Gamecocks still battling for top RB Lattimore

South Carolina's biggest recruiting weekend of the season did not produce any new commitments, but the Gamecocks did firm up commitments with their 15 pledges in attendance, and they perhaps strengthened their position with their No. 1 target, Byrnes running back Marcus Lattimore.

Lattimore was greeted by fans at the basketball game Saturday night with a chant of, "We want Marcus. We want Marcus." He responded by rising from his seat next to head coach Steve Spurrier and waving to the fans. As for the rest of the visit, all seemed to go well. His mother confirmed Sunday night that her son had canceled this weekend's visit to Oregon and was down to South Carolina and Auburn. And Yolanda Smith gave high marks to Gamecocks coach Steve Spurrier for his efforts.

"Coach Spurrier has really loosened up," she said. "I made the comment in the past where I felt he was unapproachable. He's made a (180). I had this coach doing the cha-cha slide with no music. He was just great. He had his arms open wide every time he saw me. He speaks to me personally. He's been so personable with us lately. He's really changed as far as myself. He came over to the hotel and sat around with us and we had a really good time."

Spurrier and Auburn coach Gene Chizik have not yet taken their in-home visits. Those will take place next week. Lattimore is considering taking an unofficial visit to Auburn on Saturday in conjunction with a junior day the Tigers are staging. Smith said she has no indication of a favorite for her son.

"He's agonizing over this," she said.

Lattimore told AUTigers.com, a Web site covering Auburn sports, that while he's still thinking about his decision, "Auburn has a slight lead though, I would say."

Lattimore will announce his decision at his church Feb. 2.

In other recruiting news:

The committed prospects who visited all remain committed, and at this point, only WR Nick Jones is contemplating another official visit. He's thinking about going to Cincinnati, where a former Byrnes assistant is a graduate assistant.

Calhoun County OL does plan to take an unofficial visit to Auburn this weekend with junior teammate ATH , who is going there for the junior day. This does bear some watching by the Gamecocks staff because Auburn continues to make a strong push for Mack, who made an official visit there in September.

Clemson had seven official visits over the weekend, six by committed players, all of whom remain firmly committed, though OL plans to take an official visit to Georgia this weekend, and TE might take a visit to Auburn over the next two weekends.

The only uncommitted prospect to visit was DL Ethan Farmer of Tabor City, N.C. He has Clemson and North Carolina tied at the top of his list. He's also considering N.C. State. He will take the SAT this weekend and will visit North Carolina the following weekend. He will also try to work in a trip to N.C. State.

DE Dexter Morant of Manning was scheduled to visit Clemson over the weekend but he canceled that trip and plans to stay with his commitment to Georgia.

The Tigers did pick up commitment No. 7 for the 2011 class over the weekend in ATH Robert Smith (6-0, 185) of Woodland High School. Smith hopes for a shot at playing quarterback for the Tigers and said the only way he'd consider going elsewhere is with a guarantee to play quarterback. Smith said Georgia is also high up on his list. He will go there for a junior day Jan. 30.

Smith suffered a torn ACL and torn ligaments in his left knee in the sixth game of the season and had surgery. Prior to the injury he had thrown for 1,386 yards and eight touchdowns and rushed for 376 yards and five scores. In his freshman and sophomore seasons, Smith combined for 4,900 passing yards and 50 touchdowns and 1,700 rushing yards and 18 TDs.

DE of Byrnes, who held off on going to classes at Tennessee last week until the new coach was named, said Saturday he will stay at Tennessee and not enroll elsewhere. USC would have been an option for him had he decided to leave. Miller's teammate, DE, did go elsewhere enrolling last week at North Carolina.

Beaufort LB remained at home over the weekend to prepare for this weekend's SAT. He might take a visit to LSU this weekend after the test. Parker has visited USC and Clemson and is scheduled to visit Georgia Tech on Jan. 29. He listed Clemson as his favorite last week over USC, LSU, Georgia Tech and Florida.

