Darius Rucker gave the commencement speech at the recent University of South Carolina, here is a snipit of his pep talk and as he states, through all of what life provides - Be A Gamecock....

The South Carolina Gamecocks should pursue Kendal Vickers again to be a member of the football team.

Vickers, of Havelock, N.C., has always wanted to be a member of USC but his standing on the academic side questioned his ability to play Division I. Now, he has the grades and USC should give him a chance. To me it shows the determination of the young man and this is exactly the kind of man USC needs. One that wants to be a Gamecock and one that will give it his all to make that happent.

Vickers will enroll at Georgia Military Junior College this fall and hopes to transfer to USC in January according to his coach. That transfer, of course, hinges on USC re-evaluating Vickers in the fall and deciding to take him. Vickers, a defensive end, would have four years to play three at USC. If USC "takes him" he will count towards the 2014 class.

Here is video of him in action:

In case you missed it, the South Carolina Gamecocks got a verbal pledge from D.J. Neal. This was on the heels of him making it known that it was on the horizon. On the surface, this may not appear like a big deal but it is for USC.

Here are the main reasons on why we think so:

- Neal chose USC over Tennessee. Always good to beat the other SEC teams for top recruits.

- He is a member of the Class of 2015 and he is a wide receiver that stands at 6-foot-2, 195 pounds. Read into this that the Spurrier factor still matters and this is a big target for the future USC QBs.

- His skill set is similar to the receivers who have been successful in Columbia, along with excellent hands to go with great body control. So expect to hear his name called in Willy B.

- He hails from one of the most successful programs in Georgia - Stephenson High. Getting another recruit out of that program helps establish roots for USC.

There you have it. Good pickup for USC football. Welcome, Mr. Neal.

South Carolina dominated Georgia this weekend and won by scores of 7-2, 7-1 and 8-3. The Gamecocks appear to be putting all the pieces together at the right time. Starting pitching was excellent all three days, and the bullpen continues its late surge. Adam Westmoreland and Tyler Webb continue to pitch like All-SEC pitchers, and players like Colby Holmes appear to be stepping up out of the pen. This team has needed another bullpen option, and if Holmes is returning to form, they've found it.

Carolina's bats also had a productive weekend. Joey Pankake and Grayson Greiner are striping the ball. Chase Vergason and Max Schrock are putting together good approaches, and struggling Graham Saiko is getting back on track. English and Bright have had better weekends, numbers wise, but they'll be fine.

After DH'ing Friday and Saturday LB Dantzler took Sunday off because of continued discomfort in his shoulder. He should be back soon, but I wouldn't mind seeing him sit Tuesday to make sure he's healthy for the stretch run.

SEC Standings and Tournament

The Gamecocks are 16-10 in conference. They can't catch Vanderbilt, and Florida can't catch them, so they'll finish 2nd in the East.

The top 4 SEC finishers will get first round byes in the SEC tournament. After the two division champs take spots one and two, three and four are determined by overall conference record without reference to division. Carolina is in 4th with a 2.5 game lead on Miss State and Ole Miss. USC can clinch 4th with just one win this weekend.

The Gamecocks can still get the #3 seed by catching Arkansas. The Hogs have a one game lead and hold the tiebreaker, so Carolina will essentially have to make up two games. If USC sweeps, Arkansas can win no more than two. If USC wins the series but drops a game, Arkansas must be swept. The Hogs are playing Auburn, so I don't expect them to lose the series.

NCAA Tournament

The Gamecocks are in. It's just a question of seeding. Barring a complete collapse Carolina will be one of the 16 regional hosts. They are not now in a position for a national seed. The difference is that a national seed will play all of their games at home until the College World Series; a regional host would play on the road in the super regionals against the national seed.

If Carolina beats Presbyterian and takes the series at Mississippi State, they'll be squarely on the national seed bubble. The finishes of other teams with good resumes and the Gamecocks performance in Hoover will determine who gets the last national seeds.

