South Carolina could land one of Florida's top football prospects

One of Florida's top prospects plans to announce his college choice this week, and it just might be USC. WR Nu'Keese Richardson (6-1, 170) of Pahokee will reveal his choice Friday. He has a final five of USC, Florida, Michigan, Southern Cal and Georgia, and he says all are even. "I'm still in the process of going over stats and stuff," Richardson said.

USC recruiters Robert Gillespie and Steve Spurrier Jr. watched Richardson practice last Monday. Even after making his commitment, Richardson won't totally shut down his recruiting, as he'll take all five of his official visits in the fall. "Once I commit, I want to make sure that's the right school," he said.

A Palmetto State prospect is headed to the state of Florida. DB Justin Bright (6-2, 185) of Byrnes committed last week to Florida State. "I just feel like they're getting something started down there, and I want to be a part of it," Bright told the Spartanburg Herald-Journal. Bright also has an offer from Texas A&M.

Last Tuesday night, it appeared OL Brandon Thomas (6-4, 280) of Dorman would commit to Clemson during a phone conversation with head coach Tommy Bowden, but Thomas did not make the pledge. "He asked if Clemson was still on top of my list, and I said yes," Thomas said. "He asked when I wanted to commit, and I said the end of the summer or early in the season." Thomas said he's also considering USC and North Carolina.

OL Xavier Nixon (6-7, 270) of Fayetteville, N.C., plans to have his list down from over 40 offers to five or 10 by the end of this week. Clemson and USC are among his offers, and he said Clemson is in better shape with him. "I've been around Clemson a lot more than South Carolina," Nixon said. Clemson recruiter Brad Scott was by the school last week. Nixon recently visited LSU, Auburn and Florida.

Clemson is a major player with DB Dre Kirkpatrick (6-3, 190) of Gadsden, Ala. "I have a good feeling and relationship with the coaches at Clemson," Kirkpatrick said. "They are one of my favorites right now." He has over 40 offers. Some of the others are Alabama, Iowa, Tennessee, Florida, Florida State, Miami, Southern Cal, Texas and LSU. He plans to visit Clemson this summer.

While in Florida last week, USC's Gillespie checked on DB Jarrett Swaby (6-1, 183) of Belle Glade. USC has not offered, but Swaby has been invited in for a one-day camp next month so the coaches can take a closer look. Swaby visited USC for the spring game. He has an offer from Hofstra and is also getting interest from Central Michigan, West Virginia, Pittsburgh, Florida International, Florida Atlantic, Central Florida and South Florida. USC and South Florida are his top two. Last season he had 103 tackles and five interceptions.

The Gamecocks remain in the hunt for LB Matt Coffee (5-11, 210) of Fort Walton Beach, Fla. Recruiter Shane Beamer was by the school last week for practice. "They are recruiting me the hardest," Coffee said of the Gamecocks. He also has offers from Ole Miss, N.C. State, Maryland, Illinois, Southern Miss, Marshall, Iowa State and Michigan State.

Clemson is showing interest in LB Qua Huzzie (5-11, 207) of LaGrange, Ga. Recruiter Chris Rumph was by his school recently and left the impression he liked what he saw. "He hasn't mentioned an offer, but he said he really liked me and liked my size," Huzzie said. He has offers from USC, Kentucky, Indiana, Memphis, Ole Miss, Oklahoma State, Duke, Vanderbilt and Georgia Southern. "I like Kentucky, but South Carolina is coming up," he said.

DL Brandon Moore (6-6, 318) of Montgomery, Ala., has Clemson high up on his list. Tigers recruiter Dabo Swinney was by to watch him on his first day of spring practice. "They are just another very good school coming after me right now," Moore said. He also has offers from Alabama, Auburn, Mississippi State, Memphis, Central Florida and Southern Miss. Last season he had 60 tackles and six sacks.

USC's Beamer continues to work LB Chaun Gresham (6-3, 200) of Winder, Ga., despite his commitment to Georgia Tech in March. And he appears to be making progress. "The only other school I'm looking at a lot is South Carolina," he said. "I still consider myself committed to Georgia Tech, but things are getting harder with all the schools still coming at me." Tennessee just recently offered Gresham. He said he will visit USC this summer.

Beamer also has maintained contact with LSU commitment LB Kevin Minter (6-1, 240) of Suwanee, Ga. Minter said he's still firm with LSU but is willing to talk to other recruiters. He also has offers from N.C. State, Ole Miss, Virginia, Purdue, West Virginia, Southern Cal, Nebraska and Kentucky.

Calhoun County ATH David Sims added offers from Florida, Kansas and Kentucky last week. He also has offers from USC, Alabama, North Carolina, Wake Forest, Tennessee, Georgia Tech, Colorado, N.C. State, Michigan and Oregon. Tech and Kansas have offered as a quarterback, and Sims said he'd prefer to play offense. He plans to visit Florida and Florida State in June. He does not have favorites.

In other recruiting news:

Calhoun County sophomore OL Eric Mack (6-5, 290) added an offer from Wake Forest last week to earlier ones from North Carolina, Alabama and Kentucky.

USC is keeping in touch with ATH Ray Ray Armstrong (6-4, 215) of Sanford, Fla., and recruiter John Hunt was at the school this month. "I don't have any favorites, but I do have interest in South Carolina," Armstrong said. Some of his other offers are Southern Cal, Miami, Florida State, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Tennessee and Auburn.

