Gamecocks lead for 3 Georgia prospects

South Carolina is in a leader position for three more top prospects out of Georgia. LB Robert Nelson (6-0, 205) of Stone Mountain attended the Gamecocks' Showcase Camp earlier this month and came away from that with USC as his favorite.

"I fell in love with the campus," said Nelson, who has Auburn second on his list and Tennessee third.

He also has offers from West Virginia, Troy and Louisiana Tech, and he's getting interest from Purdue, Indiana, Florida, Ohio and Memphis. Nelson had 176 tackles last season.

"I believe I was born to play linebacker," he said. "Tackling is my specialty."

DE Derrick Lott (6-5, 270) of Kennesaw also attended the showcase camp, his second camp visit of the summer to USC.

"South Carolina is my leader," he said. "I've been to camps and stuff and they are showing me the most love."

Lott also has offers from Louisville, Oklahoma State, Michigan State, Central Florida and Mississippi, and he's getting interest from Florida State and Georgia. Lott said three of his official visits will be USC, Oklahoma State and Louisville. Last season he had 70 tackles and five sacks.

LB Jonathan Davis (5-10, 205) of Tucker also favors USC and plans to make an unofficial visit in the next two weeks. A commitment could come shortly after the visit.

Davis said he also has offers from Clemson, Louisville, Penn State, Florida State, Miami, Central Florida, UAB and Appalachian State. Davis, who had 223 tackles last season, could end up at safety in college.

The Gamecocks also lead for LB Antwon Higgs (6-2, 240) of Pompano Beach, Fla.

Higgs plans to visit USC for the LSU game. He also has offers from Florida, Miami, Florida State, N.C. State, West Virginia and Purdue. He will graduate in December.

Also:

Richland Northeast DE Chris Bonds (6-4, 283) will take official visits to Notre Dame on Sept. 13, Tennessee on Oct. 25 and Alabama on Nov. 29; Southern Cal and Michigan visits are on dates to be determined. He's down to those five and USC. Bonds was at the USC Showcase Camp and will go to as many home games as he can attend.

South Pointe DB Stephon Gilmore (6-2, 195) is down to Clemson, USC, Alabama and Tennessee and will take his official visits to those four.

"They are all pretty even," Gilmore said. "Clemson and USC are recruiting me the hardest. I want to go where I can get on the field in a hurry."

WR Jheranie Boyd (6-3, 185) of Gastonia, N.C., cut his list last week to a final 10 of Clemson, Florida, Florida State, North Carolina, N.C. State, Southern Cal, Illinois, Oregon, Auburn and Missouri, and he has Clemson and Florida as his top two.

DE Antwan Lowery (6-4, 315) of Miami has a top four of Clemson, Miami, Rutgers and Florida, and he plans to spend one of his official visits at Clemson. He also will visit Michigan, Rutgers, Florida and South Florida. Last season Lowery had 75 tackles with 15 for loss.

USC and Clemson continue to work LB Chaun Gresham (6-3, 200) of Winder, Ga., who has been committed to Georgia Tech since March. He attended USC's camp earlier this month and said he'll likely take an official visit to USC. He's also looking at Clemson, Alabama and Georgia Tech for visits. He remains committed to Tech.

USC will get an official visit from ATH Eric Gordon (5-9, 184) of Nashville. Some of his other offers are Tennessee, Miami, Alabama, Mississippi State, Kentucky, Oklahoma and Texas Tech. Gordon can play running back and receiver.

The short list for QB Morgan Newton (6-5, 215) of Indianapolis is Clemson, USC, Indiana, Purdue, Kentucky, Illinois, Florida and Miami. He attended Florida's recent camp and has visited Indiana, Purdue, Kentucky and Illinois this summer.

DB Mywan Jackson (6-0, 180) of Seffner, Fla., plans to make an unofficial visit to USC later this week. He recently visited North Carolina and Michigan. He also has offers from Illinois, Louisville, Rutgers, Auburn and West Virginia.