DL J.C. Copeland of Lagrange, Ga., who has been committed to Tennessee, made an official visit with the Vols over the weekend. He remains committed but has set visits with South Florida for this weekend and USC on Jan. 29. He said he's not sure if he'll take those visits. New Tennessee coach Derek Dooley is scheduled to visit him this week.

LB Ferlando Bohanna of Memphis firmed up his committment to Mississippi State over the weekend on an official visit there and said he will not take his official visit to Clemson scheduled for later this month.

RB D.J. Howard of Lincoln, Ala., is now solid with his commitment to Auburn after taking his official visit over the weekend. He'd also been considering Clemson.

WR Ace Sanders of Bradenton, Fla., made an official visit to South Florida over the weekend. He did not commit and will take his visit to USC this weekend. He's also scheduled to visit West Virginia on Jan. 29.

WR Jeremy Deering of Tampa took an official visit to Florida over the weekend. He was offered last week by the Gators. He's also been to Florida State, Illinois and Purdue, and he's scheduled to visit Rutgers this weekend, though USC is still working him for that last visit.

DL of Hialeah, Fla., de-committed from Tennessee last week after the coaching change and is considering taking a visit to USC.

LB of Raleigh decided last week to stick with his commitment to Notre Dame and not visit USC.

New USC offensive line coach Shawn Elliott was in touch last week with OL of Richmond and plans to visit him this week. Moses made official visits to USC, Florida and North Carolina. He's also considering Virginia.

USC did not get one of the final visits with DL Ego Ferguson Jr. of Hargrave Prep, Va. He decided over the weekend to visit Florida State this weekend and Miami the final weekend. He's already visited Notre Dame, California and LSU.

Furman landed commitments over the weekend from three in-state players who made official visits: LB Malcolm Howard of Goose Creek, LB Malcolm McMorris of Newberry and PK Ray Early of Darlington.

S.C. State gained commitments over the weekend from QB of Rockingham, N.C., ATH of Manning and DL of Blythewood.

The Citadel gained a commitment last week from QB (5-11, 180) of Burke. The Bulldogs also have commitments from DE of Sumter, WR of Boiling Springs and DLof Tampa.

Sumter QB Stephen Curtis committed to Florida Atlantic over the weekend while there for his official visit.

Irmo RB Mustafa Green took an official visit to N.C. State over the weekend. He's also been to Rutgers. Green said he could have a decision this week between those two, or he might hold off to see if visits to Georgia, Maryland and Alabama materialize. He does not have a favorite between Rutgers and N.C. State.

Irmo QB was scheduled for an official visit to Stanford over the weekend. He has been offered by the Cardinal as well as Princeton.

Junior DL (6-4, 275) of Columbus, Ga., is being heavily recruited with offers from Clemson, USC and practically every other major program in the country. He has visited Clemson and plans another visit for this Saturday for the Duke basketball game. He's also going to Alabama for a junior day Jan. 30.

Junior QB Martay Mattox (6-1, 185) of Athens, Ga., has an offer from South Florida and is getting interest from Clemson and USC. He camped at Clemson as a sophomore. Last season he passed for 1,879 yards and 15 touchdowns.

Junior DL (6-1, 285) of Hampton, Ga., is hearing from USC and several others. He plans to camp with the Gamecocks.

Junior OL (6-7, 295) of Albany, Ga., is drawing early interest from USC, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Miami, South Florida, Michigan State, N.C. State, Louisville, Colorado and Louisville. He will go to Georgia on Jan. 30 for a junior day.

Junior DE (6-5, 240) of Thomasville, Ga., has 14 offers, including USC and Clemson. Some of the others are Georgia, Georgia Tech, Florida State, Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, North Carolina and Cal. He plans to go to Georgia and Georgia Tech for junior days. He's friends with Clemson defensive lineman .

DB Avery Walls (5-11, 185) of McDonough, Ga., is hearing from Clemson and USC. He has offers from Oklahoma, East Carolina, Stanford and Connecticut. He was at Clemson for the Boston College game last season. He plans to attend Alabama's junior day the end of the month.