Gamecocks hoping to land top receivers

South Carolina recruited a stellar class of receivers for the 2007 class and the Gamecocks hope to add one or two more to that group in 2008.

One highly rated receiver prospect looking hard at South Carolina is T.J. Lawrence of Lakeland, Fla. Lawrence (6-2, 190 pounds) has narrowed his list to the Gamecocks, Florida, Florida State, Virginia Tech and LSU. South Carolina and Florida are his top two right now.

"Florida, they are the national champions and they have an awesome program," Lawrence said. "And South Carolina likes to pass the ball, and me being a receiver, that's attractive to me. There is no leader between them but South Carolina is recruiting me the hardest."

Lawrence plans to make all of his official visits before making a decision. Last season he caught 52 passes for 1,245 yards and 15 touchdowns.

Another receiver the Gamecocks are watching is Demario Williams (6-4, 180) of Columbia, Tenn.). He has offers from South Carolina, Ole Miss and Troy, and he's also hearing from Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Middle Tennessee State and Alabama. He does not have a favorite. Williams also is a basketball prospect and has offers in that sport from Wofford, Middle Tennessee, Dayton and Austin Peay.

The Gamecocks also are working WR O'Neil Chambers (6-3, 205) of St. Cloud, Fla. He has offers from the Gamecocks, Maryland, BYU, Georgia, Georgia Southern, Texas Tech, Houston, Texas A&M, Mississippi State and Troy. He's also hearing from Miami, South Florida and Florida. He has scheduled an official visit to Purdue for Sept. 21. He said he won't take any of his official visits to Florida schools.

Hanahan QB John Carnell (6-3, 210) is hoping a big senior season will land him some offers. He passed for 402 yards and four touchdowns in his first game. He has been hearing from Furman, Duke, The Citadel, Vanderbilt, Tennessee and Charleston Southern. Last season, Carnell passed for 2,973 yards and 24 touchdowns with 15 interceptions.

Fort Dorchester LB Robert Quinn (6-6, 255) opened his season Friday with a 12-tackle performance in a win over Goose Creek. Quinn made a recent official visit to North Carolina.

"That was the last trip I'm taking," Quinn said. "I plan to narrow my list down soon. I'll discuss all the schools with my dad and cut it down from there."

Quinn also is considering South Carolina, Clemson, Virginia Tech, Florida, Tennessee, Alabama, Virginia, Auburn, Maryland, Louisville, Florida State, Rutgers and N.C. State.

Beaufort DE Devin Taylor (6-6, 215) has trimmed his list to South Carolina, Duke, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, The Citadel and Presbyterian. He plans to schedule official visits with South Carolina, Virginia Tech, Duke and Wake Forest. He doesn't claim a favorite.

ATH Sanders Commings Jr. (6-2, 195) of Augusta, made an unofficial visit to South Carolina on Saturday and talked with his recruiter, John Hunt, and defensive back coach Ron Cooper. He plans to return for the South Carolina State game and meet with baseball coach Ray Tanner and he said he might use that trip as his official visit. He also plans to set official visits with Georgia, Florida and Georgia Tech. He's also looking at Auburn, Maryland and Wake Forest. Commings had hoped to make a decision before his first game this Friday but he's not sure he can make one before then. South Carolina is recruiting him as a safety.

Among the prospects planning to attend Clemson's game with Florida State a week from tonight is OL R.J. Mattes (6-7, 280) of Concord, N.C. He also plans to see the Central Florida at N.C. State game Saturday. Mattes has cut his list to Clemson, South Carolina, N.C. State, North Carolina and Virginia and he will set his official visits with those schools.

"All the schools are the same," Mattes said. "I'll base my decision on my official visits."

South Carolina and Georgia are the top two with OL B.J. Brand (6-4, 331) of Douglas, Ga., according to his coach Jerry Odom, a former Steve Spurrier assistant at Florida and with the Redskins.

"He has a good relationship with (South Carolina offensive line ) coach Hunt, he thinks a lot of him," Odom said.

Brand camped at South Carolina this summer. He has offers from Florida and Florida State, and plans to visit all of his favorites. Brand actually committed to Georgia earlier in the year, but later backed off of that.

