USC back in running for top prospect

South Carolina has put itself back into play for the state's top basketball prospect for 2011. Damien Leonard, 6-5, of J.L. Mann made an unofficial visit last Thursday with his AAU coach, his mother and his sister.

Leonard spent about four hours on campus visiting the facilities and meeting with all of the coaches. USC had not been among the contending schools for Leonard, but he says that's changed now.

"I really do like them," Leonard said, adding that he was back to being wide open with his decision.

Leonard said he will visit Arizona this weekend and Oklahoma State on June 3. He said he probably will visit Clemson as well at some point. Some of his other offers include Kansas, Kentucky, Texas, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Florida, Georgia Tech, Miami, Florida State and Virginia. Leonard plans a decision around the end of the summer.

In other recruiting news:

Murphy Holloway, 6-7, confirmed contact last week from Coastal Carolina and Charleston Southern after getting his release to those schools by Ole Miss. He's also been released to the College of Charleston, Presbyterian and Winthrop. Holloway included USC and Clemson on his release list, but Ole Miss did not release him to those schools. He plans to appeal that to an Ole Miss committee within the next two weeks. Holloway would prefer to go to one of the major programs in the state. USC does not have a scholarship to give Holloway for next season anyway, but would like him to apply for various grants and pay his own way to school for a year.

According to the Tuscaloosa News, USC was one of 27 teams to inquire about 6-9 Justin Knox, who plans to transfer from Alabama this summer after graduating in three years. Because he is graduating with a year of eligibility remaining, Knox could receive a ruling from the NCAA that will allow him to be eligible next season. But Alabama has informed Knox that he will not be released to another SEC school or another school within the university's system, including UAB.

Marcus Thornton, 6-7, of Atlanta dropped Clemson from consideration last week. The one-time Tigers recruit trimmed his list to Alabama, Texas, Georgia and Georgia Tech. He eliminated Clemson, Kentucky and Michigan from consideration.

PF Derrick Randall (6-9, 220) of Patterson, N.J., is being recruited by USC and he said two Gamecocks coaches scouted him about a week ago. USC has not offered. Randall said he has offers from Virginia Tech, Rutgers, Seton Hall, Providence, St. Josephs and St. Johns. He's also getting interest from Marquette and Texas. He does not have favorites and he plans to sign in November.

Charleston Southern signed 6-3 Chris Grier of Columbia High, 6-0 Sheldon Strickland of Lithonia, Ga., and 6-7 Jonathan Brooks of Coastal Georgia JC.

6-5 Torrey Craig of Great Falls, who at one-time was a Charleston Southern commitment, switched his commitment to USC Upstate.

DL Roderick Byers (6-4, 262) of Northwestern has backed off his Facebook post of last week where he wrote that he'd made his college decision. "I changed my mind on that," Byers said Sunday night. Byers has offers from USC, Clemson, Texas Tech, Maryland and Wake Forest, and he's expecting one from Georgia Tech this week. He's most interested in USC, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest.

WR Justin Scott (5-11, 205) of Camilla, Ga., says he plans to announce his commitment Saturday at the state track meet. "South Carolina is definitely in the mix," said Scott, who says he plans to visit Wake Forest and USC in the next two weeks. He has offers from USC, Wake Forest, Louisville, Georgia, Georgia Tech, East Carolina, Stanford, Vanderbilt and Maryland.

QB Martay Mattox (6-1, 185) of Athens, Ga., is down to USC and Maryland and plans to announce his decision this week. Mattox has visited USC several times.

OL Alan Posey (6-7, 310) of Athens, Ga., committed last week to Tennessee over Clemson.

TE Drew Owens (6-5, 230) of Charlotte has decided to open his recruiting back up after narrowing things a little bit. He had USC and North Carolina as his top two, but now he says there are no favorites. He's doing this because he recently picked up offers from Louisville, Michigan, South Florida and Illinois. He also has offers from USC, Clemson, North Carolina, N.C. State, Virginia Tech, Maryland, East Carolina, Vanderbilt, Virginia and Duke. He plans to have a new top five before this season and those will be his official visits.

DB Ronnie Martin (5-10, 175) of Spartanburg has been offered by Nebraska and LSU. He's also getting interest from USC, Alabama, Miami, North Carolina, N.C. State and Kansas State. USC recruiter Shawn Elliott was by the school recently and picked up film.

Elliott also is taking a closer look at Spartanburg OL Stephen Grommer (6-4, 292), who has an offer from N.C. State. Arkansas was by the school last week and checked on him. He's also getting interest from Duke, North Carolina and UCLA.

Cheraw LB Sammy Merriman (6-2, 190) has offers from Clemson, USC and Illinois at this point. He's also getting interest from Georgia Tech, Nebraska, Oregon, N.C. State and North Carolina. USC and North Carolina have been through his school. Merriman will play in the Under Armour All American Game and plans to announce a decision then. Last season, he had 112 tackles and 5 sacks.

RB Brandon Wilds (6-1, 220) of Blythewood picked up an offer from Illinois. He also has offers from USC, Maryland and East Carolina. Coaches from USC, Clemson, Duke and Illinois have been through his school to check on him. He's not claiming a favorite.

Arkansas has offered DE CJ Bray (6-7, 225) of James Island, while Coastal Carolina has offered WR Bo Patterson (6-1, 185) and OL Jairon Harrison (6-3, 315) of James Island. Coaches from USC, East Carolina, The Citadel and Coastal Carolina have been through the school. Others showing interest are Clemson, Wofford, Furman, Duke, Wake Forest and Vanderbilt.

AC Flora DB Justice Walker (6-2, 178) is drawing interest from Presbyterian, Wofford and Furman. AC Flora LB Edward Kirkland (6-0, 195) has heard from Charleston Southern, Furman and Presbyterian. And Flora OL Barry Dodson (6-2, 247) also is hearing from several smaller schools in the state.

LB Marcquis Roberts (6-1, 205) of Powder Springs, Ga., is still favoring USC big over offers from Wisconsin, Memphis and Louisville. USC recruiter GA Mangus was in recently, along with recruiters from Florida State and Purdue. Mangus is expected back for his spring game Saturday. Roberts attended USC's spring game. He doesn't plan to make a decision until mid-season.

TE Jerrell Adams (6-5 220) of Scotts Branch is not close on a decision and is favoring USC slightly over Clemson and Arkansas. He will not make a decision until February. USC, Clemson, LSU and North Carolina have been by the school.

Union County DE Desmond Floyd (6-5 230) is not close on a decision and does not have a favorite. USC, Duke and NC State are recruiting the hardest. Coaches from USC, Duke and North Carolina have been thru his school.

USC is one of the new offers for DB Robenson Therezie (5-10 180) of Miami. He has about a dozen offers at this point. Some of the others are Alabama, Florida State, Kentucky, Tennessee, Ole Miss, Texas Tech and Central Florida. He's also drawing interest from Miami. Last season Therezie had 81 tackles, forced 9 fumbles and had 3 interceptions.

DB Geraldo Orta (6-0 180) of Valdosta, GA has landed offers from Clemson and USC. Orta also has an offer from Tennessee and is also getting interest from North Carolina, Illinois, Central Florida, Georgia, Troy and Louisville. Right now he's favoring Clemson over Auburn, Tennessee and North Carolina. Orta plays cornerback and safety. Last season he had 73 total tackles and 6 interceptions.

ATH Ronald Baines (6-1 180) of Voorhees, NJ is still waiting on that first offer and will be attending camps from May through July to be evaluated by the coaches. One of his camp stops will be USC in early June. Schools showing interest include USC, Temple, Penn State, Michigan, South Florida, Connecticut, Tennessee, Rutgers, and Kentucky.

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South Carolina Gamecocks

WR Rashad Greene (6-1 175) of Fort Lauderdale has added USC to his offer list but his top group right now consists of Florida State, Georgia, Wake Forest, North Carolina and Florida. Green recently moved to Fort Lauderdale from Albany, GA. Last season he caught 30 passes for about 900 yards and 13 touchdowns.

USC has checked on PK Matt Ehasz (5-11 155) of Kingsland, GA. Ehasz is considered one of the top kickers in Georgia. Wake Forest and Georgia are strongly interested in Ehasz and he has visited both. He has not yet been offered.

OL Antonio Posada (6-6 320) of Tampa has 20 offers in all including South Florida, Michigan, Wake Forest, Missouri, Texas Tech, and Kansas. He's also hearing from Clemson, LSU, and Oklahoma State.