Clemson's Swinney scouted WR Kendall Kelly (6-3, 215) of Gadsden, Ala., this month, and Kelly likes Swinney and the Tigers. He plans to camp at Clemson this summer. Kelly also is looking at Alabama, Auburn, LSU, Southern Cal, Oregon, Kentucky, Tennessee, Florida, Florida State and others. He does not have favorites and won't narrow his list until the season.

Clemson commitment LB Eric Fields (6-3, 215) of Warner Robins, Ga., continues to hear from others. Auburn contacted him last week. Clemson recruiter Billy Napier made his second appearance of the spring at the school last week. Coaches from Arkansas, Florida, Florida State and Georgia also have been in. Fields said his Clemson commitment remains solid. "I would say so, probably."

One USC target, RB Rodney Scott (5-9, 190) of Cross City, Fla., committed last week to Auburn. A second, WR James Green (6-4, 200) of Tallahassee, also committed to Auburn but quickly withdrew the pledge and remains available. He also has offers from Central Florida, Minnesota, Syracuse, Iowa State and Ole Miss.

WR Jheranie Boyd (6-3, 185) of Gastonia, N.C., was going to visit USC over the weekend but instead went to Myrtle Beach. He now plans to visit this weekend. Boyd has been sitting on a list of nine favorites, a list which includes USC and Clemson. He said he might reveal the rest the end of this week.

DB Branden Smith (5-11, 165) of Atlanta is very interested in Clemson and talked with Rumph late last week. "I told him I'm coming down there soon," Smith said. "They can't wait for me to get down there." He also has offers from USC, Florida State, Georgia, Auburn, Alabama, Michigan, Miami, Florida and LSU. He's not hearing that much from the Gamecocks.

North Augusta LB Brett Johnson (6-2, 206) has offers from Air Force and Newberry. Coaches from Purdue, North Carolina, Furman, Duke and Vanderbilt were at his practices last week. He's also getting interest from USC, Georgia Tech, Georgia, N.C. State, Indiana, South Florida and West Virginia.

DB Frank Crawford (6-1, 170) of Miami plans to visit USC this summer and is in touch with Gillespie. He also has offers from Ole Miss, Alabama, South Florida, Minnesota, Michigan State, Iowa State, Syracuse and Duke. He's also hearing from Clemson, Ohio State, Auburn and Miami. He does not have favorites.

USC remains involved with DL Josh Elizondo (6-2, 270) of Naples, Fla. Recruiter David Reaves was at his school last week. Coaches from Troy, Duke, Pittsburgh, Iowa State, N.C. State and Kentucky also have been through. He does not have favorites.

LB Hawatha Bell (6-1, 230) of Matthews, N.C., now has offers from USC, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Miami, Illinois, Maryland, Duke, East Carolina, North Carolina and N.C. State. USC recruiter Ray Rychleski made a recent visit to his school. Bell plans to visit USC, Virginia Tech, North Carolina, N.C. State, Illinois and Notre Dame this summer. He does not have a favorite.

USC has checked on DB Brandon Harton (5-9, 170) of Reidsville, Ga., and invited him for a camp. He's also getting interest from Auburn, Vanderbilt, Troy, Georgia Southern and Wofford.

The Air Force Academy has dropped offers off to RB Bucky Kennedy (5-10, 176) and DB Steffon Batts (5-11, 170) of Ridge View, and DL Matthew Johnson (6-2, 280) and ATH Arthur Goforth (5-8, 170) of Keenan.

DB Leander Jones Jr. (5-11, 150) of South Aiken signed last week with Furman, and his teammate, OL Taylor Glass (5-10, 250), signed with Newberry, according to the Aiken Standard. And DB Drew Nethery of Northwestern signed last week with Charleston Southern, according to the Rock Hill Herald.

Basketball news

Khris Middleton (6-7) of Porter-Gaud visited USC last week and was offered by head coach Darrin Horn. "He said I can bring great things to the school," Middleton said. He also has offers from St. Joseph's, Charlotte, College of Charleston, Nebraska, Fordham, James Madison and SMU. Texas A&M also is very interested.

Matt Wilson (6-11) of Raleigh was offered by former USC coach Dave Odom, but he's not heard much from the new staff. But the Gamecocks have contacted his AAU coach and would like to have Wilson visit this summer. Wilson has offers from Davidson, UNC Wilmington and Richmond.

Clemson is the favorite of 6-5 Shaunesy Smith of Macon, Miss. Mississippi State and Kentucky round out his top three. Smith plans to visit Clemson in late June. He averaged 25 points and seven rebounds per game last season.

Brendon Knox (6-10) of Spartanburg Methodist JC visited Auburn last week. He's also getting interest from Nebraska.

South Carolina State coach Tim Carter announced the signing of seven players for the 2008 class: 6-4 Jimmy Williams Jr. of Dublin, Ga.; 6-7 Kiara Douglas of Darlington; 6-5 Arsenio Williams of Fort Scott JC, Kan.; 6-5 Brandon Smalls of Harcus JC, Penn., and North Charleston; 6-4 Charles Belton of Coastal Georgia JC; 6-1 Kensha Johnson of Coastal Georgia JC; and 6-2 Jamaal Day of Irwinton, Ga.