the USC visit, Carolina was perceived to be in the lead to acquire Davis’ services come National Signing Day with UGA the closest competition, but this afternoon Georgia secured its second running back commitment from a highly touted prospect, Todd Gurley, out of North Carolina (its second from the Tarheel state) and that pretty much cast Davis’ lot for South Carolina even though the Gamecocks were already the team to beat.

According to 247sports, Davis is a four-start prospect and the 45th ranked prospect overall. He is ranked the 5th best running back overall by 247sports.

Mike Davis is the younger brother of former Clemson Tigers running back James Davis who actually accompanied his little brother to Columbia this weekend.

This is a huge commitment for the Gamecocks coaching staff to secure. Congratulations to Lorenzo Ward for his hard work in the ATL Metro area this year where he has been just killing it with eight verbal commitments from his recruiting territory.

This is the 24th verbal commitment for the Gamecocks in the 2012 class.

Go Gamecocks!

South Carolina Hires Two Football Coaches

2012-01-13T15:58:00.000-05:00

South Carolina has hired former University of North Carolina Tarheels Special Teams Coach Joe Robinson. Robinson spent last year in Chapel Hill. Prior to being on the UNC staff, Robinson coached in the SEC under Les Miles at LSU. While at LSU, Robinson’s special teams were ranked #1 in the NCAA special teams.

Robinson will also coach the tight ends position in addition to his special teams coordinator title.

Robinson has previous coaching stops at UCF, Louisiana Tech, Houston and Southern Miss.

The second hire of the day was announced shortly after the Robinson announcement. Former Arkansas tight end and NFL player Kirk Botkin accepted an offer to become the Gamecocks linebackers coach. Botkin last coached in the college ranks at Arkansas in 2010 before he was released by Coach Bobby Petrino. It was during his tenure at Arkansas that Botkin coached one year with current USC Defensive Coordinator Lorenzo Ward during the 2008 season.

In 2011, Botkin was a high school coach in Texas.

Prior to his stint at Arkansas, Botkin coached at Jacksonville State and Louisiana Monroe University.

Botkin played four years in the NFL with the New Orleans Saints and Pittsburgh Steelers.

Welcome to the Gamecock family Coach Robinson & family and Coach Botkin & family!

Go Gamecocks!

Big Football Recruiting Weekend on Deck for USC

2012-01-13T13:28:00.000-05:00

This weekend is scheduled to be South Carolina’s biggest football recruiting weekend leading up to National Signing Day on February 1st. The Gamecocks have 23 total verbal commitments for the 2012 recruiting cycle, and four of the commitments have already enrolled into school this semester. The four early enrollees are OL Brock Stadnik, OL Clayton Stadnik, TE Jerrell Adams and TE Kelvin Rainey. Those four prospects did not sign LOIs, Letters-of-Intent, and thus do not count towards the 25 signed LOIs statute that the SEC put into effect this year.

As of right now, the Gamecocks coaches are expecting 16 official visitors on campus beginning Friday/Saturday and running through Sunday/Monday. Of the official visitors at USC this weekend, 15 of the prospects are committed to Carolina, while one official visitor is uncommitted. Eight USC commitments, WR Jody Fuller, OL Brock Stadnik, OL Cody Waldrop, OL Clayton Stadnik, TE Jerrell Adams, DB Chaz Elder, DB Jordan Diggs and TE Kelvin Rainey have already visited the Gamecocks campus officially.

Here is a list of planned visitors to USC’s campus this weekend:

Verbal Commitments in BOLD along with home state
1. DE Darius English (Georgia)
2. RB Mike Davis (Georgia): USC leads UGA and Clemson with Lorenzo Ward as lead recruiter
3. LB T.J. Holloman (Georgia)
4. RB Kendric Salley (South Carolina)
5. OL Mason Zandi (South Carolina)
6. K Nick St. Germain (Georgia)
7. LB Kaiwan Lewis (New Jersey)
8. S Kyle Fleetwood (Georgia)
9. OL Joe Harris (Georgia)
10. WR Shaq Roland (South Carolina)
11. WR Kwinton Smith (South Carolina)
12. QB Brendan Nosovitch (Pennsylvania)
13. DB Rico McWilliams (Georgia)
14. DB T.J. Gurley (Georgia)
15. DE Jhaustin Thomas (Georgia)
16. DT Carlos Hood (Georgia)

There was another in-state official visitor planned to come in this weekend, but according to TheBigSpur, Gaffney High School Wide Receiver Quinshad Davis has chosen to take an official visit to Wake Forest instead of USC. Earlier this week, USC’s coaches informed Davis that he had a “firm” scholarship offer to come into the program in August 2012 and not have to be a greyshirt candidate for January 2013. A greyshirt candidate is a high school prospect that does not sign an LOI in February with his college choice; the player sits out the upcoming football season and then enrolls into the university the following calendar year without signing a Letter-of-Intent. USC has already discussed this option with at least one current Gamecock verbal commitment.

Davis hails from former Gamecocks record-setting wide receiver Sidney Rice’s alma mater, Gaffney HS, and had favored USC earlier in the process, but with Davis’ hesitation to commit early to South Carolina and subsequently three wide receivers committing to USC for this recruiting cycle, the late non-greyshirt offer from Carolina might have allowed out-of-state schools like Wake Forest, UNC and Tennessee to inch ahead of South Carolina for Davis’ services come National Signing Day. IMHO, Wake Forest University is the biggest hurdle for the Gamecocks securing the Gaffney product’s signature as we move closer and closer to February 1st. Davis could still set an official visit to USC but just not this weekend as of right now.

Go Gamecocks!

USC Has Sights on Four Linebacker Coaching Candidates

2012-01-13T08:28:00.002-05:00

Per Phil Kornblut of the South Carolina Radio News Network, the USC coaching search for a new linebackers coach has narrowed its focus to four candidates.

The four coaches being considered:

1.Lance Thompson, University of Tennessee Defensive Line coach. Thompson is a graduate of The Citadel and has previous experience coaching linebackers at Tennessee. Thompson is a Nick Saban disciple, having coached at Alabama and LSU with Saban. Thompson has been at Tennessee for three seasons, one under Lane Kiffin and two under Derek Dooley.

2.Kevin Steele, former Clemson Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers Coach. Steele is a Tennessee graduate who has had previous coaching stops at UT, Alabama, FSU, Baylor and Clemson, as well as in the NFL with the Carolina Panthers. Steele was fired from his Defensive Coordinator position at Clemson after giving up a bowl record 70 points to West Virginia in the Orange Bowl.

3.Tyrone Nix, former Ole Miss Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers Coach. Nix was a member of Steve Spurrier’s original cast of coaches from 2005-2007. Nix was the Defensive Coordinator at South Carolina from 2006-2007 before leaving to go to Ole Miss in 2008. Nix was relieved of his duties at Ole Miss after Houston Nutt resigned.

4.Kirk Botkin, former Arkansas Defensive Ends Coach was a member of Bobby Petrino’s staff with Lorenzo Ward for one season at Arkansas before Ward left for USC in 2009. Botkin is currently a high school coach in Texas.

SPURspective’s View: I would instantly rule out Steele and Nix. Spurrier is not going to hire a defensive coordinator whose defense just yielded 70 points in a BCS bowl game on national television. Sources indicate that Lorenzo Ward would not be comfortable with Tyrone Nix back on the staff in Columbia. That leaves Thompson (would require lots of $$$$) and Botkin. Thompson is hoping to be considered for the vacant Defensive Coordinator position on Rocky Top. Ward has coached with Botkin and feels comfortable with the former Razorbacks player and coaching colleague.

My hope is USC ponies up the cash and hires Lance Thompson away from Tennessee, but the reality is USC will more than likely hire Botkin.

Go Gamecocks!

Clemson Fires Defensive Coordinator

2012-01-12T12:18:00.000-05:00

Per 107.5 TheGame, in Columbia, SC the Clemson Head Coach Dabo Swinney has fired Defensive Coordinator Kevin Steele. Not sure of any other staff shakeups in Clemson at this time.