Interest keeps growing for Gators' Shell

The nationwide interest in Goose Creek OL Brandon Shell (6-8, 295) continues to grow.

"I took calls yesterday from Southern Cal, Michigan and Tennessee," Gators football coach Chuck Reedy said last week.

Those three joined an already impressive offer list for Shell which includes South Carolina, Clemson, Florida, Miami, LSU, Alabama, Wisconsin, Kansas, Oregon, N.C. State, North Carolina, Maryland and Kansas State.

Shell talked on the phone for a half hour last Tuesday with Alabama head coach Nick Saban.

"In twenty years of college coaching, I've never had one like him," Reedy said. "He's a No. 1 NFL draft pick. He's very impressive physically, not fat, just big. He has great feet and he's very athletic. He has great hands and he knows how to use his hands. He has become more physical."

Shell bench presses over 300 pounds. He's also a standout on the basketball team. Shell is the great nephew of NFL Hall of Fame lineman Art Shell.

Reedy says Shell is wide open on his recruiting and won't narrow things down until the summer.

He went to Clemson last summer for an unofficial visit and went to a game there last season. He's not been to South Carolina at this point. He has no junior day visits planned due to basketball. After the basketball season, he will take some weekends to make some visits.

WR Nigel King (6-3, 198) of Raleigh recently received an offer from South Carolina. King is somewhat familiar with South Carolina because he has two grandparents that graduated from South Carolina.

Union County DE Desmond Floyd (6-5, 230) holds early offers from Kentucky and Duke according to his coach David Lipsey. Clemson, South Carolina and N.C. State also are showing interest.

Kentucky coach Joker Phillips checked on Floyd when he was in the state late last month. Clemson and South Carolina have invited him for a junior day. Floyd has been to Clemson for games but has not yet been to South Carolina.

OL Ryan Norton (6-4, 274) of Mauldin has offers from Clemson, Georgia Tech and East Carolina. He's also getting interest from South Carolina, Wake Forest, Cincinnati, UCLA, N.C. State and Vanderbilt.

Norton was scheduled to go to Georgia Tech this past weekend for a junior day, and he will go to one at Clemson this weekend. He plans to make a decision before his senior season. Norton plays center but has also played tackle.

Marlboro County LB Lateek Townsend (6-3, 208) is not claiming a favorite right now.

Townsend has offers from Clemson, South Carolina, Illinois, N.C. State, Maryland, East Carolina and Texas A&M. Florida also is showing interest. He plans to go to Clemson's junior day this weekend and he plans to get to a South Carolina junior day. He said there's no timetable for a decision.

OL Garrett Clark (6-4, 281) of Daytona Beach, Fla., is hearing from Clemson, South Carolina, Georgia Tech, Central Florida, Florida State, Rutgers, Purdue, and Georgia.

OL Justin Floyd (6-4, 255) of Cartersville, Ga., made an unofficial visit to South Carolina last Wednesday. The Gamecocks are in the evaluation process with Floyd and have not yet offered. Floyd also is drawing interest from Clemson, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Central Florida and Vanderbilt.

DB Zeph Grimes (5-11, 200) of Bamberg-Ehrhardt received an offer from Illinois on Thursday, according to his coach Butch Crosby.

Grimes also holds an offer from Michigan State. He was scheduled to visit Georgia Tech over the weekend. He's also hearing from South Carolina and Clemson and both plan to evaluate him this spring. Colorado, N.C. State and Virginia Tech are also showing interest. Grimes can play safety or outside linebacker.

RB Savon Huggins (6-0, 190) of Jersey City, N.J., has several offers including Clemson and South Carolina. Some of his other offers are North Carolina, Miami, Rutgers, Northwestern, Alabama, Florida, Pitt, West Virginia, Virginia, Cal, Stanford, Duke, Connecticut, and Boston College. He is also hearing from Notre Dame, Penn State, and Central Floida and is expecting offers from each. His sole junior day visit has been to Rutgers, and he's taken unofficial visits to Wake Forest, Miami, and Penn State.

Huggins plans to take more unofficials to South Carolina, Clemson, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, South Florida, Duke, and Cal. As a junior, Huggins rushed for 1,544 yards in 11 games. He had 22 touchdowns. On defense, he added 24 tackles and an interception. He does not have any favorites.

QB Jeff Driskel (6-3, 225) of Oviedo, Fla., has picked up an offer from Clemson, and South Carolina plans to evaluate him soon for a potential offer. South Carolina has not yet offered a quarterback in the 2011 class.

WR (6-3, 189) of Wade Hampton is holding 34 written offers at this point, but South Carolina and Clemson are not among them.

QB Sam Spence (6-3, 200) of Charlotte is hearing from most ACC and SEC schools and he likes both South Carolina and Clemson.

Clemson is showing strong interest in ATH Brandon Thomas of Calhoun County and appears to be close to offering. He has an offer from Kentucky and South Carolina is showing interest.

North Carolina has offered Clemson commitment DB Brandon Ellerbe.

Central DL Josh Covington (6-0, 285) is drawing interest from South Carolina, Cincinnati and N.C. State.

Greer DE (6-5, 225) committed to Duke over the weekend according to TheDevilsDen.com. Duke was the first major school to offer for Sanders who also drew interest from Clemson, North Carolina, Virginia, LSU, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Auburn and others.

Wofford and Newberry added signees to their 2010 classes last week. Wofford signed LB Travis Thomas (6-0, 205) from Bowie, Md., and Newberry signed WR Jacob Brown (6-0, 180) of Dacula, Ga., and RB Dureal Elmore (5-10, 210) of Abbeville.