South Carolina Football Recruiting Board

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!