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Cover Photo courtesy of 247 Sports
Football News:
USC quarterback target Dylan Lonergan of Snellville, GA announced a commitment to Alabama last week. Lonergan made his decision from USC, Alabama and Stanford and took official visits to all three. He is also a highly regarded baseball prospect and wants to play both sports in college. The 2023 MLB Draft next summer also could play a role in his future.
Though Shane Beamer and offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Marcus Satterfield did not land their preferred 2023 quarterback target in Lonergan, that doesn’t mean the Gamecocks won’t have a highly regarded quarterback in their ’23 class. Dante Reno committed to the Gamecocks earlier this month for the 2024 class which would have been the perfect fit for him, and the Gamecocks, had Lonergan picked USC. But with the spot for a quarterback in the 2023 class now open, Reno said Tuesday night from Aruba, where he and his family are vacationing, that moving to the ’23 class is now a serious possibility. “I get back on Sunday and we were going to talk to the family tomorrow about what’s going to happen,” Reno said. “We’re going to talk to Coach Satterfield and Coach Beamer and see what their thoughts are. It’s definitely an option right now. They have mentioned that.” Reno said he’s all set academically to be able to graduate from the Loomis Chaffee School in Connecticut with the 2023 class. He views getting an earlier start than originally planned with the Gamecocks would be an exciting and intriguing opportunity. “For sure,” Reno said. “It’s definitely exciting to get there a year earlier, be able to learn the whole offense earlier. Nothing is set in stone right now, but it’s definitely an opportunity.” Last season Reno passed for 2507 yards and 27 touchdowns. Should Reno move up to 2023, that would leave the Gamecocks with three offered quarterbacks currently on their 2024 board in Jayden Bradford of Chapin and IMG Academy, Jadyn Davis of Charlotte and Kamari McClellan of Pinson, AL.
Beamer did not get the news he wanted to hear Monday on Lonergan, but that disappointment was offset by a call Beamer did receive not long after Lonergan made his announcement. Beamer issued one of his “Welcome Home” commitment tweets alert his fans to some good news. “Been on a plane all day but just got a GREAT phone call when I landed!! Let’s Go!!” is how Beamer put it in his tweet. No recruit had gone public with a commitment announcement connected to Beamer’s tweet.
Unofficially, there are 22 uncommitted prospects offered by the Gamecocks who have included them on their short list of favorites. Two of them have already set commitment announcement dates for this month, WR Carmelo Taylor July 25th and OT Oluwatosin Babalade July 31st.
USC target WR Jaden Greathouse of Austin, TX committed to Notre Dame Friday afternoon. Greathouse made official visits in June to USC, Notre Dame, Texas and Oklahoma. He also made unofficial visits to Clemson and Alabama. Last season Greathouse caught 66 passes for 1274 yards and 20 touchdowns. His quarterback was Clemson freshman Cade Klubnik. The Gamecocks have two commitments at wide receiver in Kelton Henderson and CJ Adams. They have offers out to several other uncommitted receivers including Tyler Williams, Carmelo Taylor, Daidren Zipperer, Ayden Williams and Devin Hyatt.
OG Paul Mubenga of Buford, GA, who had a USC offer but did not visit in June, committed to LSU. He did visit the Gamecocks for their spring game in April. USC has two offensive linemen committed in Torvon Baugh and Isaiah Jatta, and they are in the mix for several others…Caden Jones, Oluwatosin Babalade, Jatavius Shivers, Elijah Philippe, DJ Chester and Markee Anderson.
One-time Clemson and USC target LB Tony Rojas of Fairfax, VA committed to Penn State.
WR Davion Dozier of Moody, AL, who had a USC offer but never visited, committed to Arkansas.
LB Lewis Carter of Tampa, who made Clemson one of his June official visits, committed to Oklahoma.
USC target and former Vanderbilt commitment OT Jatavius Shivers was offered by Michigan.
Clemson target DT Kayden McDonald of Suwanee, GA was offered by Miami.
There’s some news coming soon from Camden DT Xzavier McCleod (pictured left). He tweeted Tuesday, “big announcement coming soon.” McLeod took official visits to Michigan and LSU in June. He’s listed those two among his favorites along with USC, Georgia, Florida and Texas A&M. He’s visited each of those unofficially.
