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 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.

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 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:

Linebacker Bryson Allen-Williams of Ellenwood, Ga., committed to South Carolina on Monday, is the right kind of recruit for the Gamecocks. He has tremendous upside on the field, is a high character kid and has the potential to be a great ambassador for the program.

Allen-Williams who had 88 tackles and 18 sacks last season, will play the weak linebacker spot with South Carolina. As noted earlier, he is a kid that will serve as a ambassador for USC so I am sure he will be asked to lean on other potential recruits; especially, the likes of running back Stanley Williams, wide receiver Terry Googer and defensive back Wesley Green.

Allen-Williams had long been favoring South Carolina. Over the weekend he updated his top three as the Gamecocks, Alabama and UCLA after garnering numerous other offers. This was a great "get" for USC and lord knows we need linebackers.

He’s the second commitment for South Carolina’s 2014 class.

The South Carolina Gamecocks have concluded the 2012-2013 regular season with a record of 14-17 overall (4-14 SEC). Safe to say that postseason dreams are dashed so it is time to think of the future of the Frank Martin squad. As we have said often, the future is bright for USC basketball with Coach Martin calling the shots just have patience. This past season will be the low-point of his tenure (thanks Darrin Horn).

On the recruiting front, there is hope and progress. There is a strong feeling that quite a few of the current Gamecocks will not be members of the team next season. Whom you ask...not sure yet but don't be surprised when you see some of the upcoming changes.

On the recruting front, the Gamecocks lost out on Elgin Cook as he chose to be a Duck over a Gamecock. He gave his plege to go from his junior college to Oregon. Hated to see that but it happens. We do hope to see the landing of Demetrius Henry, as the Gamecocks need the 6-foot-9, 218-pound big man. He is down to USC and a few others.

The other recruit we hope to see Coach Martin get is 2013 point guard Dominique Hawkins. He recently got a offer from USC and has a host of others to sort through. Hawkins is from Kentucky and the "Big Blue" is giving him a look. USC has some work to do to get him but if UK passes then there is a shot. USC would love to have his type of aggression running the point.

So in summary, keep the fingers crossed the Henry and Watkins say yes to Coach Martin.

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.