RB Jamal Womble (5-11, 221) of Sierra Vista, Ariz., is set on four of his official visits. He will go to Nebraska on Sept. 14, Wisconsin on Nov. 9, South Carolina on Nov. 23 and North Carolina on a date to be determined. He's considering Maryland, Oregon State, Arizona State, Illinois and Purdue for his final visit. South Carolina also remains interested in Womble's teammate, WR/FS Jake Muasau (6-1, 215).

The other top running back in Arizona, Covaughn Deboskie (5-11, 191) of Chandler, has a final seven of Clemson, Cal, Stanford, Florida, Georgia, Alabama and Arizona State. Three of his official visits will be Stanford, Alabama and Florida. He will take an unofficial visit to Cal for Saturday's game with Tennessee.

DB Carlton Lewis (6-3, 190) of St. Augustine, Fla., plans to set official visits with South Carolina, Georgia Tech and Illinois. He also has offers from Wake Forest, Indiana, Marshall, Western Kentucky, South Florida, Buffalo and Presbyterian. He's also getting interest from Clemson and Florida. Lewis said his top four are South Carolina, South Florida, Wake Forest and Georgia Tech.

Former Ole Miss commitment LB Bernard Smith (6-3, 210) of Atlanta would like to set official visits with Clemson, Florida, Miami, Ole Miss and Auburn. He's also hearing from North Carolina, Middle Tennessee, Tennessee, Alabama and Illinois. Ole Miss is his only offer.

Clemson target LB Christian Wilson (6-3, 235) of McKees Rock, Pa., committed last week to Michigan.

Byrnes DB Cartier Rice (5-11, 177) has an offer from Michigan State and plans to set up an official visit with the Spartans. He is also hearing from South Carolina, Georgia, Auburn, Marshall and Louisville.

Clemson 2009 commitment, OL J.K. Jay (6- 7, 275) of Christ Church, expects to miss all of this season with a broken ankle suffered in a scrimmage.

Basketball news

Clemson gained a commitment over the weekend from PG Andre Young (5-8, 160) of Albany, Ga., who made his pledge while on an official visit with the Tigers.

"I really liked the coaching staff, all the guys seem like they care about the players," Young said. "The coaching staff was incredible. And the players treated me very well. They seem like a very good team. They seem like they are going to be contending in the ACC."

Young averaged over 21 points and six assists per game last season. He said his strengths are his quickness and his outside shooting. And he feels Clemson's style of play is perfect for him.

"They want to get the ball and run up and down and score quickly," he said. "They are really trying to push the ball and get it up the floor. I like to push the ball. I like to use my quickness to my advantage."

Young also has offers from Auburn, Purdue, Maryland, Butler, Toledo, Marshall, College of Charleston, Wichita State and South Florida. He is the Tigers' second commitment for 2008 joining 7-1 Catalin Baciu.

Also making an official visit to Clemson over the weekend was 6-5 Tanner Smith of Norcross, Ga. He is also considering Auburn, Vanderbilt, Michigan and Georgia.

Former Clemson commitment 6-10 Laron Dendy of Greer will try to resurrect his career at Indian Hills JC, Iowa.

"We're hoping in two years he'll be ready for major college," said Dendy's former AAU coach Frank Ballenger.

Dendy played last season at Hope Christian Academy in Kings Mountain, N.C., where he averaged 23 points and 12 rebounds per game, but did not have the grades to be able to accept a major college offer. Clemson and South Carolina will monitor his progress while Dendy has also heard from Kansas State, Texas and LSU according to Ballenger.

Clemson remains interested in 6-8 Kenny Gabriel of Kings Mountain, N.C., but has not yet offered. Gabriel has offers from Miami, Charlotte, UNC Wilmington, Winthrop and South Florida. He is also getting interest from Michigan, Penn State, Virginia Commonwealth and Georgia. Gabriel is a Charlotte native who averaged 17 points and 11 rebounds per game last season.

The South Carolina women lost a commitment from 6-4 Kylee Beecher of Roanoke, Va., who, according to the Roanoke Times, has now committed to Liberty.