USC remains firmly in the hunt for DE Kelby Collins of Gardendale, AL. Collins also has Alabama, Georgia, Florida and Oklahoma on his short list. “Trying to narrow it down and possibly commit before the season. If not by the end of this month, then the start of next month,” Collins said Monday night in updating where things stand. “I’m still looking at everybody in my top five, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, Oklahoma. Those are really my main focus, those five schools.” USC defensive line coach Jimmy Lindsey working Collins, and the two talk a lot, most recently last week. The two have become close enough that football talk doesn’t make up much of their conversations at this point. “We really didn’t talk about football,” Collins said. “We just check up on each other, see what we did for the Fourth, and what he did for the Fourth, and how he’s using his little break and stuff like that. We really didn’t talk about football for real.” Collins said the attention he’s gotten from the USC staff, and some future Gamecocks, is what has pushed them into a prominent position with him. “I feel like the communication (with coaches), and the way the other recruits like Pup Howard and Dante Reno are really coming at me hard,” Collins said. “They’ll tell me I’m a high priority for them and the coaches. That’s really it. That’s why they are really high on my list.” In June, Collins made official visits to USC, Georgia and Florida. He plans to take his official visits to Alabama and Oklahoma during the season. He has pegged the Texas A&M game October 8th for the visit to Tuscaloosa, and he and the Sooners are still working on a date. When recruiting goes live for the last week in July, Collins said he will go to Florida to watch his brother at a camp and to attend a cookout for the recruits. He also plans to return to USC for their season opener against Georgia State. Collins had a monster junior season registering 109 total tackles with 17 sacks.
USC remains strongly in the mix for ATH Nyckoles Harbor of Washington, DC. Harbor, who could be a tight end or defensive end in college, has had the Gamecocks in his final seven along with Michigan, Southern Cal, Maryland, Miami, Georgia and LSU. Of the Gamecocks, Harbor said he was blown away by the attention head coach Shane Beamer gave him on an unofficial visit last summer. More recently he made unofficial visits to Southern Cal and Maryland. Harbor also is an elite sprinter and track will be a major part of his decision.
TE Javontay Conner of Kernersville, NC said he’s still hearing time to time from USC tight ends coach Jody Wright. He took an unofficial visit to watch a USC spring practice, and he said if he takes an official visit it will come during the season. Conner committed to UCF in April but decommitted in June. His most recent offer came from Connecticut. At the time of his commitment, he also had on his short list USC, Virginia Tech, Maryland, Florida State and Mississippi State.
USC is in top 11 with 2024 TE Martavious Collins (6-4 240) of Rome, GA, and he has set July 20th for his commitment date. The others on his list are Alabama, Auburn, Michigan State, NC State, Ohio State, LSU, Notre Dame, Tennessee, Louisville and Cincinnati. The Gamecocks received an unofficial visit from Collins on June 10th. Some of his other visits were to Alabama, which he has called his “dream school” and where his recruiter is former USC assistant coach Joe Cox, Ohio State for their spring game, NC State and Cincinnati.
2024 WR Debron Gatling of Alpharetta, GA visited Clemson unofficially but has not been offered by the Tigers, and he did not include Clemson in his top 14 released Thursday. Those on his list are Alabama, Oklahoma, Michigan, LSU, Texas A&M, Texas, Oregon, North Carolina, Georgia, Miami, Ole Miss, Penn State, Florida and Tennessee.
2024 OT Blake Frazier (6-5 250) of Austin, TX plans to visit Clemson July 26th. He comes from the same school as Clemson 2023 OT commitment Ian Reed. Frazier holds offers from Michigan, LSU and Texas A&M. He camped this summer at Michigan, Texas A&M, Colorado and Alabama. He’s also a track athlete and throws the shot put.
USC offered 2024 ATH Jordan Marshall (5-11 195) of Cincinnati. Some of his other offers are Tennessee, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio State, Indiana, Purdue, Michigan State, Missouri and Minnesota.
RB DeSean Bishop (5-10 194) of Knoxville committed to Coastal Carolina. Tennessee was among his 17 others D1 offers. Last season Bishop rushed for 3179 yards and 34 touchdowns.
QB Pauly Seely of Savannah committed to Wofford.
Brookland-Cayce QB Tanner Staton (pictured left) committed to Elon.
Camden DE Shymeik Jones was offered by Campbell.
2025 QB Gavin Owens announced he is transferring from Wren to Rabun Gap, GA. Last season Owens passed for 1863 yards and 14 touchdowns. He has offers from Louisville, Kentucky and FAMU.
2025 OT/DT Amare Adams of Lake City plans to attend the USC camp July 29th.
Baseball News:
2023 RHP Drew Titsworth (6-4 220) of Frankenmuth, MI, 2023 LHP/OF Dillon Head (5-11 175) of Glenwood, IL and 2024 LHP Brendon Bennett (6-2 200) of Novi, MI, who were committed to Michigan when Erik Bakich was there, flipped to Clemson last week. A total of eight players who either played for Bakich at Michigan or who were committed to play there are now headed to Clemson.
The Tigers also landed a commitment from RHP Chance Fitzgerald (6-2 195) of Sanford, FL who had been committed to Florida State. The Tigers’ new pitching coach Jimmy Belanger previously was at FSU.
RHP Roman Kimball is transferring from Notre Dame to USC. Kimball is a native of New York state but attended P27 Academy in Lexington. As a freshman for the Irish last season, he made 17 relief appearances and was 4-0 with 5.76 ERA. In a 9-3 win against Clemson April 10th, Kimball allowed four hits and three earned runs in 2.1 innings. He also made one appearance in the College World Series pitching two-thirds of an inning and walking two in a 6-2 loss to Oklahoma.
Former USC catcher Colin Burgess is transferring to Cincinnati.
