Monday Morning Recruiting Notes

With the commitment of prep all-America defensive end Travian Robertson last Thursday, the Gamecocks turned the slide in recruiting momentum that had plagued it for much of July, which saw USC's lead erode on several top prospects. USC has recovered and now appears back on track with several prospects top prospects on their recruiting board.

Robertson's teammate, DE Byron McKnight 6'4 1/2 220 will be making an unofficial visit to USC on August 12th for USC's first major scrimmage. McKnight was recently offered by the Gamecocks, and could commit in the near future. McKnight is a big, raw defensive end prospect with huge upside. USC was the only school that was able to evaluate McKnight this summer, as the Scotland County product attended USC's prospect camp in June. Scotland head coach Mark Barnes believes once the season begins and film is made available, McKnight offer sheet will expand considerably. Barnes also believes that McKnight will fill out to the 270 pound range and still run 4.75 to 4.8 in the 40-yard dash.

TE Wesley Saunders 6'5 271 Durham, NC visited USC on Saturday and had a a terrific visit. USC had been Saunders leader back in the early spring, but fell out of his top 4 in April and May. After the visit to Columbia on Saturday, A source familiar with Saunders recruitment said USC is in great shape with the jumbo-athlete. This battle will likely come down to a USC/UNC battle. Saunders plans to make his announcement at his homecoming game in late September.

WR Jason Barnes 6'4 196 Charlotte, NC should make his decision this week. He has gone back and forth between USC and UNC for the past month. Earlier in the summer, Cockfather Illustrated had forecast Barnes to USC. We will stick with that prediction, as USC has several factors working in its favor, but this forecast is only given with medium confidence.

CB Jamire Williams 6'0 180 Jacksonville, FL is one of the elite CB prospects in the southeast this year. Williams has excellent speed and is great in run support. With offers from Florida, Tennessee, Miami, LSU, Ohio State, and Nebraska, among others, 54th rated prospect in the sunshine state has his pick of schools. Williams is a heavy lean to USC and could commit to USC later this summer, or when he makes an unofficial visit to Columbia for the USC-Georgia contest on September 9th.

His teammate, Safety Arkee Smith 6'1 190 camped at USC this summer, and was offered by secondary coach Ron Cooper while in Columbia. Smith has flown under the recruiting radar this summer, much like USC WR signee Moe Brown did last summer. I feel good about kids that the coaches have in camp and make an offer to. The coaches have had the chance to evaluate the player's skills, and interact with the player to see what kind of person he is. Smith is a big, strong, hard-hitting safety prospect with excellent speed. According to a source, he also favors USC, and could commit anytime.

A note to USC and Clemson fans, don't give up hope on DE Cliff Matthews. With Georgia getting a commitment form DE Neland Ball on Saturday, that gives UGA three high school DE's for this class, with super 5 star DE Allen Bailey still on the horizon. Cockfather Illustrated projects this one to come down to a USC-Clemson battle in the end. In an interview with cutigers.com, Matthews has backed off of his stance of UGA as a huge leader, and states that all schools still have a shot. The 6'5 225 pound pass rusher also stated in that interview that he plans to make at least one more campus visit to both in-state programs. USC's coaching staff is working extremely hard on this one, and I continue to hear encouraging news from USC's perspective. This battle should go down to the wire.

Cockfather Illustrated learned late last week that USC was in excellent shape with 6'4 290 pound DE/DT DeAngelo McCray of Jacksonville, FL. USC's coaching staff did not want this information made public, but the new overzealous publisher of USC's scout site, went public with the information anyway on Friday afternoon. Some things are better kept off the net for obvious reasons. McCray is a prospect USC would love to land. The number seven player in Florida has backed off his commitment to the Florida Gators, and now has USC, Ill, NC State, and Georgia Tech as his top 4. D-Lo would be a major coupe for the Gamecocks, and they are in strong position with him entering the month of August. USC recruiter Steve Spurrier, Jr. is quietly making a major push with the top prospects in the Jacksonville area.

RB Troy Pollard 5'8 180 Jacksonville, FL is the best friend and teammate of D-Lo. They would like to play together in college, and USC would like to sign both. Pollard also has Ill, NC State, and Georgia Tech on his list.

DE Cortez Myles 6'3 255 Madison, MS is still strong on the Gamecocks, and could commit before his season begins. The 4 star prospect is rated highly on USC's recruiting board, but Barnes has some academic issues that need to be addressed. It will be interesting to see if USC would accept his commitment in August.

QB Stephen Garcia 6'3 205 Tampa, FL will make the long-awaited unofficial visit to Columbia on August 5th along with his parents. Garcia has been a heavy lean to USC for some time, and I'm sure the USC coaches would prefer Garcia to make a commitment in the near future. Rated the 3rd best QB at the Elite 11 QB Camp, Garcia would be the highest rated QB to commit to USC in the Steve Spurrier era. The sooner Garcia commits, the better for USC because of the recruiting momentum it would provide. Garcia is a very charismatic young man, and would be another excellent recruiter for the class of 2007.