USC, Clemson in holding pattern

The holiday dead period for football recruiting has arrived with USC and Clemson down to their final prospects. Both are sitting on 20 commitments for the 2010 class. The Gamecocks plan to max out at 25 while the Tigers are looking at between 23 and 25 for this class.

The Tigers had a net gain of zero last week as they added a commitment from DL Tra Thomas of Wadesboro, N.C., but lost a commitment from OL Laurence Gibson of Hargrave Prep, Va. Thomas committed while at Shrine Bowl practice last week. He gives the Tigers two defensive tackles for the class. Gibson committed to the Tigers two weekends ago while on his official visit, but early last week he backed off that and later committed to Virginia Tech.

The Gamecocks reached the 20 mark by signing LB Qua Gilchrist (6-2, 230) of Butler JC, Kan. Gilchrist had been committed to Houston, but quickly took the USC offer last week. Gilchrist also had offers from Kansas State, Kansas, Toledo and Northern Illinois. Playing running back at Abbeville High, Gilchrist earned a spot in the 2007 SCADA North-South Game. He committed to Newberry in January 2008 but later signed with Butler. He redshirted in 2008 and this season had 54 tackles and 5 1/2 sacks as an outside linebacker. He will have three years to play three.

Neither school had official visits over the weekend. The Gamecocks had planned to bring in DB Kenny Ladler of Stone Mountain, Ga., but after getting word from Vanderbilt that he can enroll in January, he decided to stick with his commitment to the Commodores.

With Ladler off the board, the Gamecocks will press the issue with DB Sharrod Golightly of Decatur, Ga. Golightly also has been committed to Vanderbilt but has scheduled an official visit with USC for Jan. 15.

In other recruiting news:

Offensive lineman Max Garcia of Norcross, Ga., committed Sunday to Maryland over Clemson and Vanderbilt. Garcia plans to major in journalism and the fact he can get that at Maryland and not at the other schools was a major factor in his decision.

USC head coach Steve Spurrier led a contingent of three coaches who met last Thursday night with D.L. Sharrif Floyd of Philadelphia in Floyd's home. Assistant coaches G.A. Mangus and Brad Lawing were with Spurrier. Washington High head coach Ron Cohen and assistant coach Andre Odom sat in on the meeting as well.

Floyd took an official visit to North Carolina over the weekend, and he will make an official visit to USC, Jan. 15 despite the fact he plans to make an announcement at the U.S. Army All-American Game Jan. 9. He plans to visit USC even if he doesn't announce then for the Gamecocks. Florida head coach Urban Meyer also met with Floyd last Thursday. Floyd has taken other official visits to Florida, Southern Cal and Ohio State.

USC recruiter Shane Beamer made an in home visit with committed OL Eric Mack last Thursday. Auburn coaches were at his school earlier that day and Florida coaches were there earlier in the week. Mack has maintained his commitment to the Gamecocks though he was not happy with the departure of offensive line coach Eric Wolford for Youngstown State. Mack is scheduled for his official visit to USC Jan. 15. He also plans to visit Florida on Jan. 22.

OL Trammell Williams of Jacksonville, Fla., has been committed to USC since the summer and he's holding to that pledge despite the departure of Eric Wolford.

"As of right now, I'm with South Carolina, no doubt. I don't really pay attention to the other schools. South Carolina has been there from the get go." Williams said. Despite the strong words for USC, Williams said he is thinking of setting official visits with Ole Miss and Florida State. He is scheduled for his official visit to USC on Jan. 15.

Wolford's departure did hurt the Gamecocks with OL Morgan Moses of Fork Union Prep, Va. He dropped the Gamecocks last week and plans to choose either Virginia, Florida or Ohio State.

Clemson commitment DB Darius Robinson of Atlanta said last week his commitment to the Tigers is absolute and he's not considering Auburn or Georgia Tech despite reports that he was. Robinson will take his official visit to Clemson on Jan. 8 and he has no other visits planned.

ATH Lucky Radley of Woodland Hills, Calif., is still planning to visit USC. He visited North Carolina in November and Michigan earlier this month and has set a date to visit Utah on Jan. 15. He's planning for USC and Tennessee to be his last two visits. Radley says he does not have any favorites and all schools are equal.

DE Tavaris Barnes of Jacksonville, Fla., will visit Clemson, Florida State and North Carolina in January. He has already visited USC. Barnes, who is a FSU commit, says he will not know for sure which school he will choose until signing day. Barnes says he is waiting to see what happens with FSU but is still committed at this time. Barnes will visit Clemson on Jan. 8, UNC on Jan. 15, and has yet to schedule his FSU visit.

Newberry College on Wednesday signed WR Markish Jones (6-1, 202), the former Broome High standout who originally signed with Clemson in 2007. Jones played this season at El Camino JC in California. He will have two years to play at Newberry.

USC has offered TE Mychal Rivera (6-4, 240), a Los Angeles native who attends the College of the Canyons JC in Santa Clarita, Calif. Rivera was recruited by USC tight ends coach Jeep Hunter when he was at Georgia Tech, but he signed with Oregon. After one season with the Ducks, Rivera transferred to the junior college where he caught 27 passes for 270 yards and two touchdowns this season. Rivera plans to set visits in January with USC, Utah State, Kansas State, Cal and Syracuse.

LB Justin Parker of Beaufort has Clemson and USC tied at the top of his list right now. "If one thing had to separate them it would have to be the education," Parker said. "My education comes first. South Carolina has a great business school and that's what I want to go to school for. So, that's one thing that would separate them from Clemson." Parker has taken his official visit to USC and will visit Clemson on Jan. 8. "I want to see a little bit more of their facilities and how things go," said Parker, who also plans to visit LSU on Jan. 15 and Georgia Tech on the 30th. He plans to announce on signing day.

DL Ego Ferguson Jr. of Hargrave Prep is still considering USC for his final visit, according to his father. Ferguson is looking at USC, Miami and UCLA for that final visit. He has visited Oklahoma, Notre Dame, LSU and Cal.

Manning DB John Fulton will announce his college decision Jan. 2 during the Under Armour All-American Game, and he said last week he has a pretty good idea about where he's going. "You can kind of say that, but you never know," Fulton said. USC, Alabama and Florida are the final three. Fulton's father is due home from Afghanistan Dec. 28, and he plans to sit down with him and discuss his options.

ATH Victor Hampton of Darlington has USC out front at this point. "Right now, I would have to say USC is my leader," said Hampton who plans to announce his decision during the U.S. Army All American Game Jan. 9. He's also been considering Tennessee and Auburn.

DE Brandon Willis of Byrnes made an official visit to Miami over the weekend and plans to announce a decision at the Army All American Game. Willis has been a soft commitment to Tennessee.

Shrine Bowl OL Chad Hamilton (6-3, 285) of James Island has been offered by The Citadel, Tennessee, State, Presbyterian and Coastal Carolina. He's also getting interest from Wake Forest. Hamilton was the AAAA Lower State Offensive Lineman of the Year.

North-South DE Jonathan White (6-2, 235) of Cheraw has been offered by Coastal Carolina and North Greenville. He's also getting interest from Liberty, Newberry, Mars Hill and Wingate.

Shrine Bowl OL CJ Wilson (6-5, 270) of Richland Northeast has set official visits to North Carolina A&T for Jan. 15, S.C. State on the 22nd and N.C. Central Jan. 29. Each has offered along with Tennessee State and East Carolina.

Aiken native DB Taikwon Page of Georgia Military JC signed last week with Toledo.