WR Tim Smith (6-0, 185) of Chesapeake, Va., has set an official visit to USC on Sept. 19. He also will visit Louisville, West Virginia and Virginia, and he's looking at Boston College and Maryland for his final visit.

DE Izaan Cross (6-5, 253) of Flowery Branch, Ga., made a recent visit to Mississippi State and has the Bulldogs in his top five along with USC, Georgia Tech, Maryland and Oklahoma. Those five will get his official visits.

DB Michael Carter (6-0, 160) of Pompano Beach, Fla., has an offer from Clemson along with Minnesota, Miami, Georgia, Florida and Central Florida. He had 34 tackles and seven interceptions last season.

Clemson will be one of the official visits for WR Kendall Kelly (6-3, 215) of Gadsden, Ala. He recently made camp stops at Florida, Florida State and Alabama. Earlier he camped at Clemson, Texas and Auburn.

LB Hawatha Bell (6-1, 230) of Matthews, N.C., will take official visits in the fall to USC, North Carolina, N.C. State and Virginia Tech. He does not have a favorite.

LB Jon Bostic (6-2, 225) of Wellington, Fla., recently camped at Florida and Florida State. His offers also include Clemson and USC, and he might visit both before the summer is out.

LB Daniel Cleveland (5-11, 200) of Byrnes committed to Presbyterian; West Florence LB Avery Murray (6-0 210) committed to Maryland.

Newberry offered DB Ardamian Player (5-10, 175) and LB Jabril Williams (6-3, 210) of Dreher, according to coach Bill Bacon.

Howard offered OL Rahmel Davis (6-7, 260) and OL Blair Fekel (6-5, 285) of Calhoun County.

WR LaQuan Gilliard (6-3, 186) of Pinewood Prep has offers from Newberry and Presbyterian.

DB Lex Butler (5-11, 166) of Westside has offers from Duke and Buffalo, and he's getting interest from USC, Maryland, Vanderbilt, North Carolina and N.C. State.

TL Hanna WR Quintin Payton (6-4, 195) has offers from N.C. State and Duke, and he's had some contact from Clemson, USC, Wake Forest and North Carolina.

RB Trabis Ward (5-9, 203) of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., rushed for 1,706 yards and 21 touchdowns last season and is getting interest from USC, Miami, Ohio State, LSU and Rutgers. He has an offer from Troy.

Update on USC signees not yet in school: DE Ronald Byrd, DB Darrell Simmons and DE Chaz Sutton plan to attend Fork Union Prep, Va., this fall — assuming they are not accepted — and OL Elliot Williams appears headed to Georgia Military JC; DE Jarriel King is awaiting the results of two tests he took last week to complete the math course he needs to be admitted; WR Tori Childers is behind, held up by a test score that was flagged by admissions.

Clemson is waiting on one signee, DB Xavier Brewer, who completed summer school work and is expected to join the Tigers in August.

Basketball

Junior PG Eric Smith (6-0, 185) of Mullins wants to commit before this season, and he's set on going with Clemson.

"I'm seriously thinking about going ahead and committing to them," said Smith, who also has an offer from USC.

Keith Clanton (6-8) of Orlando says his offers are USC, Virginia, Butler, South Florida, Central Florida and Miami. Clanton averaged 22 points and 14 rebounds per game last season and said he talked recently with Gamecocks head coach Darrin Horn.

USC has been showing interest in 6-4 Robbie Dreher of Southside. The Gamecocks scouted him in Orlando last week, and he plans to attend a camp at USC in early August. He also has offers from Winthrop, Furman, S.C. State, Charleston Southern, USC-Upstate and Buffalo. Last season, Dreher averaged 22 points and five rebounds per game.

K.J. Manigault (6-4) of Pinewood Prep has offers from Wichita State and The Citadel and is favoring the Shockers. He's also hearing from Virginia, VCU, Marquette and Michigan.

Glen Rice Jr. (6-4) of Atlanta committed last week to Georgia Tech. Clemson had shown interest in the spring but didn't offer.