USC lands a major lineman target

South Carolina landed one of its major targets for the offensive line last week with a commitment from Tramell Williams (6-2, 260) of Jacksonville, Fla., but the Gamecocks missed on another when Logan Stewart (6-5, 278) of Boiling Springs opted for Vanderbilt.

Williams had been favoring the Gamecocks for weeks, but didn't firm up his decision until after visiting Illinois. Early playing time was a factor in his decision.

"I can honestly see myself playing there as a freshman or a redshirt," he said.

The Gamecocks had felt good about their chances with Stewart, but after he attended a camp at Vanderbilt and received an offer, he decided to go with the Commodores.

"I just like the staff and the academics," Stewart said. "It just felt like home."

Stewart had offers from East Carolina, Air Force, Appalachian State and Western Carolina.

South Carolina also added a commitment last week from DB Brison Williams (6-0, 180) of Warner Robins, Ga. Williams impressed the Gamecocks secondary coaches during a camp performance and earned an offer as a cornerback. South Carolina is his only offer, but he's also drawn some interest from Florida, N.C. State and Purdue.

South Carolina now has 11 commitments for the 2010 class, four for the offensive line. A fifth O-lineman commitment is expected to fall Tuesday when Corey Robinson (6-7, 295) of Havelock, N.C., makes his announcement at a news conference at his school. Robinson also has drawn interest from N.C. State, North Carolina, East Carolina and Duke.

OL Eric Mack (6-4, 310) of Calhoun County spent much of last Wednesday at South Carolina with his mother.

"I saw the campus and checked out the academics," Mack said. "And my mom loved it. But I'm not ready to make a decision. Everybody is even. I'll decide on Signing Day."

Mack plans to visit Clemson, North Carolina and N.C. State later this summer.

Another offensive lineman considering a South Carolina offer is Jake DeBoef (6-8, 270) of State College, Pa.

He has offers from Temple, Purdue, Buffalo, Ohio, Miami of Ohio, North Carolina, N.C. State and Illinois. Penn State also is interested and he was at a camp there over the weekend. DeBoef plans to visit South Carolina in July on his way home from Florida's camp. He also plans to visit North Carolina and N.C. State on that trip. He does not have a favorite.

Byrnes RB Marcus Lattimore (6-0, 210) and teammate WR Nick Jones (5-10, 165) also visited South Carolina last week. South Carolina is one of the final eight with Lattimore along with Clemson, Auburn, Alabama, North Carolina, Florida State, Penn State and Maryland. He does not have a favorite.

Jones has offers from Michigan, Northern Illinois and Georgia Southern. He likes the Gamecocks, but is not ready to name a clear favorite.

Clemson and South Carolina will make the cut with DE/OL Henry Anderson (6-6, 245) of College Park, Ga., when he gets down to a final 10 this week. Anderson said last week Georgia Tech, Stanford and Virginia also will be on the list. He will visit Wisconsin on Tuesday and might see Michigan while he's up in that area. He will camp at Florida State on July 10 and he also plans to visit Georgia Tech.

ATH Darius Lipford (6-4, 210) of Lenoir, N.C., has been a Duke commitment, but is still talking to Clemson, South Carolina and others. He has visited Duke and was scheduled to visit Virginia last Thursday. He said Clemson and South Carolina want him to visit and he will try to get to both this summer.

LB Ferlando Bohanna (6-0, 240) of Memphis favors Clemson by a small margin over North Carolina.

"Coach (Kevin) Steel has been following up with me since the tenth grade and we have a good chemistry," Bohanna said. "He knows a lot about me."

While Clemson leads now, Bohanna said Oregon would become his favorite if they offered, because his cousin is an assistant coach there. He has offers from Middle Tennessee and Southern Miss.

Clemson and South Carolina missed the cut with DB Cody Riggs (5-9, 165) of Fort Lauderdale, Fla,. when he trimmed his list to Florida, Georgia, Notre Dame, Tennessee and Florida State.

Riggs's teammate, DB Keion Payne (6-0, 165) remains interested in South Carolina, which is one of his 19 offers. He talked recently with recruiter Jeep Hunter.

"I think they are a great school and I can see myself there," Payne said.

He also has offers from Miami, Michigan, Oklahoma State, Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee, Florida State, Oregon and Ole Miss and others.

TE Neil Brasford (6-5, 235) of Jacksonville, Fla., was scheduled to stop by South Carolina over the weekend as part of a three school tour which included Wake Forest and Virginia Tech. He has been to Florida State for a camp and to Florida for an unofficial visit. Brasford has offers from South Carolina, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Florida State, Arkansas, Indiana, East Carolina, Miami and Minnesota. He does not have favorites.

DE Jordan Allen (6-6, 258) of West Monroe, La., has a Clemson offer along with Michigan, LSU, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Texas, Minnesota, Colorado, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Southern Miss, Tulane and others. He does not have favorites but likes the SEC schools and Texas the most.

OL Arie Kouandjio (6-6, 314) of Hyattsville, Md., recently added offers from Notre Dame and Auburn pushing him over 25. South Carolina is an offer and he said he's still considering the Gamecocks and everyone else on his list. He has visited Rutgers and West Virginia this summer.

WR Chris Dunkley (5-11, 170) of Pahokee, Fla., had planned to visit South Carolina early lasts week but couldn't make it. He still plans to visit South Carolina, probably in the fall. Dunkley has over 30 offers and does not have any favorites.

South Carolina remains involved with DL DJ McCellion (6-0, 275) of Delray Beach, Fla. He recently camped at Minnesota and Georgia and will be going to Central Florida and Tennessee. He plans to take official visits this fall to South Carolina, Tennessee, Oklahoma State, Florida and Kansas.

DB Dovant'a Davis (6-2, 175) of Gainesville, Fla., plans to make South Carolina one of his official visits this fall. He has offers from the Gamecocks, Louisville, Arkansas, Central Florida, Miami, Rutgers, Iowa State, Troy and Liberty. He's also hearing from Florida, Ole Miss, Kentucky, LSU and others. He has camped at LSU and UCF.

Clemson and South Carolina remain under consideration by DL Michael Thornton (6-2, 276) of Stone Mountain, Ga., who will cut his list to five in July. His top three right now are Auburn, Miami and Ole Miss. Thornton said he will visit Clemson in mid-July, and he still likes South Carolina because they were his first offer. He has been to Georgia, Georgia Tech and Alabama this summer and will also try to visit N.C. State. Ole Miss, Tennessee and Arkansas.

Clemson commitment DB Breshaud Breeland of Allendale-Fairfax suffered a knee injury during a seven-on-seven passing league Friday at Orangeburg-Wilkinson. The extent of the injury won't be known until an MRI is done.

DL Thomas Teal (6-2, 315) of Marlboro County committed last week to N.C. State. He also had offers from Baylor, Duke, East Carolina, Illinois and S.C. State.

WR Anthony Creecy (6-0, 195) of Durham, N.C., has offers from Clemson and South Carolina but he committed to N.C. State last week.

South Carolina offer DB Jonathan Mincy (5-11, 170) of Decatur, Ga., committed last week to Auburn.

Another South Carolina target, DL Tavaris Barnes (6-5, 250) of Jacksonville, Fla., committed last week to Florida State.

Basketball

Stacey Poole (6-5) of Jacksonville, Fla. has been targeted by Clemson and South Carolina.

He has offers from Indiana, Florida, Xavier and Miami. He likes Oklahoma and Louisville. Poole said the Tigers and Gamecocks have been on him since early in his recruiting and he likes both. He visited Clemson earlier this month and attended a team camp at South Carolina. He does not have a favorite and plans to sign in November. Last season, Poole averaged 26 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists per game.

Baseball

LHP Wes Cook (6-2) of Central Alabama Junior College committed last week to South Carolina for the 2010 class. Cook is a native of Montgomery, Ala. As a freshman last season he was 10-0 with a 2.29 ERA. He struck out 81 in 94 innings and walked 26.