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:

The South Carolina basketball team got the official signed papers from point guard Jaylen Shaw and now it appears the 2013 recruiting class is complete.

This is not a surprise but is worth a mention on this Gamecocks blog as we see huge upside for Shaw at USC. Go back and watch the highlight videos that we posted - here. Now you see what we are thinking?

He plays better than his three-star rating and is somewhat of a "steal" in our view. Shaw is from Hartsville, South Carolina where he averaged 23 points, 8 assists and 3 steal’s during his senior year for the Hartsville Red Foxes. He also led his team to back-to-back AAA State Championships.  Can we say 'leader' and 'baller' ?

He has the ideal height in a point guard at 6'1" and just that is slightly different that what USC has had in years past. The point guard was always a little shorter. This change alone is a good one but Shaw is also very good with the ball. He is a good athlete that knows how to move without the ball and distribute the ball. Look for him to be the kind of passer USC has been lacking along with being a attacker of the lane. Oh, and he is a great three ball shooter. This too is a plus and will result in playing time at USC. 

Overall, look for Shaw to create and that is something Coach Frank Martin and the fans want. 

Love the message that Demetrius Henry sent out the other day:

Trying to build something special at USC

— Demetrius Henry (@ptp_meat) May 2, 2013

The South Carolina football team got its third commitment of the 2014 recruiting class when three-star prospect Kalan Ritchie announced his commitment to South Carolina early this week. This was a solid gain for USC as Ritchie has all the tools to be the next USC tight end to make it on a NFL roster just like Justice Cunnigham and Jared Cook.

The tight end spot is deep at USC but Ritchie has the size, 6-foot-6 and around 220, to be the kind of tight end with a bright future. He has the ability to run the passing route but also hold his own along the line. Give this young man time and he will be a great addition to Spurrier's program.

Here is his highlights and I hope you see the potential too:

If you can accurately categorize this Carolina baseball team let us know because we can't. This team lost to Gardner-Webb (RPI 165) on Tuesday and then went to LSU (#2) and took two of three from them. Needless to say the weekend more than made up for the midweek. More good news? There's no midweek game this week.

It's common knowledge that a team doesn't always perform at the same level every game. There is a spread of possible performances. Different teams have different spreads. One of the CWS winning Carolina teams didn't lose a midweek game. That's a small spread. Last year's team lost to Francis Marion and made it to the CWS finals. That's a big spread.

This year's team has a big spread. Even this week had a big spread. With the win at LSU we know how good they can be. The team is now mostly healthy, and Wynkoop's emergence has changed the complexion of the pitching staff for the better.

Pitching. The Gamecock pitching staff had a very strong weekend on the whole. Wynkoop was excellent as was Montgomery. Belcher wasn't as good as he has been other times, but part of that is LSU. Westmoreland was good in relief, and Webb remains dominant. Carolina had their best pitchers in the game when they needed them.

USC still needs more consistent arms. There is plenty of talent on the roster, but one or two reliable relievers would make all the difference in the world. Colby Holmes has the talent to be that guy. Evan Beal does too. Could Vince Fiori be ready? I'm not sure, but there needs to be just a bit more to feel truly comfortable in the stretch and in the post season.

USC had some timely hits this weekend. Only one batter had an average over .300 this weekend (of course it was Dantzler), and LSU has very good pitching. The difference between a signature road win and a frustrating road loss was the timeliness of the hitting. Carolina's bats provided the hits, and often LSU's did not.

Timely hitting hasn't been there all year. It's not something that can be practiced. It sometimes kinda comes and goes. The better hitting team you are, the more timely hits you are going to get. But you're not going to get them all the time. Right now Carolina is a better hitting team than they were earlier, and they can still get better.

Connor Bright has benefitted from being an every game player, and Grayson Greiner has found his swing as well. Dantzler, Pankake, Schrock and Vergason continue to be productive, and English is doing well too. Graham Saiko is in a slump right now. It'd be really nice for him to work his way out of that. If he could, Carolina would have the offensive firepower to make a deep run this summer.

Posted with Blogsy

The 2013 NFL Draft has come and gone. For the South Carolina Gamecocks, both fans and players, it was a good event.

For the USC fans, it was great to see so many former Gamecock football players get their name called and have their dreams fulfilled. Much to celebrate and continue to hold that head high as the program is strong.

To the former players getting the chance to go to the NFL, will time to go to work on a bigger stage and earn a paycheck. Just don't forget your roots and please come back to offer support for the program as it is key to the future of the program.

To the current Gamecock football players, this shows that USC is respected as so many comments were made about the positive direction of the Gamecocks program under Coach Spurrier. Don't let up...continue the march to greatness.

To future collegiate football players or those considering the Gamecocks, I hope that you see that USC is legit and by playing in the SEC you get the exposure that NFL scouts like. Remember it is THE University of South Carolina.

As mentioned, the NFL draft was good for South Carolina and here is a quick recap:

DJ Swearinger was selected by the Houston Texans as the 57th pick overall.

Ace Sanders was selected in the fourth round, pick No. 101 overall, by the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Marcus Lattimore was selected in the fourth round, pick No. 131 overall, by the San Francisco 49ers.

Devin Taylor was selected in the fourth round, pick No. 132 overall, by the Detroit Lions.

DeVonte Holloman was selected in the sixth round, pick No. 185 overall, by the Dallas Cowboys.

T.J. Johnson was selected in the seventh round, pick No. 251 overall, by the Cincinnati Bengals.

Justice Cunningham was selected in the seventh round, pick No. 254 overall, by the Indianapolis Colts as the final pick of the NFL Draft.

FREE AGENT DEALS

Bryon Jerideau signed with the San Diego Chargers.

Damario Jeffery signed with the Carolina Panthers.

Adam Yates signed a free agent deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

DeVonte Holloman is a Cowboy.

In the sixth round of the NFL Draft, the Dallas Cowboys selected South Carolina outside linebacker DeVonte Holloman.

It will be interesting to see if he gets reps as a safety or linebacker. At USC, Holloman started 22 games at strong safety and 13 at linebacker so he can do either.

Here is his stats while at Carolina:

2012 stats: 57 tackles, 8 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 4 pass breakups, 2 forced fumbles, 3 ints.

Career stats: 204 tackles, 2 sacks, 14 tackles for loss, 2 forced fumbles, 13 pass breakups, 7 ints.

One thing is for sure, he will be a super player given the chance to shine. By reading the tweet sent shortly before his selection, I feel he is ready to prove many that he is ready for the NFL:

I will never forget this feeling...HELL TO PAY!

— DeVonte Holloman (@HolloMan21) April 27, 2013

We knew Devin Taylor was a beast. Well now, he is a Lion as the Detroit Lions selected South Carolina's Devin Taylor in the fourth-round (132nd overall) of the 2013 NFL draft.

Taylor, who is 6'7" and 266 lbs., ran a 4.72 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine and should grow into a nice defensive end for the Lions.

Here is his stats broken down:

2012 stats: 45 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 1 FR

Career stats: 156 tackles, 35 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks, 2 FF, 5 FR, 2 ints.

As you can see, he has huge upside and we wish him well.

The San Francisco 49ers got a steal in the fourth round of the NFL Draft as they selected Marcus Lattimore with the 131st pick.

What a journey for Lattimore as the day he got drafted was six months to the day of his second knee injury. Irony yet don't tell Lattimore that as he will take this opportunity and seize the moment, just like he always does.

Here is a breakdown of what Lattimore did at USC -

2012 stats: 143 carries, 662 yards, 11 TDs, 26 catches, 173 yards

Career stats: 555 carries, 2,677 yards, 38 TDs, 74 catches, 767 yards, 3 TDs

The 49ers will be happy with this selection as our their newest fans, you know....Gamecock Nation.