Clemson gets two more commitments

Clemson nailed down two commitments for this year's class and one for next year's over the weekend. Committing for the 2010 class were OL Laurence Gibson and DL Josh Watson of Hargrave Prep, Va. Both made official visits over the weekend.

Gibson, a native of Sierra Vista, Ariz., picked the Tigers over Boston College, Auburn, Virginia Tech and Mississippi State. Watson, a native of Wilmington, Del., went with the Tigers over Duke and North Carolina. Both players will enroll in January.

'It felt right,' Watson said. 'Clemson is a great place and I didn't want to waste anyone else's time or mine when I knew I would be a Tiger.'

Their commitments give the Tigers 20 for the class.

In other recruiting news: The Tigers gained their fifth commitment for the 2011 class when OL Shaq Anthony of Wren announced a pledge to the Tigers during church over the weekend with Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney in attendance.

Swinney had been invited to speak at the church months ago, and Anthony took the occasion to announce his commitment.

'A lot of people stood up, clapped and cheered for me,' Anthony said. 'There's no doubt in my mind I want to go to Clemson. If other schools want to continue to recruit me, I'm not going to stop them from that. I've already made my commitment and I know where I want to go.'

Anthony is regarded as one of the top prospects in the state's junior class. He's the son of former Tiger Vernie Anthony.

The Tiger coaching staff is monitoring the situation with committed LB Jake Nicolopulous of T.L. Hanna, who suffered a stroke last week. He had surgery to relieve swelling on the brain and remains hospitalized in Anderson.

Georgia Tech is showing renewed interest in Clemson commitment DB Darius Robinson of Atlanta. Georgia Tech has not offered, but Robinson said he does remain interested in the Yellow Jackets and would take an official visit if they offered him. But he said he's still committed to Clemson.

Shrine Bowl practice begins today at Dorman. Most of the state's top senior prospects will be in attendance, led by Byrnes RB Marcus Lattimore, who was named Mr. Football in South Carolina on Friday night.

Shortly after receiving the trophy, Lattimore named South Carolina as his fifth official visit. That's a plus for the Gamecocks, because Lattimore had not planned to take an official visit with them. But after dropping North Carolina, that opened up a spot for a visit with South Carolina.

Lattimore will take that visit Jan. 15, the weekend after playing in the Army All-American Game.

The following weekend, he will go to Oregon, and his last trip will be to Georgia. Lattimore has visited Auburn and Penn State.

All five schools remain in contention, and there is no order of preference right now.

'I just want to give everybody a fair shot, because I haven't been to Oregon,' Lattimore said. 'I really want to see that place and I think I'm going to like it. That's why I'm not naming a leader right now.'

Lattimore has taken several unofficial visits to South Carolina and is very close to the program, but insists he's not hiding any special feelings toward the Gamecocks right now.

'If that was the case, I probably would be committed right now,' he said. 'But I'm not sure right now. I'm just going to take it one day at a time. If I feel it ... well, I don't. If that was the case, I'd probably be committed today, so it's not that.'

South Carolina missed on ATH Chris Davis of Birmingham, Ala., when he committed to Auburn on Saturday. Davis had the Gamecocks in front until Auburn offered late last week.

With Davis going to Auburn, that might open up a spot for DB Kenny Ladler of Stone Mountain, Ga., on the Gamecock board. South Carolina recruiter Lorenzo Ward met last week with Ladler, and he set an official visit with the Gamecocks for this weekend.

Ladler has been committed to Vanderbilt, but he says from what the coaches tell him, it's doubtful at this point that Vanderbilt will allow him to enroll early. Ladler plans to graduate later this month.

Ward also met last week with Ladler's teammate, DL Michael Thornton. Thornton is considering taking an official visit to South Carolina in January.

South Carolina offensive line coach Eric Wolford met Friday with OL Morgan Moses of Richmond, Va. Moses played this season at Fork Union Prep, Va., and he finished his classes there Thursday.

Moses also met late last week with new Virginia coach Mike London. He has been committed to the Cavaliers, but decided to check other options due to the coaching change there.

DL Sharrif Floyd of Philadelphia is scheduled for an official visit to South Carolina early this week. Floyd was in Hawaii last week for an all-star game. Before leaving, he met with South Carolina recruiter G.A. Mangus as well as recruiters from Ohio State and Florida. Southern Cal head coach Pete Carroll is scheduled to visit Floyd this week. Floyd is scheduled for an official visit to North Carolina this weekend. He has visited Florida, Southern Cal and Ohio State.

Clemson, North Carolina and N.C. State have emerged as the top three teams for DL Ethan Farmer of Tabor City, N.C., according to his coach, Jake Fonvielle.

Recruiters from all three schools were in last week to meet with Farmer. Fonvielle said Clemson and N.C. State like Farmer as a defensive tackle, while North Carolina is recruiting him as a tight end and defensive line prospect. Farmer set an official visit with Clemson for Jan. 15. He will go to North Carolina the following week and N.C. State on Jan. 29. He finished this season with 85 tackles and five sacks.

Manning DB John Fulton (6-0, 180) had planned to announce his college choice Thursday on ESPNU, but his coach said late last week the announcement is going to be delayed. The Under Armour game will be played Jan. 2. Briggs said Fulton is down to South Carolina and Alabama.

Steve Spurrier and Nick Saban have had their in-home visits.

Briggs said DE Dexter Morant remains firm with his commitment to Georgia. As for his standout junior DL Phillip Dukes (6-3, 280), Dukes now has offers from South Carolina, Clemson, Alabama, North Carolina, N.C. State, Maryland and Stanford.

LB Justin Parker of Beaufort has set his final three official visits. He has been to South Carolina and he will visit Clemson on Jan. 8, LSU on Jan. 22 and Georgia Tech on Jan. 29.

N.C. State remains on his list, but he's not scheduled a visit with the Wolfpack.

Last week, Parker had in-home visits with recruiters from Clemson, South Carolina and Georgia Tech.

Parker does not plan to announce a school until Signing Day.

DB Victor Hampton (5-10, 175) of Darlington says he won't take any more official visits and is working on a decision between South Carolina and Tennessee, which he will announce at the Army All-American Game.

'I've seen all the schools I've wanted to see, so I don't see any reason to set any other visits,' Hampton said.

He added that Tennessee has been coming at him pretty hard. He took an official visit to South Carolina in mid-November, and he's taken unofficial visits to each as well. He might take in a bowl practice at South Carolina. Hampton has South Carolina out front at this point.

DE Tavaris Barnes (6-5, 250) of Jacksonville, Fla., made his official visit to South Carolina earlier this month. Last week, coaches from South Carolina, Clemson, North Carolina and Florida State were in to visit him. Barnes has set official visits to Clemson on Jan. 8 and North Carolina on Jan. 15. He maintains a medium commitment to Florida State but really said the other schools are basically even with the Seminoles right now.

DL Ainsley Miller of Concord, N.C., remains without offers at this point. He talked with Clemson recruiter Dan Brooks last week. He also met with Nebraska head coach Bo Pelini, and the Cornhuskers head coach has some interest and wants to see some film. Miller's head coach is former Nebraska star Mike Minter. Miller also is hearing from New Mexico and West Virginia. He does not have any official visits scheduled at this point.

Clemson and South Carolina recruiters had visits last week with DL Kyle Woestmann of Marietta, Ga. They have been trying to get Woestmann lined up for official visits. Woestmann has finals this week, plus an all-star game practice, so he'll probably take those visits in January. Woestmann has been to South Carolina, Clemson and Vanderbilt unofficially. He has been committed to the Commodores. He's also looking at North Carolina.

Byrnes DE Brandon Willis has been committed to Tennessee since mid season after de-committing from Florida State. Last week, during a break from practice at the North-South game, Willis said he is taking a look at other options. He plans to take official visits to Miami and Cal in January before finalizing a decision. He called his commitment to Tennessee 'medium.'

Clemson commitment OL David Beasley of Columbus, Ga., was visited last week by his Georgia recruiter. According to Carver High assistant coach Jody Hill, Beasley declined an invitation to make an official visit with the Bulldogs over the weekend.

Georgia made a strong push over the last two weeks for Beasley and his teammate and Clemson commitment DE Corey Crawford. Crawford, like Beasley, chose not to take an official visit with the Bulldogs. Both players will visit Clemson on Jan. 8 for the Tigers team banquet weekend.

RB Mustafa Green (6-1, 200) of Irmo took his first official visit last week to Rutgers. He also plans to visit N.C. State but a date hasn't been set.

South Carolina is taking a look at TE Clive Walford (6-6, 225) of Belle Glade, Fla., who has been committed to Miami since July. Walford has been in touch with Mangus and has expressed enough interest in the Gamecocks to warrant further involvement from Mangus and tight ends coach Jeep Hunter. Walford has offers from Miami, Indiana, Purdue and Florida International.

South Carolina decided last week to end its recruitment of ATH Sherrod Cadogan Cherry Hill, N.J. Cadogan was contacted by recruiter GA Mangus and told the Gamecocks no longer would pursue him. Cadogan had not taken an official visit to South Carolina, but had planned to take one. He has visited Pittsburgh, Michigan State, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

Calhoun County OL Eric Mack has been a solid commitment to South Carolina, but he will take an official visit to Florida in January.

'Ain't nothing about to change, I'm still committed,' Mack said.

Mack said he will take his official visit to South Carolina on Jan. 15 and will visit Florida the following weekend. Mack indicated Florida is the only other school he's considering besides USC.

'I just want to go down to Gainesville just to see,' he said. 'I've never been to Gainesville before, so I just want to see what it's like.'

Mack said something big would have to happen to turn him from South Carolina.

'It's just got to be something that jumps out at me,' Mack said. 'Something to catch my attention.'

ATH Lucky Radley of Woodland Hills, Calif., has narrowed his list to seven schools and has South Carolina in the top three. He has already taken an official visit to North Carolina and was scheduled to visit Michigan this past weekend. His other scheduled visit is Utah on Jan. 15. And he plans to set an official visit with the Gamecocks.

DL Ego Ferguson Jr. of Hargrave Prep met with many coaches last week as Hargrave Prep had a combine allowing for college coaches to meet with their players. South Carolina coaches Jay Graham and Brad Lawing will make an in-home visit with the Fergusons. Ferguson was scheduled for an official visit to Cal over the weekend. He will visit Oklahoma in January. South Carolina also is in the mix for an official visit. Ferguson also has visited LSU and Notre Dame.

OL Max Garcia of Norcross, Ga., has completed all his in home visits with the coaches of the three schools he's considering and is now working on his final decision. He is choosing between Clemson, Maryland and Vanderbilt. Clemson was his last official visit and Tiger head coach Dabo Swinney was the last of the head coaches to visit with Garcia. A decision could come this week.

Clemson also is interested in Norcross RB Delino DeShields (5-9, 190) the son of the former major leaguer of the same name. Clemson has not offered but is very interested according to his coach. DeShields played just one season at Norcross and shared time with the estabilished tailback. He rushed for over 800 yards. He's also a baseball prospect and wants to play both in college. Maloof said DeShields likely will be drafted this summer. He has offers from Georgia Tech, Stanford, Mississippi and Central Florida. DeShields made an unofficial visit to Clemson late in the season.

South Carolina and Clemson missed on DE Adrian Hubbard of Norcross when he committed last week to Alabama at the end of his official visit there.

WR Ted Meline of Miami, Fla., has already committed to Tennessee, but he wants to take official visits to Clemson, North Carolina and Georgia.

DL Jeffrey Whitaker of Warner Robins, Ga., has scheduled an official visit with South Carolina for Jan. 15. Whitaker met recently with Gamecock recruiter Eric Wolford and set up the trip. Whitaker also is looking at North Carolina, Auburn, Georgia, Miami and others.

RB James White of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., has visited Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan State and N.C. State. Clemson is the only school he's considering for the final visit. White made an unofficial visit to Clemson for the Florida State game and hopes to make an official visit soon because he plans to decide before Christmas. But he said an official visit to Clemson is not a must for him to still choose the Tigers. Coaches from Michigan State and Wisconsin were in last week. He's not claiming a favorite.

South Carolina WR commitment Sean Tapley of Jacksonville, Fla., has dropped Miami from consideration but still plans to visit North Carolina this weekend. Tapley says his commitment to South Carolina remains strong. He will visit the Gamecocks on Jan. 15.

Virginia Tech's quarterback coach visited Calhoun County last week and is very interested in junior Shamier Jeffery as a quarterback.

Clemson recruiter Kevin Steele checked in on Marlboro County junior LB Lateek Townsend last week.