Gamecocks land tight end standout

South Carolina hit the Atlanta area for its newest commitment. Tight end Will Middleton (6-5, 245) of Marietta, Ga., committed to the Gamecocks on Friday, one day after landing an official offer from recruiter Shane Beamer and position coach Ray Rychleski.

Middleton also had a offer from Rutgers and was drawing interest from Louisville, West Virginia, Maryland, Mississippi State, Georgia, Indiana and Florida. Last season, he caught 25 passes for 350 yards and two touchdowns.

Middleton's sister is a member of USC's equestrian team.

Byrnes sophomore running back Marcus Lattimore (6-0, 200), the state's top prospect for the 2010 class, has switched up his favorite from Clemson to USC.

"Clemson's not my leader," Lattimore told the Web site TheBigSpur.com. "I had fun down there that one day (I visited). I don't know what I was talking about with that Clemson stuff. I just got caught up in the moment. I like USC because I don't know that Clemson is telling the truth. I know Carolina is giving me 100 percent. They'll tell me how it is. I've liked Carolina since I was young."

Lattimore's sister attends USC, and he plans to spend several weeks in Columbia this summer. Florida State also is becoming a major player with Lattimore.

Linebacker Quandon Christian (6-4, 210) of Lake View is drawing the interest of USC and Clemson. Gamecocks recruiters David Reaves and Ellis Johnson, and Clemson recruiter Dabo Swinney, have been by the school.

He favors the Gamecocks and Tigers and has visited both schools. He's also hearing from Notre Dame, Boston College, Georgia Tech and Rutgers. Last season, Christian had 89 tackles with 11 sacks, and he rushed for 966 yards and 15 scores.

Clemson and Alabama recently offered speedster wide receiver Nukeese Richardson (5-10, 170) of Pahokee, Fla., but USC remains his favorite by a small margin over Florida. Georgia, Rutgers, Florida State, Florida and Michigan have been by the school and he's expecting USC recruiter Robert Gillespie to visit this week.

Clemson recruiter Chris Rumph visited Columbia High School late last week to check on defensive back Damario Jeffery (6-3, 211). Jeffery said Clemson and USC are recruiting him the hardest right now. Michigan and Kentucky also came by his school last week. He recently added an offer from North Carolina. Jeffery said he has no list of favorites.

Rumph also visited Calhoun County, where he made an official offer to WR Alshon Jeffrey (6-3, 217). He also has offers from USC, Alabama, Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, Southern Cal, N.C. State, Florida, Florida State, Michigan and Oregon.

Oregon also offered Calhoun County ATH David Sims (6-0, 208) last week, and a Ducks recruiter is scheduled to visit this week.

USC is showing interest in linebacker Brett Johnson (6-2, 206) of North Augusta. Gillespie visited the school last week and picked up some film. Air Force has offered Johnson, and he's also hearing from LSU, North Carolina, Georgia Tech, Georgia, Vanderbilt, N.C. State and Duke.

Former Strom Thurmond WR Jakar Hamilton (6-2, 190) will play his first season at Georgia Military JC this fall, and he's hearing from USC.

"South Carolina is waiting to see how I do grade-wise," Hamilton said. "And I'm doing well with that. I really like South Carolina a lot." He's also hearing from Central Florida and Texas A&M, where his brother, Michael Goodson, is the starting running back.

USC also is interested in a pair of linebackers at Georgia Military JC, Josh Dickerson (6-2, 205) of Kingsland, Ga., and Tony Straughter (6-1, 210) of Madison, Fla.

Clemson offered ATH Marsalis Teague (5-11, 170) of Paris, Tenn., as a cornerback. He plays quarterback and accounted for nearly 3,000 yards and 33 touchdowns last season. Teague also has offers from Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Miami, Wake Forest, Georgia Tech, North Carolina and Memphis. He's favoring Clemson, Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Miami, Georgia Tech and UNC.

USC and Arkansas are the top two with WR Lance Ray (6-3, 200) of Havana, Fla. USC's Beamer visited the school last week. Coaches from Marshall, Central Florida, Florida State, Arkansas, Ole Miss and Auburn also have been by.

Clemson's Rumph was one of the coaches to check in on OL Xavier Nixon (6-7, 270) of Fayetteville, N.C. Michigan, North Carolina, N.C. State, Notre Dame and Alabama also have been through. "The in-state schools are recruiting me hard," Nixon said. "Miami, Clemson, Michigan and Notre Dame are recruiting me hard." Nixon plans to trim his list later this month after his father returns from Afghanistan. He has visited Ohio State, West Virginia, Pittsburgh and Tennessee, and plans to visit LSU, Florida, Auburn and Georgia before the end of the month. And he might visit Clemson while on that trip.

In other football recruiting news:

Clemson is one of the offers for WR Bryce McNeal (6-2, 175) of Minneapolis. "I'm going to visit Clemson the end of this month," McNeal said. "Me and coach Swinney have developed a good relationship." USC also has offered but isn't making the kind of push Clemson his. McNeal also has offers from Oklahoma, Michigan, Nebraska, Colorado, Louisville, UNC, Auburn, Connecticut, Arizona, Illinois, Minnesota, Iowa and Iowa State. He plans to visit Michigan this week. Last season, he caught 31 passes for 750 yards and nine TDs.

USC has offered LB Daniel Mack (6-1, 198) of Miami. He earlier was offered by Clemson, and he plans to visit both school in July. He also plans to visit Georgia, Florida and Florida State. "I can say I really like Carolina and Clemson," Mack said. "I wouldn't mind playing for either one." He also has offers from Ole Miss, Eastern Illinois, Florida International, Liberty, Central Florida, Purdue, Wisconsin and Auburn. He plans to graduate in December.

LB Corico Hawkins (6-0, 225) of Milledgeville, Ga., has Clemson and USC offers and a top three of Clemson, Auburn and Florida with no leader. USC's Johnson visited his school last week.

DE Anthony Orr (6-5, 260) of Harvest, Ala., has offers from Clemson, Alabama, Auburn and Tennessee. He's also hearing from Central Florida, Mississippi State, Georgia, LSU and Southern Miss.

USC has an offer out to DE Kedric Johnson (6-4, 220) of Palmetto, Fla. He also has offers from South Florida, West Virginia, Kentucky, Central Florida, Michigan State, Auburn and Wake Forest. Johnson had 19 sacks last season.

QB Rob Henry (6-2, 198) of Ocala, Fla., currently favors Illinois. The Illini and Louisville have offered. Henry attended USC's spring game and is expecting Reaves to visit his school this spring.

OL John Coleman (6-4, 275) of West Florence has offers from Coastal Carolina, Presbyterian, Wofford, Newberry and Buffalo. He's drawn some interest from USC and Clemson.

Air Force is checking into PK Grant Clayton (5-8, 170) and ATH Carlos McCoy (5-7 150) of A.C. Flora.

The Tigers and Gamecocks have made unofficial offers to Dorman freshman WR Charon Peake (6-3, 185), according to his coach Dave Gutshall. And Tennessee is showing strong, early interest. "He'll be one of the top receivers in the Southeast by the time he's a senior," Gutshall said.

Junior QB Anthony Boone (6-2, 218) of Charlotte is getting early attention from USC, Clemson, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest, according to his coach. Boone passed for over 4,000 yards in his first two seasons. "He has the best release I have seen on a high school quarterback in my 36 years," coach Phil Williams said.

Basketball news

USC and Clemson are going after 6-5 Lakeem Jackson of Arden, N.C. Head coaches Darrin Horn and Oliver Purnell scouted him this spring. Jackson also likes Georgia Tech. He averaged 19 points, six rebounds and 3.5 assists per game last season.

The Citadel signed 6-4 Bo Holston of Sandy Spring, Md., according to the Montgomery Gazette. He averaged 14 points per game last season.

6-7 Omar Sanders of Spartanburg signed with Spartanburg Methodist JC.

6-2 Kendrick Robinson of Spartanburg Methodist signed with Francis Marion, and his teammate, 6-5 Anthony Middleton, signed with Limestone.

Steven Bell of Ridge View signed with North Greenville.

Baseball news

RHP Jordan Lyles (6-5, 200) of Hartsville committed to USC and will sign this spring. Lyles was 6-2 this season and also batted .420. He also made the Shrine Bowl team as a receiver in football after catching 81 passes.