Wrapping up the recruiting scorecard

In the final analysis, Clemson and South Carolina both signed top 25 classes Wednesday with the Tigers' class regarded as slightly better than the Gamecocks' on a national level.

The four major Internet recruiting services … Rivals, Scout, ESPN and The Sporting News … each had Clemson's group rated higher than USC. Rivals rated Clemson 18th and USC 25th. Scout had Clemson 23rd and USC 34th. ESPN ranked Clemson 18th and USC 23rd. And The Sporting News ranked Clemson 18th and USC 23rd.

The Sporting News ranked the SEC No. 1 in recruiting among the conferences. The Pac-10 was second followed by the Big 12, the ACC and the Big Ten.

Within the SEC, USC is 7th behind Florida, Auburn, Alabama, LSU, Tennessee and Georgia. And within the ACC, Clemson is third behind Florida and Miami.

And speaking of rankings, South Carolina State is ranked 3rd among FCS teams by Rivals. Appalachian State is No. 1 and Richmond No. 2.

S.C. State signed TE Keegan Funderburk of Central on Friday. Funderburk will not be academically eligible to play for the Bulldogs this season. He decided to go with State rather than go the junior college route.

Class of 2011

Clemson is off to a big start with seven commitments: OL Shaq Anthony of Wren; DB Cortez Davis of Daytona Beach, Fla.; ATH Brandon Ellerbe of Wadesboro, N.C.; RB Marlin Lane of Daytona Beach, Fla.; QB Tony McNeal of Chester; ATH Robert Smith of Woodland; and DL Deshaun Williams of Daniel.

--USC has one commitment it's counting right now toward 2011, and that's former signee DL Leon Mackie who is attending a junior college in Mississippi. Former signee DB Chris Payne could make it onto that list if he gets his academic work in order.

Juniors

--Myrtle Beach QB Everett Golson (5-11, 161) committed Friday to North Carolina. Among his other offers were Clemson, USC, Michigan, Texas Tech, Florida, Virginia Tech and others. Golson likely will finish his career as the most prolific passer in South Carolina prep history. Going into his senior season, Golson has thrown for more than 9,800 yards with 126 touchdowns and 24 interceptions.

--Dorman junior receiver Charone Peake (6-4, 194) has 15 offers early on in the recruiting process, and from that group, he says three programs have moved to the top with him ... Clemson, Florida and Georgia, in no particular order. Some of his other offers are USC, Tennessee, North Carolina, California, Michigan, Maryland, Kentucky, Alabama and LSU. Peake went to some games at Clemson last season and will attend a junior day there Feb. 20. He was going to go to Georgia's junior day the end of January but the snow kept him home. Peake said he has no idea when he'll make a decision. Last season, he caught 52 passes for 881 yards and nine touchdowns.

--LB Serdarius Bryant (5-11, 214) of Sanford, Fla., has received an offer from UCF and has verbal offers from Florida State and Miami. Bryant says he is hearing from a lot of schools, including USC and Clemson. Bryant says the schools he is most interested in right now are USC, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Illinois, UCF and Miami. As a junior, he had 158 tackles, 13 for loss, and eight sacks on defense. He also rushed the ball 12 times for 152 yards and five touchdowns. Bryant plans to go to UCF and Florida for their junior days and is hopeful to make it to USC for theirs as well.

--DL Derrick Mitchell (6-5, 285) of Jacksonville, Fla., has several offers already, including one from USC and another from Clemson. His other offers include Georgia Tech, FSU, Florida International, North Carolina and Illinois. Mitchell was at Georgia Tech for their junior day. His next junior day visit will be either be to Clemson or Florida State. As a junior, Mitchell compiled 75 tackles and six sacks.

--Calhoun County junior ATH Shamier Jeffery (6-2, 190) says being given the chance to play quarterback in college will be a key factor in his decision. Jeffery split time last season between receiver and quarterback. He said he will be a fulltime quarterback this season. He has offers from USC, Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia Tech, N.C. State, Kansas State, Illinois and Auburn. Jeffery said right now he likes Kentucky and Auburn the most because they are recruiting him as a quarterback. Georgia Tech, Kansas State and Illinois are also recruiting him as a quarterback. Kentucky coach Joker Phillips has told Jeffery he is his top quarterback target. Jeffery's brother is USC freshman receiver Alshon Jeffery and he said it's not automatic he'll follow his brother. "I don't want anybody thinking I'm following him to USC. I want to be my own guy." Jeffery did not attend USC's junior day because he's on crutches with a broken left foot. He does not plan to make an early decision. Jeffery started last season as a receiver and moved to quarterback at midseason. He passed for 2,000 yards and 20 touchdowns in seven games.

--LB Stephone Anthony (6-3, 220) of Wadesboro, N.C., will be one of the top prospects in his state next season. His coach, Luke Hyatt, said Anthony is already heading toward 20 offers. Clemson and USC are on his offer list along with Florida, Georgia, LSU, Florida State, Virginia Tech, North Carolina, N.C. State, Duke, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Maryland, Stanford and others. He counts Clemson and USC among his favorites right now. Clemson signed a player off his team and has a commitment from another of his teammates.

--OL Trenton Brown (6-7, 295) of Albany, Ga., attended Georgia's recent junior day and is getting interest from the Bulldogs. USC also is showing interest along with Central Florida.

--DB Avery Walls (5-10, 185) of McDonough, Ga., has offers from Oklahoma, Connecticut, East Carolina, Northwestern and Stanford. He's also been hearing from Clemson, USC, Purdue, Ohio State, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Duke and others. He went to a junior day at Alabama and plans to go to one at Oklahoma.

--He attended a game at Clemson last season.

--DE Brandon Chubb (6-1, 230) of Marietta, Ga., made an unofficial visit to USC over his winter break and continues to draw interest from the Gamecocks. He also likes Georgia and attended junior day there. He's also hearing from N.C. State, Central Florida, Duke and UAB.