Top ‘18 QB prospect Lawrence down to Clemson, Georgia
Quarterback Trevor Lawrence of Cartersville, Ga., who is regarded as the top QB in the 2018 recruiting class, has received over 20 offers already.
From those offers Lawrence has narrowed his decision to a pair, Clemson and Georgia, and he could have a decision before the end of the summer. Lawrence has visited both schools and plans to see each again before rendering his decision.
“I feel very comfortable at both schools; that’s why they are my top two,” Lawrence said. “My relationship with the coaches from both schools is great and I think I can play in both offenses. Just finding which one might be a little better for me or help me the most will influence my decision.”
Last season, Lawrence passed for 3,655 yards and 43 touchdowns. He passed for 3,042 yards and 26 TDs as a freshman.
Defensive end Joshua Paschal of Olney, Md., released a top seven of Clemson, North Carolina, Maryland, Tennessee, Southern California, Notre Dame and Oklahoma.
Defensive back Jeffrey Okudah of Grand Prairie, Texas, released a top five of Clemson, Florida State, Ohio State, UGA and Southern Cal.
Offensive lineman Trey Smith of Jackson, Tenn., announced a top six of Clemson, Tennessee, Mississippi, Ohio State, Alabama and ND.
OL Andrew Thomas of Atlanta committed to UGA while at The Opening in Oregon. He picked UGA over Clemson and ND.
Clemson offered ‘18 OL Richard Gouraige of Tampa, Fla. He’s a national recruit with other offers from the likes of FSU, Alabama, Auburn, Kentucky, UNC, Florida, UGA, Miami, Louisville, Iowa State, Michigan, Nebraska, Ole Miss and Tennessee.
Wide receiver Brian Hightower and running back Jamal Elliott, both ’18 recruits from IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., visited Clemson last week.
Clemson OL commitment Matt Bockhorst of Cincinnati suffered a torn ligament and cartilage in his knee during a drill at The Opening. Bockhorst reported a torn anterior cruciate ligament as well as a sprained medial collateral ligament.
One of the nation’s top linebackers, Sherrod Greene of Rocky Mount, N.C., attended The Opening, but he could not participate due to a broken hand. However, he really didn’t need to perform because his status as an elite LB prospect already is set after he totaled over 150 tackles last season.
University of South Carolina LB coach Coleman Hutzler has been recruiting Greene and has gotten USC into Greene’s small circle. Greene plans to visit USC today for the social gathering of invited prospects. Greene was at USC in June for camp and worked out for the coaches.
Greene also has been to Alabama, Georgia Tech and UGA this summer along with the trip to The Opening. He also plans to revisit his other top schools of Alabama, North Carolina State and Virginia Tech. So, he has a top four of USC, Alabama, VT and NCSU with no leader.
Greene doesn’t plan to make a decision until January of ’17 and he plans to take his official visits in the fall. Last season, Greene had 154 tackles with four forced fumbles and four recovered fumbles he took back for TDs.
DB Bam Laguerre of Miami planned to visit USC last Sunday. He also visited USC in early June. He has not been offered by USC but he does have offers from UGA, Southern, Idaho, Alabama-Birmingham, Central Michigan, Toledo, Western Illinois and Tennessee State.
He has several other visits and camps coming with stops at Georgia State, Clemson, Alabama, UAB, FSU, Louisiana State, Mississippi State and Southern Mississippi.
QB Dakereon Joyner, an ’18 recruit from Fort Dorchester High School in North Charleston, has cut his list from 10 to five. However, he has not revealed the final five. In June, he released a top 10 list of USC, Clemson, UF, VT, UGA, NCSU, UNC, Tennessee, Oklahoma and Auburn. He plans to visit USC and NCSU this month.
USC
LB TJ Minniffee of Lebanon, Tenn., planned to visit USC on Tuesday, and with an offer in hand from USC, he’s excited to see what it has to offer in person so he can move forward in the decision-making process.
“I think it is in the works, so I can’t really say when but it will be pretty soon,” Minniffee said. “I like South Carolina a lot. I was at Louisville (last week), and I like them a lot, and also I like Purdue. Really, it’s between those three.
“(USC assistant) Coach (Bobby) Bentley is talking about how excited he is about getting me up on campus. (Head) Coach (Will) Muschamp is wanting us to create a pipeline from South Carolina to Tennessee, so Chris Bell, (LB) Cain McWilliams and TJ Carter, they are really high up on those three guys also and those are good friends of mine.” Minniffee said USC likes him for the Buck LB position. Last season, Minniffee had 70 tackles with eight QB sacks and one interception.
McWilliams of Lewisburg, Tenn., will announce his college decision on Friday. He has offers from USC, Middle Tennessee State, Jacksonville State, Tennessee State, Tennessee Tech and Tennessee-Martin. USC offered him in June at a satellite camp near Nashville, Tenn., and he visited later in the month. He and some of his workout mates who also have South Carolina offers plan to visit USC later this month.
DB Zay Brown of Athens, Ga., will announce his college commitment today and it’s expected to be USC. He was offered by USC at a camp in late June. He also has offers from Wake Forest, Colorado State, MTSU and others.
DE MJ Webb of Madison, Ga., went back on the road to check out some favorites, starting last Saturday with a visit to UK. He was to go to Tennessee on Thursday and to USC today. He is returning to USC for the third time since the middle of May.
Webb said USC continue to have a strong recruiting presence with him. At this point he’s focused on USC, Tennessee, Auburn, UK and UF, and he’s looking at November for making his decision. He does not have a favorite. He has scheduled an official visit with USC for the UGA weekend and he will also take one to Tennessee.
USC joined fellow Southeastern Conference programs Tennessee and UK in offering DB Shakur Brown (6-feet, 175 pounds) of Stockbridge, Ga. His teammate and fellow DB Yusef Corker also has a USC offer. Brown also has offers from West Virginia, Minnesota, Oregon State, Colorado State, Georgia Southern, Troy and Miami (Ohio).
Brown said the USC offer was relayed to him last week by his head coach.
“I really like how their bond is and how they are like a family, and when I go up there I feel like I’m part of something big,” Brown said. “They are in my top five, guaranteed.”
Brown played mostly quarterback for his team last season, but he did play four games at cornerback and registered 23 tackles and four INTS. USC and the rest like him for the secondary. Brown last visited USC in the spring and he hopes to get back again later this month.
He said UK, Tennessee, Oregon State and WVU are the other schools he’s strongly considering along with USC.
Defensive lineman Romello Martin (6-3, 305) of Brooklyn, N.Y., has USC in his top ten along with Tennessee, Kansas, Rutgers, UF, FSU, Miami, Louisville, Penn State and Syracuse. Martin is planning to visit USC in August.
Martin said USC, UF, Rutgers and PSU have been recruiting him the hardest. He does not have a favorite and said he won’t make his decision until late January or National Signing Day in February. He plans to take official visits this fall. Last season, Martin had 45 tackles with seven sacks.
LB Ellis Brooks of Richmond, Va., was scheduled to visit USC on Monday. He was scheduled to be at Auburn and Georgia last week. He’s a former Duke commitment.
DL Ben Hutch (6-3, 300) of Nashville was set to visit USC on Tuesday. He has been favoring Louisville and Texas A&M. This was to be his first visit to USC and his first real chance to talk with the coaches.
USC DE target Matthew Butler of Garner, N.C., was offered by UK. USC, Tennessee, NCSU, UNC and Duke have been his top schools.
DB Terrell Bailey of Marrero, La., named a top nine of USC, Mississippi State, Arizona State, UNC, Tennessee, Ole Miss, A&M, VT and Colorado.
DE Mike Allen of Buford, Ga., has a top six of USC, Tennessee, Alabama, Southern Cal, UGA and Wake Forest.
USC DB commitment Damari Mathis of Lakeland, Fla., was offered by Minnesota. He committed to USC in June over Ole Miss, Pittsburgh, Central Florida and Cincinnati.
DE Demon Clowney (6-6, 186), a ’20 recruit from Fredrick, Md., is the cousin of former USC DE star Jadeveon Clowney. He plays football and basketball, but his college future appears to be on the gridiron.
Demon Clowney made an unofficial football recruiting visit over the weekend to USC along with a friend, ‘21 OL Collin Henrich (6-3, 285) whose father, Chuck, played for USC in the early ‘90s.
According to his assistant coach, DE Mykelle McDaniel of Loganville, Ga., is now a full qualifier and several “big” schools are in touch from across the country. McDaniel had made it known he wanted to go to USC, but his coach said he’s not heard back from USC. A&M and UGA were two others interested in him at one point.
BASKETBALL
Crestwood High School’s Ja Morant, a 6-2 point guard, landed offers from Wofford, High Point and North Carolina-Asheville, pushing his total to seven.
USC men’s head coach Frank Martin has one scholarship remaining for the ‘16 class thanks to the departure of guard Marcus Stroman, and he said recently he might use it if he can find the right player. Perhaps he has identified that individual.
Ran Tut, a 6-9 player from Monroe Junior College in New York arrived last Sunday for an official visit that lasted through Tuesday. Tut was coming off of a visit to Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He said he also is considering San Francisco, Kansas State and Murray State.
Tut said Martin has not yet offered him. Tut is a native of Melbourne, Australia, and played two seasons at Monroe, leaving him two to play at the next level.
Last season, he averaged 10.4 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. He shot 46 percent from the floor and 64 percent from the free throw line. He appeared in 15 of Monroe’s 30 games as it reached the national tournament.
Duane Moss, a 6-7 player from Carolina Forest High in Myrtle Beach, has had a very productive summer and has caught the eye of several coaches, including USC’s Martin, who liked him enough to offer earlier this summer. He also has offers from Charlotte, MTSU, Tennessee Tech, New Jersey Tech, Furman, Delaware and Coastal Carolina, where his father is an assistant coach.
Moss said Martin has told him he has the type of game he needs in his program. “I’m a big wing that can shoot and that’s what they need, more shooting on the team,” Moss said.
Moss said he’s not sure if he’ll sign early and there is no favorite. He plans to narrow his list at the end of this month.
Haley Troup, a 5-10 guard from Gadsden City, Ala., announced a commitment to the USC women. Some of her other offers were Texas, Vanderbilt and Auburn. She’s the second commitment for head coach Dawn Staley’s ‘17 class.
Clemson offered 6-9 Josh Carlton of Dematha High in Hyattsville, Md. Ole Miss offered PG Devontae Shuler, a native of Irmo who is at Oak Hill Prep in Virginia. He also has offers from USC, Clemson, VT, NCSU, Georgetown and Virginia.
Zion Williamson, a 6-6 ’18 recruit from Spartanburg Day, said his top 10 right now is USC, Clemson, Duke, UNC, WF, Oregon, Georgetown, Arizona and Virginia.
USC offered 6-7 ’18 recruit Duncan Demuth of Seminole, Fla.