USC looking for smaller, faster receivers

South Carolina fans have seen this season that the Gamecocks have a talented group of tall, lanky receivers. But the offensive staff would like to augment that group with a smaller, quicker player in this year's class. One possibility is Marquel Wade (5-10, 180) of Jacksonville, Fla.

He has scheduled an official visit with the Gamecocks for Nov. 13. Wade talked with receivers coach Steve Spurrier Jr. earlier this month.

"He was telling me he needs a receiver that can move like a Percy Harvin," Wade said. "He wants someone they can get the ball to quicker and faster. I'm real interested. They are real high up there."

Wade has narrowed his decision to South Carolina, Arkansas, South Florida and Georgia. He is scheduled to visit Arkansas Oct. 30 and South Florida Nov. 20. There is no favorite.

Another possibility is Tehvyn Brantley (5-10, 175) of Durham, N.C., a 4.3 speedster who has over 1,000 all-purpose yards on the season. The Gamecocks have not offered but they have been keeping in touch. Brantley says N.C. State and East Carolina also are showing strong interest and he's also hearing from Tennessee, Cal and UCLA. He claims offers from South Carolina, North Carolina, Wyoming and Central Michigan.

Clemson remains in the running for ATH Keenan Allen of Greensboro, N.C., despite a recent Web site report he was on the verge of committing to Alabama.

"One minute it's Alabama, the next minute it's Clemson, then it's Oregon," said Allen's father, Scott Lang. "It (a decision) is getting close but there's nothing finalized."

Allen plans to take visits to all three schools. He's now playing quarterback but also can play receiver and safety.

Manning DB John Fulton was scheduled to make his first official visit over the weekend to LSU. Fulton will also take official visits to South Carolina, Alabama, Florida and Georgia. Michigan and Tennessee have been making a strong push in recent weeks. He has been favoring the Gamecocks.

ATH Sherard Cadogan of Cherry Hill, N.J., was scheduled to make his official visit to South Carolina over the weekend but postponed the trip until the Florida weekend. He has taken officials to Pittsburgh, Wisconsin and West Virginia and will visit Michigan State on Oct. 23. Cadogan does not have a favorite.

Byrnes RB Marcus Lattimore canceled his official visit to Florida State for this past weekend, scratched his plans to come to the South Carolina game against Kentucky, and stayed home to catch his breath.

Lattimore said he will take his official visits to Auburn at the end of this month and to Penn State the first weekend in November.

He has not decided on his other officials, which he will take Jan. 16, 23 and 30.

Lattimore has been considering South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia and Oregon.

Calhoun County OL Eric Mack will set one of his remaining official visits with Kentucky. Wildcats recruiter Joker Phillips was by the school Friday. Mack has taken an official visit to Auburn and will set visits with South Carolina and Clemson.

DB Dontrell Johnson of Garden City Junior College, Kan., is still on go with his official visit to South Carolina on Oct. 23. That will be the first visit to South Carolina for the Georgia native.

"I'm just going to take it all in," Johnson said. "We're going to talk about an offer."

He has offers from Purdue, UAB, Ole Miss, North Texas, Southern Miss and Georgia Southern. He also plans to visit Purdue and UAB.

Beaufort LB Justin Parker was at South Carolina's game with S.C. State and spent time with recruiter Shane Beamer and former teammate Jimmy Legree. He has not scheduled his official visits but knows South Carolina and Clemson will be two of them.

OL Jack Deboef (6-8, 270) of State College, Pa., has not decided on officials, but says South Car-olina has a good shot at one. The Gamecocks have offered along with North Carolina, N.C. State, Miami (Ohio), Ohio, Temple, Purdue, Buffalo and Illinois. He'll decide on visits in a couple of weeks.

South Carolina is getting a hard look from DL Calvin Smith (6-4, 275) of Hialeah, Fla. Smith says he's known recruiter Jeep Hunter for a while and they have a good relationship.

"Coach Hunter is well-known down here, and South Carolina is going to be way up on my list," he said.

Smith has taken official visits to Florida State and Illinois, and he plans to set visits with South Car-olina and Tennessee.

OL Max Garcia of Norcross, Ga., took an official visit to Maryland for the Clemson game and came away impressed.

"If I had to choose a school right now, it would be Maryland just because I've been there," Garcia said.