Posted with Blogsy

Here is the reaction from the graduate assistants for the South Carolina Gamecocks football team after getting the email from quarterbacks coach G.A. Mangus about losing out on Drew Barker....

Somewhere we missed that former South Carolina standout Eric Norwood was exploring his options in the Arena Football League. He recently signed a one-year contract with the San Jose SaberCats.

We knew last season, Norwood played for the Virginia Destroyers of the United Football League and seemed to be doing well since his Panther playing days with the goal of getting back to the NFL. We hope that happens for him again.

As a member of the SaberCats, he has recorded two tackles in playing just one game thus far. Good luck in the future Eric.

South Carolina missed out on their top quarterback target for the Class of 2014 as Drew Barker chose Kentucky over being a member of the Gamecocks.

Barker was the only quarterback, thus far, that USC had offered.

Last season, Barker passed for 2,072 yards and 22  touchdowns while rushing for 1,455 yards and 18 touchdowns. No doubt he is good and this is a setback for USC in the recruiting hunt but life goes on. In fact, USC is pretty loaded at the QB slot and a result of that, they may not recruit a QB this cycle since losing out on Barker. So don't think the world has ended.

Our reaction....oh well. This again shows the beauty of recruiting as you feel you have a legit shot but don't count your "gamecocks until they hatch."

One thing is for sure, he may enjoy being closer to home and be the "big man on campus" at UK but I hope he enjoys looking up to USC in the SEC East.

Cool video from James Quantz Jr. and Dust of the Ground showing a recent photo shoot for the 2013 South Carolina Gamecock football team. Images from this shoot will be used for various publications to promote this upcoming season. Check it out:

Gamecock Athletics Behind the Scenes Photo Shoot from James Quantz Jr on Vimeo.

So what will high school quarterback Drew Barker do? Will he choose to be a member of the South Carolina Gamecocks or stay in-state to be a member of the Kentucky Wildcats? On May 10th fans of these two programs will know for certain as Barker has stated that is the day he will "break some hearts."

Anyone that has follows USC recruiting knows that South Carolina quarterbacks coach GA Mangus has made Barker his number one target for the Class of 2014 and was one of the first to offer Barker. Safe to say a relationship has been built but quickly the Kentucky program has made up ground on getting Barker to think hard about leaving the state. The UK program has also made him a focal point for their recruiting efforts and it appears to made a dent in what once was a "lean" towards the Gamecocks.

So will he make a South Carolina pledge or choose UK or surprise all and go with Tennessee? Time will tell but this blog has concerns.

We once thought he was surely a USC guy but Big Blue Nation has worked him hard. On top of that, the messaging from Barker himself leaves one to assume as he is soaking up the attention in the direction of UK. I am sure it is hard to say no to the local school and be the "hero." Just ask Marcus Lattimore.

Are we giving up on Barker...no. We hope he realizes that USC's football program is way ahead of UK. For Barker, is it about being "the big fish in a small pond" at UK or going to be the main guy under center for a Top 10 football team?

I hope he sees that under Spurrier and as a member of USC that the sky is the limit.  

Drew Barker, make the right choice and choose USC. It may hurt to shun the in-state program but your future as a quarterback has so much more potential in Columbia, S.C.

The South Carolina Football program extended a offer to junior wide out Dexter Neal (6-3 195) of Stone Mountain, GA, and soon after Neal indicated on twitter that he is planning to pledge to be a member of the Gamecocks...check it out:

I need to make this #Gamecock official when should I officially become apart of the #GAMECOCKFAMILY

— ONS dj neal (@guapo_pluto) May 4, 2013

Even if you visit his twitter page it has a Gamecocks banner. Is it safe to assume he will be a Gamecock or will the likes of North Carolina, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech and Cincinnati (his other offers) be successful in changing his opinion?

Let's hope not as the Gamecocks could use his talent, check out the video: