Linebacker Golson not locked in on South Carolina

The on-again, off-again status of Georgia Military linebacker Brandon Golson as a USC commitment is off again.

Geormgia Military coach Burt Williams said last week he never considered Golson as committed to USC.

“He’s never said that,” Williams said. “He vociferously denied that. He said he never told them he was committed.”

Golson has seen other major programs enter the picture, primarily Texas A&M, Arizona and Tennessee.

“He kind of wanted to see what was out there for him,” Williams said. “He liked South Carolina and was happy to get the offer. He’s got a good bit of interest from a number of teams.

“He’s very interested in South Carolina, but they’ve got number issues. He wants to get some things to compare them to, but I know for them it’s coming down to numbers. They would like to have Brandon, but they could fill up if he doesn’t do something.”

In other recruiting news:

LB/DE Jalen Stevens of Goose Creek has offers from North Carolina, Arizona State, Connecticut and Southern Miss, with interest from Clemson, Florida, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech, Georgia and others. He plans two of his official visits for North Carolina and Connecticut. Clemson, Georgia, Florida and Vanderbilt are showing interest but want to see more film on Stevens.

RB David Williams of Philadelphia has USC among his final six, along with Tennessee, Wisconsin, California, Ohio State and Nebraska. He anticipates setting up official visits as early as this week. “I know I’m going to South Carolina, Tennessee and Wisconsin but haven’t decided on the other two,” Williams said. The Gamecocks continue to show Williams a lot of interest. “They tell me I’m their No. 1 guy (at running back),” he said. He has not taken any visits of late nor does he have a time frame for a decision.

DL Kelsey Griffin of Hoschton, Ga., is down to USC and Georgia and continues to give a slight edge to the Bulldogs. “It just feels like home,” Griffin said. “I really like the chemistry there.” Griffin has not planned any future trips but said that USC and UGA are the only schools he will visit. Griffin is also closing in on a commitment. “I don’t have an exact date, but it’s going to be pretty soon,” he said.

OL Tyrone Crowder of Rockingham, N.C., is expected to release his short list this week. He’s been considering Clemson, USC, Georgia, Auburn, Wake Forest and North Carolina.

WR Jonathan Howard of Rochelle, Ga., had Clemson as his leader, but the Tigers are no longer on his list. He has North Carolina out front, followed by Kentucky, Louisville, N.C. State and Central Florida.

USC commitment DB Brendan Langley of Marietta, Ga., does plan to take other official visits besides his one to USC. Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama and Florida were the other schools in his top five when he committed earlier this month.

DL Joe Fennell of Fort Myers, Fla., last week said his top three schools are USC, Nebraska and Florida. He also has interest in Indiana and plans to take visits to all four schools.

At one point last month WR Ky Priester of Snellville, Ga., said he was close to committing to USC. Then he decided to wait until after taking his official visits before making a decision. And now the Gamecocks have company at the top of his list. Priester said N.C. State and USC are his current favorites and he will be visiting both. Priester said he was offered by Louisville, but he’s not that interested in the Cardinals. He also has had offers from Georgia, where he once was committed, and Vanderbilt.

Bamberg-Ehrhardt’s Nicholas Halmon committed to Charlotte last week.

Basketball news
6-2 LaShay Page graduated from Southern Miss last Monday and now awaits word from the NCAA and the SEC regarding his request for a waiver that will allow him to play this season at USC. “I’ve sent everything to USC, and I’m waiting to hear back,” Page said. “I have a strong case.” Page did visit UTEP earlier in the summer but said his focus is strictly on USC. “South Carolina is my thing,” Page said adding he hasn’t thought much about what he will do if his waiver request is denied.

6-5 Kris Jenkins of Washington D.C. has cut his list to a final five of Clemson, Xavier, Villanova, Rutgers and Miami. He also considered USC. His mother is the women’s coach at Benedict College and he grew up in South Carolina.

Winthrop received commitments from 6-3 Josh Davenport of Cincinnati and 5-6 Keon Johnson of Mansfield, Ohio.

6-5 Kristofer Acox of Iceland committed to Furman.

Baseball News:
USC has its first commitment for the 2015 class in Wren INF LT Tolbert. He made his pledge after visiting last week with the Gamecocks. Tolbert played for Mauldin last season. He joins a club with Clemson commitment Eli White at shortstop, so he’ll likely play second base this season. But he projects as a shortstop in college.