He will visit Vanderbilt this weekend, and he plans to take a visit to Clemson and possibly one other.

Byrnes WR Jazz King was offered by North Carolina last week. He also has offers from Kansas, Tulane and Michigan State.

Irmo QB David Olson is hearing from North Carolina, Missouri, Wisconsin, Virginia, Ohio State, Florida State and East Carolina. Olson said he's been scouted by Wisconsin, and he was scheduled to be at Virginia on Saturday for its game. He has not been offered.

Manning DE Dexter Morant remains a strong Georgia commitment and won't set official visits with anyone else, though he said he might attend a South Carolina game this season.

LB Antoine Pozniak of East Syracuse, N.Y., hopes to set up an official visit with South Carolina soon. He has kept in touch with Gamecocks recruiter G.A. Mangus. He's drawing interest from Penn State and Syracuse.

RB Terrance Martin of Winchester, Tenn., is planning to make an unofficial visit to Clemson for an upcoming game. Martin has not been offered by the Tigers but likes them and North Carolina. He has an offer from Chattanooga and is looking for more. He's averaging over 200 rushing yards per game this season.

DB PJ Clyburn (6-2, 210) of Statesville, N.C., also plays receiver and returns kicks. He has offers from N.C. State, Arkansas, Kentucky, Illinois and East Carolina. Clemson, South Carolina and North Carolina have been showing interest. He has not set any visits.

WR Kadron Boone of Ocala, Fla., remains committed to Texas Tech, but is looking at several others for official visits, including South Carolina, Miami, Georgia, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Notre Dame, Florida and South Florida.

ATH Darius Lipford remains a Duke commitment, but he plans to set official visits with Clemson, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia.

South Carolina remains in contact with OL Shane Johnson of Hyattsville, Md., who has not yet decided on official visits. His offers include South Carolina, Cal, Maryland, Virginia, Stanford, Vanderbilt, Duke, New Mexico, Boston College, Wake Forest, Pittsburgh, Syracuse and Rutgers.

The top three with OL RJ Canty of Chester are East Carolina, Duke and William & Mary, and he plans to visit those three. His offers are from East Carolina, Elon, Western Carolina, Coastal Carolina and S.C. State.

South Carolina recently scouted DL Michael Thornton of Stone Mountain, Ga., and he says he wouldn't mind taking a visit to Columbia. Penn State and Michigan will be two of his official visits. He's looking hard at Georgia and Auburn. Clemson is also among his offers.

Interest in Byrnes WR Torian Richardson is growing. He's had recent contact from Alabama, North Carolina and Minnesota. He's also hearing more from Georgia. Richardson has set official visits to Michigan State and Mississippi State, and he plans to make an unofficial visit to Alabama for this weekend's game with South Carolina. Richardson has offers from Michigan State, Mississippi State, Louisville, Tulane, Kansas State, Syracuse and East Carolina.

Byrnes DB Zach Miller has been hearing from Colorado, Central Michigan, Purdue and Kansas. He has not been offered.

Richland Northeast OL CJ Wilson recently visited Appalachian State. He has offers from S.C. State, North Carolina A&T, Tennessee State, East Carolina and North Carolina Central. He's also getting interest from Western Carolina, Buffalo, Presbyterian and Elon.

Calhoun County junior ATH Shamir Jeffery was offered Friday by Kentucky. He has offers from South Carolina and Tennessee. Jeffery was on hand Saturday to watch his brother, Alshon, have his breakout game for South Carolina. He was joined by teammates junior ATH Brandon Thomas and sophomore DL Clyde Johnson and Javonte Brown.

Also in attendance at South Carolina on Saturday were junior prospects OL Shaq Anthony of Wren and DL Phillip Dukes of Manning, among others.

Brookland-Cayce junior FB Jacob Baxter (6-1, 240) has verbal offers from Georgia Tech, Michigan State and North Carolina. He's also drawing interest from South Carolina. The schools like Baxter as a blocking fullback who runs well between the tackles.

Basketball news

6-5 Jason Morris of Augusta is scheduled for his official visit to Clemson this weekend. With Stanford landing a commitment last week from 6-6 Anthony Brown, Stanford is no longer a factor and Morris is expected to choose either Clemson or Georgia Tech.