Gators weigh options

Several players at Goose Creek High are drawing major college attention according to coach Chuck Reedy. Linebacker Malcolm Howard (6-0 195) is hearing from Georgia Tech, Illinois, Duke, Georgia, Maryland and The Citadel. Wide receiver Kevin Glears (6-0, 170), who caught 40 passes last season, has had contact from Duke, Illinois, Western Michigan, The Citadel and Maryland. Defensive back Albert Kirk (5-9, 170) has heard from Duke, The Citadel and S.C. State. Linebacker Dontavia Reid (6-1, 205) has drawn interest from Duke and The Citadel. And defensive back L.C. McCloud (6-1, 180) is hearing from The Citadel.

Back on top

Former Strom Thurmond standout DB Jakar Hamilton (6-2, 190) has resurrected his career at Georgia Military Junior College and is now considered a major prospect with offers from USC, Georgia, N.C. State, Illinois, LSU, Miami and North Carolina and interest from Southern Cal.

Hamilton was at South Carolina for the spring game and is giving the Gamecocks strong consideration.

"I don't want to go too far from home," Hamilton said. "I want my family to be able to see me play. And, I want to get right on the field and make an impact."

Hamilton did that last season at GMA with a team-high 86 tackles and seven interceptions. Hamilton played his final season at Strom Thurmond in 2006. He sat out the next season and enrolled at the junior college prior to the 2008 campaign. He is on track to graduate in December.

USC news

--USC offered DL Kendrick Frazier (6-3, 250) of Denmark-Olar last Friday, the first school to officially offer. Frazier also is drawing interest from Clemson, N.C. State, Coastal Carolina and Wisconsin. Last season Frazier had 91 tackles and seven sacks.

--USC commitment DL Kelcy Quarles (6-5, 270) of Greenwood attended the Gamecocks' spring game and says he enjoyed hanging out with the players and watching the game. He was scheduled to visit Tennessee over the weekend and he also wants to visit LSU and Alabama over the summer. He's also looking at Florida State and Florida. Quarles called his commitment to USC very soft.

"I'm not saying I'm going to decommit, but I'm not saying I'm not either," he said.

--USC has offered OL Brandon Linder (6-6, 285) of Fort Lauderdale, one of 22 offers for the big left tackle. Some others are Miami, Notre Dame, Florida, Florida State, LSU, Alabama, Tennessee, Stanford and Auburn.

Clemson news

--Clemson offered OL Max Garcia (6-5, 275) of Norcross, Ga., last week joining USC, Alabama, Vanderbilt, Maryland, N.C. State and Michigan State on his offer list. Garcia also is hearing from Georgia, North Carolina, Central Florida and Oregon. He attended junior days at USC, Georgia and Vanderbilt and he went to a Georgia Tech practice a couple of weeks ago. He's favoring Vanderbilt ahead of Maryland.

--Chester OL Kalon Davis (6-5, 350) has an offer from Clemson and continues to hear good things from the Tigers. He did not make it to either the Clemson or USC spring game. He also has offers from Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, N.C. State, Mississippi State and South Florida.

--Clemson has an offer out to RB Darion Hall (6-0, 200) of Naples, Fla. He has also been offered by Arkansas, Syracuse, Kentucky, SMU, Vanderbilt, West Virginia and Michigan. He's also hearing from Miami and Florida. Last season Hall rushed for 1,800 yards and 26 touchdowns.

Running Backs

--Byrnes RB Marcus Lattimore (6-0, 210) visited Auburn over the weekend and was impressed.

"They've got a big lead," Lattimore said. "Georgia and Florida State would be second. And USC and Clemson are still going to be up there." Lattimore said he won't take any more visits until he goes to Penn State this summer. He will attend the Nike camp this weekend at Georgia.

--Rutgers and Louisville are the latest offers for Irmo RB Mustafa Green (6-1, 195). He also has offers from Clemson, USC, Georgia, West Virginia, Florida, Notre Dame, Oregon and North Carolina. Green did not attend any junior days and hasn't been to any spring games thus far. "I'm going to look into them (the schools) later and see which ones I'll have a better chance of playing early," he said. "That's important to me."

Offensive linemen

--OL Eric Mack (6-4, 310) of Calhoun County attended Alabama's spring game Saturday and plans to spend one of his official visits on the Crimson Tide this fall. Mack also attended USC's spring game and has made recent visits to Clemson, Auburn and Georgia Tech. He does not have a favorite.

Wide Receivers

--WR Kadron Boone (6-1, 190) of Ocala, Fla., has offers from Clemson, USC, Florida, South Florida, Central Florida, Miami, Notre Dame, Cincinnati, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Purdue, Rutgers, Mississippi State and Duke. He does not have favorites. He's friends with current Gamecocks Dion Lecorn and Antonio Allen. Last season Boone had 57 catches for 1,280 yards and 18 touchdowns.

--WR Tai-ler Jones (6-0, 175) of Gainesville, Ga.,, who has offers from Clemson and USC, committed last week to Stanford.

Defensive backs

--Manning DB John Fulton (6-0, 180) recently visited Florida and says the Gators are very serious about him. He also has offers from USC, Clemson, Alabama, Georgia, Maryland, NC State and Tennessee. Fulton planned to visit Tennessee this past weekend. He has Georgia, Alabama and Florida on his favorites list.

--Lake City DB Sheldon Robinson (5-9, 165) took in USC's spring game on his own and didn't talk to any of the Gamecocks coaches. He's not getting strong interest from USC at this point. Robinson was scheduled to attend Duke's spring game over the weekend. He went to Clemson for a practice earlier this month and says the Tigers seem interested for track and football. Robinson also is hearing from Louisville and Kentucky.

--Clemson and USC are showing interest in DB James Scales (5-10, 185) of Greensboro, N.C., but have not offered. Scales has offers from Oregon, Louisville, Duke, Kentucky and Ohio. He's also getting strong interest from Colorado and Wisconsin. Scales attended junior days at USC, Louisville, Georgia Tech, N.C. State and Wake Forest. Kentucky and Oregon are his favorites.

Linebackers

--LB Kendall Moore (6-3, 230) of Raleigh does not have a favorites list yet, and USC and Clemson are among those trying to land a spot on it. He attended USC's junior day and plans to come back this summer. He hasn't been to Clemson since his freshman year but is planning a summer visit there as well. Moore was scheduled to be at N.C. State's spring game Saturday. He also has visited North Carolina, Duke and East Carolina. Notre Dame recently offered. He also has offers from West Virginia, Maryland, Florida State and Wake Forest.

--LB Tyrone Cornelius (6-2, 198) of Stone Mountain, Ga., visited USC, Georgia Tech and Florida for junior days. He has offers from the Gamecocks, Georgia Tech, Auburn, Miami, Louisville, Western Kentucky and Tennessee. Clemson also has been in touch along with Alabama, Georgia and Florida. Last season Cornelius had 118 tackles and four sacks.

LB Devon Washington (6-0, 229) of Conyers, Ga., favors USC and Ole Miss but doesn't have an offer from either one right now. He's also hearing from Middle Tennessee State, Western Kentucky, Florida and Central Florida. He was at USC's spring game and hopes to attend a USC camp this summer.

--LB Ty Linton (6-2, 210) of Charlotte picked up offers recently from North Carolina and Wake Forest. He also has offers from Wisconsin, Duke, West Virginia, Illinois, Syracuse, Virginia, Vanderbilt and Miami of Ohio. He's also getting ongoing interest from Clemson for football and baseball.

Quarterbacks

--Former Red Sox minor league pitcher Mike Rozier (6-5, 240) of Stockbridge, Ga., will walk on later this spring at Tennessee choosing to go with the Vols over USC. He recently visited both schools and decided his skills as a pro style passer better fits the Tennessee offense.

--QB Phillip Sims (6-2, 220) of Cheasapeake, Va., who has a Clemson offer, committed last week to Alabama.

-- Defensive linemen

--DE Justin Henderson (6-4, 232) of Bamberg-Ehrhardt committed Saturday to Kentucky while in Lexington for an unofficial visit. Henderson also has offers from Colorado, Michigan State, Penn State, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt, Maryland, Syracuse and Duke.

Athletes

--Cornelius Jones (6-2, 185) of Spartanburg favors Michigan at this point. He has offers from the Wolverines, Duke, Wake Forest and Stanford. He's also hearing from North Carolina, Georgia Tech and Virginia. Jones went to junior day at USC and Clemson but hasn't heard from them since.

DB Jonathan Mincy (5-10, 175) of Decatur, Ga., attened Tennessee's spring game Saturday and has the Vols at the top of his list along with Georgia and Auburn. He's also taken recent visits to Auburn, Georgia Tech and Georgia. He plans to visit Vanderbilt. Mincy went to a Clemson junior day and continues to hear from the Tigers. USC also is showing some interest. He has offers from Tennessee, Ole Miss, Maryland and Akron.

Basketball News:

The spring signing period started last Wednesday and the USC men and women signed two players each.

--Darrin Horn inked 6-9 Jhondre Jefferson of NW Florida State Junior College and 6-5 Steve Spinella of Colts Neck, N.J.

--Dawn Staley signed 6-5 Kelsey Bone of Stafford, Texas and 6-0 Ashley Bruner of Norman, Okla.

--Presbyterian coach Gregg Nibert signed 6-4 Khalid Mutakabbir of Suwanee, Ga., and 6-10 Jay Reynolds of Maryville, Tenn.

--Signed with Charleston Southern coach Barclay Radebaugh were 6-2 Jeremy Sexton of Chattanooga, 6-9 Patrick Shaughnessy of Hixson, Tenn., 6-5 Tom Tankelewicz of Apex, N.C., and 6-3 Stanley Honorat of Miami.

--Coastal Carolina landed 6-4 Tre Lee of Hampton, Va., and 6-2 Danny Nieman of Hargrave Prep, Va.

--5-11 Jarvis Davis of Ridge View signed with Louisiana Tech.

--6-2 Ryan Norris of Keenan signed with Auburn-Montgomery.

USC, which offered 6-8 junior Mike Green of Blue Ridge last fall, remains very interested in him according to coach John Combs. Green also has had an offer from Auburn.

6-7 junior Travis McKie has elevated Clemson and Wake Forest to the top of his list and is working on a summer time decision. Alabama and Virginia recently have been in touch with their new coaches and are trying to get involved.