No doubt the South Carolina men's basketball team is struggling and one could only imagine the frustration that Coach Frank Martin is going through. However, one thing is certain and that is we, the fans, must continue to support our beloved Gamecocks. So in that spirit, here is a open letter to Coach Martin:

Dear Coach,

Hope this letter finds you doing well. Love the garnet jacket you are sporting lately and keep on rockin' that bow tie. I write you today to say one thing - Keep the faith.

I know it is frustrating and I know your drive is intense. I too hate losing but I know that you are the right guy for the job. As you can see, you have a challenge to take a program that was near rock bottom and building it up again. I blame Dave Odom and Darrin Horn for leaving you not a lot to work with. But like I said, you are the right man for the job and I hope you have the patience necessary to build what could be a great SEC college basketball program.

We here at LOHD support you and your staff. You will turn this ship around. You have the best fans in college sports behind you. Just like Steve Spurrier did and Ray Tanner, you have to make this program yours. It will take time and that will make it so much more special. I can recall the 1-10 season in football and the 0-11. It was ugly but look at it now. This is similar as you have hit a rough patch but through staying the course, you will take this program it great places as I can see it in your eyes.

As mommy use to say, "good things come to those that wait." I feel it applies here as you are building a program and I know that the drive in you will make this into something special in about five years. We got your back Coach.

Keep the faith,

LOHD

There's no question the Southeastern Conference is a football powerhouse, and this includes the South Carolina Gamecocks. The team opened the 2012 season with six straight wins, including a 35-7 shellacking of number five Georgia, before suffering their only two losses of the season, number one to LSU and number two Florida.

It's hard to consider an 11-2 record as disappointing, but South Carolina, led by head coach Steve Spurrier, had intentions to win not only the Southeastern Conference, but the National Championship. A conference team has won the past seven consecutive years, and nine of the 15 contests held since 1998.

Still, the Gamecocks had an exceptional year and this can only happen with extraordinary players. The 2012 version of the South Carolina team includes at least five players projected to go in this year's NFL draft. Here's a look at what each accomplished as a Gamecock and their prospects in the upcoming draft.

Defensive End Devin Taylor

The big defensive end out of Beaufort, SC has an excellent college career, jumping right into the fire after redshirting in 2008. At 6' 8" and nearly 270 pounds, Taylor possesses all the skills necessary to be a starting defensive end in the NFL.

Taylor proved to be one of the strongest tacklers on the team during his four years as a Gamecock, but NFL teams will be interested in teaching him to be a pass rusher, something he also did well in college. His tall, strong frame makes him a good prospect in a professional game of pass-oriented teams.

He could go as early as the second round, which is optimistic, or as late as the sixth. A fourth round selection would not be surprising.

Running Back Marcus Lattimore

We should all be pulling for Marcus Lattimore to do well in the NFL draft. Not only did he make himself eligible for the draft after his junior season, he also suffered a brutal knee injury just a few months ago.

Not only does Lattimore have an incredible story, his entry in the draft raised the level of running back talent this year, banged up knee and all. He's currently rehabilitating his knee with the help of an NFL training staff, which is a good sign.

Because of his knee injury, teams interested in Lattimore will most likely need to be willing to wait a year for a chance at having a franchise running back, which should bring a dozen or so different teams to the table. A second-round selection is highly likely.

Punt Returner / Wide Out Ace Sanders

Ace Sanders was a second-team All-America and was named the SEC's co-special teams player of the year. He also led the Gamecocks with 45 receptions for 531 yards and nine touchdowns. He was also fourth in the nation with a 15.13-yard punt return average and was named MVP of the Outback Bowl, a 33-28 South Carolina win over Michigan. After all this, he decided to leave after his junior year at USC. Was it the right call? Time will tell. He is likely a late round selection.

Outside Linebacker/Safety DeVonte Holloman

DeVonte Holloman is going to give NFL scouts some sleepless nights. The natural strong safety from Charlotte, NC is an excellent tackler, and an extremely gifted athlete, but he's not particularly fast. It's this lack of speed that is the greatest cause for concern among scouts. Nothing spells touchdown faster than a slow safety against a speedy receiver.

Despite his shortcomings, Holloman is an excellent football player and deserves a shot at going pro. Any team looking for a talented athlete to play on special teams will be looking at Holloman somewhere in the fifth or sixth round. He could easily find a home for many seasons to come.

Safety D.J. Swearinger

The Gamecocks' second leading tackler, with 80 tackles in his final season, is the kind of free safety NFL scouts want to get in front of coaching staffs adept at mentoring good talent into top talent. At 5' 11", Swearinger is a tad short, but his skills as an open-field tackler more than make up for this.

Swearinger is also a fearless player, which accounts for the way he plays the game. Teams looking for good special teams players look for courageous players, which describes him perfectly. He's projected as a mid-round selection—fourth or fifth—but has the potential of moving up the board. If a team is looking for best available talent, D.J. Swearinger will be among the top considerations.

Center T.J. Johnson

Because of his athleticism and experience, South Carolina center T.J. Johnson could be drafted in this year's NFL draft. However, at 6' 5" and 318 pounds, he's not a top prospect at the center position. He lacks the ability get any leverage against shorter, stronger defensive lineman, which is problematic in the NFL because of the need to be a pass-blocker.

If Johnson does not get drafted, and this is likely, he could still find himself invited to training camp for one or more teams.