Basektball News:
The GG Jackson story dominated the recruiting news last week and will continue to do so until he announces his next move, which could come this week from the Peach Jam in North Augusta. The 6-10 standout from Ridge View Thursday announced a decommitment from North Carolina “to explore other options,” a move that was foretold in a story by Jamie Shaw of ON3. Shaw reported earlier in July that Jackson would reclassify from the 2023 to the 2022 class and most likely enroll at USC for this season, with the expectation of being in the ’23 NBA Draft. However, the option of one of the developmental pro leagues is still on the table. North Carolina had no space for Jackson in their 2022 class after giving their last two scholarships to transfers. This, according to Shaw, after Hubert Davis checked with Jackson about holding a spot for him in the class only to be told he wasn’t reclassifying. Jackson nearly committed to the Gamecocks in April until Frank Martin was fired. Martin, in an interview following his dismissal, said directly Jackson was coming to his program. Shaw wrote as much in his story as well. Jackson has long been considered one of the nation’s top prospects, but after his showings this summer, some of the basketball analysts named him the #1 prospect in the 2023 class. Jackson averaged 23 points and 11 rebounds per game last season in leading Ridge View to a state championship.
The recruitment by Clemson of 6-7 Asa Thomas of Lake Forest, IL came together quickly, and ended rather quickly with Thomas announcing a commitment to the Tigers Thursday afternoon. Thomas chose Clemson from an offer list that included Ohio State, Wisconsin, Illinois, Oklahoma, DePaul, Northwestern, Iowa and Minnesota. “I am super thrilled,” Thomas told the Chicago Sun-Times. “What Clemson has to offer and the chance to play in the ACC, one of the best conferences in college basketball, is going to be an exciting experience for me and my family. I want to play big-time basketball and that’s the ACC. “Coach Brownell and the staff are just awesome. The staff and school are a great fit for me. Plus, with coach (Billy) Donlon having gone to GBN (the Chicago area’s Glenbrook North), there was an obvious connection there as well.” Brad Brownell and company first started to show serious interest in Thomas in late June after watching him perform on the summer circuit. Thomas visited Clemson in June and Brownell offered on June 21st. He and his staff were regular attendees for Thomas’s game in Atlanta last week. “It comes down to who wants you and who prioritizes you,” Thomas told the Sun-Times. “Clemson showed that to me from the start. My position is opening up there. They really pointed out how they need shooting and how I can step in and fill that role.” Thomas was 3A First Team All-State last season after averaging over 17 points per game. He is Clemson’s first commitment for their 2023 recruiting class.
Clemson offered 6-7 Sultan Adewale of London. He goes to school in Philly and averaged 17 points and 8 rebounds per game last season. Some other offers are Georgia Tech, Rutgers, West Virginia, Arizona State, Ole Miss, Memphis and DePaul.
6-7 Coen Carr is a native of Stockbridge, GA, but he plays for the powerhouse program at Legacy Early College in Greenville. USC and Clemson are among his offers and there is interest in the two, but Carr has blossomed to a national level recruit after a strong showing earlier this month at the NBPA Camp, so the battle is on to keep him in the state. Carr has taken official visits to Indiana and Vanderbilt and has one scheduled to Tennessee for July 25th. Those three count as junior year official visits, so he still has his five available for his senior year. Some of his other offers include Pitt, LSU, Connecticut, NC State, Alabama and Georgia Tech. “I feel like if I were not to get any more offers, I feel like what I’ve got now is great,” Carr said. “I’m feeling good about my recruiting right now.” Carr has visited Clemson unofficially. Brad Brownell jumped on him last December with an offer and he considers the Tigers contenders at this point. “It’s a school that’s close to home, and I feel like it’s a school that I can come right in and make an impact,” Carr said. “He (Brownell) likes my energy. I play hard all the time. And he said I’m a good person all-around.” USC, with the coaching change from Frank Martin to Lamont Paris, got into the race earlier this summer. Carr made an unofficial visit to meet Paris and was offered soon thereafter. “He’s a new coach and I feel like he knows what he’s talking about,” Carr said. “He knows how to bring a program back up. He wants me to be one of those building blocks to build the program to back to where it was.” Carr added that Paris outlined for him how he would use him should he join the Gamecocks. “He’s going to use me as a versatile player who can guard everybody. He feels like I’m a mismatch. If bigger players are on me, I can get by them on the perimeter, and if smaller players are on me, I can take them in the post and get a bucket there. I feel like he has a lot of ways to use me.” Carr said he’ll probably take an official visit to USC this fall, and he’s also considering another visit to Clemson. He plans to make his decision prior to his season, perhaps sometime in October.
2024 6-4 Cam Scott of Lexington was offered by Missouri. Some of his other offers are USC, Clemson, Alabama, Miami, Tennessee and LSU.
The USC women are top 6 with 6-2 Chloe Kitts of Daytona Beach. The others on her list are Duke, Louisville, NC State, Arizona and Oklahoma.
The daughter of former USC star Ryan Stack, 6-5 Riley Stack of Wren, committed to Coastal Carolina.
