Taking A Look At USC's In-State Recruiting
posted by Scott Hood on Tuesday, January 29, 2008
But I do know enough about it to contend that the three most important uncommitted players remaining that USC has a reasonable chance to sign are Jaron Brown, Sterling Lucas and Devin Taylor.
Why? They’re all from the Palmetto State.
While I remain confident USC will finish with another solid class, the fact that just six of USC’s 20 current commitments this year are from the state of South Carolina is disturbing.
I believe, as I’m sure the USC coaches do, that you sign the best players possible, no matter where they come from. But when you’re the flagship university, signing the best players from your own state should be a priority. You always want to do well within your own state.
This year, however, it hasn’t happened.
Eight days before National Signing Day, USC has received a commitment from only one of the top 10 players in the Palmetto State, if you go by the Rivals.com player rankings.
That lone soldier is Charles Whitlock, an exciting defensive back/wide receiver from Chester, S.C.
Clemson, on the other hand, has signed six of South Carolina’s top 10 players.
Granted, if you consider the Top 15, USC does a little better. All of the prospects rated 11 through 15 have signed with the Gamecocks (Kenny Davis, Reid McCollum, Jay Spearman, Aramis Hillary and T.J. Johnson).
So, that means USC will sign six of the top 15 prospects in the Palmetto State. But that doesn’t ignore the fact that Clemson has gotten the better of it this year when it comes to recruiting in this state.
Right now, USC has nearly as many commitments from Georgia (5) and Florida (5) as they do from South Carolina.
I’m not advocating that USC sign any player simply because they’re from here. They still have to be good enough, or have the potential to be good enough, to play in the SEC.
Does USC need to change their in-state recruiting strategy? Possibly. I think it’s something they certainly need to take a look at. From reading the various recruiting reports over the last few months, there appears to be a resistance among many of the top players to sign with USC.
Of course, USC’s 6-6 season didn’t help matters, either. I recall Tony Morrell and others saying before the season that the Gamecocks needed to have a successful year to reel in some of the bigger names. Obviously, that didn’t happen.
The good news is Brown, Lucas and Taylor all have USC high on their lists.
Lucas had an in-home visit with new defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson Monday night at his home in Orangeburg. I’ve heard reports today that he’s committed to N.C. State. That would be a blow.
But, I’m told, many of his family and friends want him to play at USC. Maybe they can convince him to come to Columbia. If he does sign with the Wolfpack, they deserve credit for jumping on Lucas early.
Brown has an in-home visit with USC coaches Wednesday night. Taylor is down to USC and Virginia Tech and is scheduled to announce his choice on Monday.
What’s interesting about Taylor’s recruitment is the main salesman for each school are USC assistant coach Shane Beamer and his father, Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer.
It’s father against son and, I’m thinking about the women and children here, it might get nasty.
Hopefully, the recent hiring of Ellis Johnson will boost USC's in-state recruiting prospects. Johnson is a native of Winnsboro, as you probably know, and started his coaching career in the S.C. high school system. He knows a lot of people in the all-important recruiting circles.
It might be too late to get Lucas, but I think in the long run having Johnson on board will help the Gamecocks snag more in-state recruits in the future.
In my opinion, that’s something they need to focus on in the future.
- Permalink, Discuss, Blog Home
I don’t claim to be a recruiting expert, and unlike some of you, I couldn’t name every player left on South Carolina’s board.
But I do know enough about it to contend that the three most important uncommitted players remaining that USC has a reasonable chance to sign are Jaron Brown, Sterling Lucas and Devin Taylor.
Why? They’re all from the Palmetto State.
While I remain confident USC will finish with another solid class, the fact that just six of USC’s 20 current commitments this year are from the state of South Carolina is disturbing.
I believe, as I’m sure the USC coaches do, that you sign the best players possible, no matter where they come from. But when you’re the flagship university, signing the best players from your own state should be a priority. You always want to do well within your own state.
This year, however, it hasn’t happened.
Eight days before National Signing Day, USC has received a commitment from only one of the top 10 players in the Palmetto State, if you go by the Rivals.com player rankings.
That lone soldier is Charles Whitlock, an exciting defensive back/wide receiver from Chester, S.C.
Clemson, on the other hand, has signed six of South Carolina’s top 10 players.
Granted, if you consider the Top 15, USC does a little better. All of the prospects rated 11 through 15 have signed with the Gamecocks (Kenny Davis, Reid McCollum, Jay Spearman, Aramis Hillary and T.J. Johnson).
So, that means USC will sign six of the top 15 prospects in the Palmetto State. But that doesn’t ignore the fact that Clemson has gotten the better of it this year when it comes to recruiting in this state.
Right now, USC has nearly as many commitments from Georgia (5) and Florida (5) as they do from South Carolina.
I’m not advocating that USC sign any player simply because they’re from here. They still have to be good enough, or have the potential to be good enough, to play in the SEC.
Does USC need to change their in-state recruiting strategy? Possibly. I think it’s something they certainly need to take a look at. From reading the various recruiting reports over the last few months, there appears to be a resistance among many of the top players to sign with USC.
Of course, USC’s 6-6 season didn’t help matters, either. I recall Tony Morrell and others saying before the season that the Gamecocks needed to have a successful year to reel in some of the bigger names. Obviously, that didn’t happen.
The good news is Brown, Lucas and Taylor all have USC high on their lists.
Lucas had an in-home visit with new defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson Monday night at his home in Orangeburg. I’ve heard reports today that he’s committed to N.C. State. That would be a blow.
But, I’m told, many of his family and friends want him to play at USC. Maybe they can convince him to come to Columbia. If he does sign with the Wolfpack, they deserve credit for jumping on Lucas early.
Brown has an in-home visit with USC coaches Wednesday night. Taylor is down to USC and Virginia Tech and is scheduled to announce his choice on Monday.
What’s interesting about Taylor’s recruitment is the main salesman for each school are USC assistant coach Shane Beamer and his father, Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer.
It’s father against son and, I’m thinking about the women and children here, it might get nasty.
Hopefully, the recent hiring of Ellis Johnson will boost USC's in-state recruiting prospects. Johnson is a native of Winnsboro, as you probably know, and started his coaching career in the S.C. high school system. He knows a lot of people in the all-important recruiting circles.
It might be too late to get Lucas, but I think in the long run having Johnson on board will help the Gamecocks snag more in-state recruits in the future.
In my opinion, that’s something they need to focus on in the future.
- Permalink, Discuss, Blog Home
Previous Blog Entries
Scott Hood. Since February of 2005, Scott has covered the South Carolina football, men's basketball and baseball programs for GamecockCentral. He may be reached by email at scottblog(at)gamecockcentral.com. Replace (at) with @.