This year's NFL draft will be April 25-27 and the Kansas City Chiefs have the first selection. Which South Carolina player do you think has the most potential?

___

Andy has lived in several different areas of the United States. He has worked as a freelance journalist for  The Daily Herald before being hired by a South Carolina satellite TV provider. When he is not watching sports programs, Andy can be found writing sports articles for Athlete Anthem.

South Carolina's base defenseive set is a 4-2-5.  That means there are two traditional linebackers on the field.  One of the five members of the secondary is the Spur position, which can effectively be used as a third linebacker in many situations.

The two traditional linebackers in USC's scheme consist of Mike and Will linebackers.  Mike means middle linebacker, and Will means weakside linebacker.  Shaq Wilson played Mike for several years.  This past season was his last, and his back up, Quin Smith, was also a senior.  At the Will position the story was the same: seniors Reginald Bowens and Damario Jeffrey are gone.

The Gamecocks needed to recruit linebackers to replace their two deep.  Early in the recruiting process Gamecock legacy and four star linebacker Matt Rolin decommitted and committed to Florida.  This one event, coupled with the dire need for quality linebackers sent some of the fanbase into a tailspin.  What ever will we do?

The coaching staff kept doing what they had been, and the ended up bringing in a very strong group of linebackers.  They brought in two inside linebackers, Gerald Turner and Jonathan Walton, who are both three stars.  They also brought in three outside linebackers in Larenz Bryant, four stars, Skai Moore, four stars, and Mohammed Carrera, three stars.  Some of these players may end up in different positions, especialy Spur, but what was once an area of dire need should grow into an area of strength quickly.

South Carolina signed all of their commits on Wednesday and even added another to close their 2013 class.  Rivals ranks the class at #16, and all the rankings have the class in the Top 25.  

Some Gamecock fans are disappointed that back to back Top 10 finishes haven't resulted in higher rated recruiting classes.  If you just glance at recruiting you might think they are right, but the issue isn't that simple.  The main issue, insofar as an issue exists, is that the state of South Carolina hasn't produced that much talent the last few years.

Using Rivals rankings since they go back the furthest, the State of South Carolina produced 10 or more 4 and 5 star players from 2007-2010.  Since then it has produced 6, 5 and 5 each of the last three cycles.  Simply put, there hasn't been much talent to recruit.  Of the talent that was available, Carolina did well.

The South Carolina basketball program is still searching for able bodies to take the program to the next level. Lord knows we need it especially when you are talking about interior play. Well, one suspect that USC is recruiting has made a step towards making this situation better. Demetrius Henry, 6-8, 215-pound power forward, has named USC amongst his top three schools.

He made this known via twitter earlier this week:

Want to thank all the coaches that have recruited me, but I decided to cut my list to three schools. USF, UM,SOUTH CAROLINA no order

— Demetrius Henry (@ptp_meat) February 5, 2013

Henry is expected to make a decision sometime in April so stay tuned....oh and here is his video...

Good luck to seven former South Carolina football players as they will be representing the Gamecocks in the upcoming NFL Combine.

The seven Gamecocks that were invited are:

1. Justice Cunningham - TE
2. DeVonte Holloman - LB/SPUR
3. T.J. Johnson - OL
4. Marcus Lattimore - RB
5. Ace Sanders - WR
6. D.J. Swearinger - S
7. Devin Taylor - DE

Ace Sanders is the lone early entrant to the NFL draft as  he decided to exit the program after finishing his junior year at USC. The rest have had their time at USC expire.

The NFL Combine begins on Feb. 20th so keep a eye out on how these men perform. Most of the above will be late round pickups but you never know as the Combine is a time to shine and improve the draft stock. Regardless, we wish them luck and appreciate their tenure as members of Gamecock Nation. The program is better because of them.

Good news for the South Carolina Gamecocks as Skai Moore is going to be a Gamecock.

He is a linebacker that USC certainly needs and one that you may see playing right off the bat. He chose USC over Rutgers and Vanderbilt. Moore is a four-star prospect according to 247Sports and is the No. 22 outside linebacker in the country.

This is a big "add" to the recruiting class and a pleasant surprise on National Signing Day. Here is his video:

Now you see why most feel he is one of the most underrated prospects in Florida and why, if you are a USC fan, you should be happy.

The University of South Carolina ran a Super Bowl ad that was seen just on a regional media viewing area. If you did not see it, here it is:

For me...I like it. What about you?

The South Carolina Gamecocks football team is in need of a linebacker and have quite a few in the mix going into National Signing Day. However, it seems one they have been targeting, Jonathan Walton, has indicated he is going to be a Gamecock by sending out the following tweet tonight...

looks like ill be joining @mocamara3 at our new home!!! #gamecocknation

— Jonathan Walton (@Jwalton25) February 4, 2013

Sounds like some good news for the South Carolina football program but let's wait until the ink is dry as you know the Auburn recruiters are placing some pressure on him now.

The 6-foot-1, 227-pound Walton is considered the No. 39 ILB in the country by 247Sports and rated as a 3-star player. Check him out in this film:

Some may say the South Carolina Gamecocks are not having a good recruiting cycle due to not having a "big name" amongst the group. Don't believe that talk. This crop of talent is exactly what USC needs to continue to build depth and to sustain the direction of the football program.

Going into National Signing Day, the Gamecocks have 20 commitments. Of those, three have already enrolled and there is still some room to add to the class. Here is some things to watch for on National Signing Day from the Gamecocks perspective: