The Gamecocks might have lost to the Wildcats in basketball tonight but they might have helped land Jadeveon Clowney, the nation's top high school recruit coming out of high school.  The game and its' atmosphere was electric, it was a excellent display of the passion the fans have for sports at South Carolina.  Despite a loss in the game, it was a great game for the football recruits to be part of and to see Coach Spurrier's halftime show honoring the football team.

The best moment of the game, may not have been on the court but what occured several times by the fans.  A little persuasion and this time I am not talking about facebook....

“We want Clowney! We want Clowney” echoed through the stands several times from the Gamecock fans in attendance as Clowney watched the game with "his future teammates."  It certainly was a good display from the fans and students and should give Clowney another reason to give his verbal for South Carolina.  Come to South Carolina and you "are the man," go to Alabama and you are just another top ranked recruit from out-of-state. 

QB Jacoby Brissett has eliminated the University of South Carolina from his potential destinations for his college choice.  This is being reported by ESPN 760/WPTV Palm Beach County/Treasure Coast sports today.

Seems Brissett, a four star recruit, is no longer looking at USC and most figured this would happen as it was a long shot for USC to land him in the first place.  With the verbal given by QB Tanner McEvoy yesterday to USC this likely helped make Jacoby's decision a little easier.

South Carolina Gamecocks recruiting his heating up and this weekend is really big as a large number of football players on their visit at USC.  Here is a complied list according to reports -

Uncommitted players visiting USC this weekend:  TE Jerrell Adams, DL Phillip Dukes, LB Cedrick Cooper, DB Ahmad Christian

Committed USC players on the South Carolina campus this weekend (this is a mixture of kids on their "offical visit" and some on a non-official visit):  Brandon Shell, Edward Muldrow, Kadetrix Marcus, Kyle Harris, Quincy McKinney, Ronnie Martin, Angelo Watley, Jared Henry, Shamier Jeffery, Brandon Wilds, KJ Brent, Mason Harris, Gerald Dixon, Will Sport, Gerald Dixon Jr., Jordan Montgomery, Rory Anderson, Damiere Byrd, Shon Carson, Deon Green, Mike Matulis, Lorenzo Mauldin and Marcquis Roberts.

Big Name that is rumored to be headed to campus on Saturday is Jedeveon Clowney.  Along with him, as reported by LOHD, is Tanner McEvoy.  He has stated he is flying down Saturday to visit USC and leave Sunday.

Huge weekend and what will make it really good is to get some commits on top of a USC basketball win over Kentucky.

Jadeveon Clowney, the nation's top recruit according to the latest ESPN rankings, is now the subject of a facebook site devoted to trying to convince him to come to the University of South Carolina.  Will it work?  Clowney is a "USC lean," will this public plea help land him?

Having over 1200 people being "fans" of the Facebook Page is amazing but the stuff they write is amazing too.  Do check it out HERE. 

Seems the South Carolina faithful are already in love with this guy and love him.  I love this wall post:

From Michael Meuli: "We can rename Bluff Road (where South Carolina's stadium is located) to Clowney Blvd."

My advice to Jadeveon is to choose USC, if not there will be over 1200 people on a facebook site that will turn the love into hate.  Gotta love college football in the South!  Another reason USC has the best college football fans in the nation.

Oh and for the record this Gamecocks blog site has said for a long time now that Clowney will be a Gamecock.

South Carolina landed Tanner McEvoy yesterday and here are some highlighted things he had to say about USC -

Tanner McEvoy, Bergen Catholic QB on his commitment to University of South Carolina - exclusive interview with Jared Greenberg, co-host of MSG Varsity's (iO TV Channel 14) signature daily sports show High School SportsDesk.
 
McEvoy called in live this evening (Thursday, January 20) at 6PM to speak to Greenberg about his decision to play for University of South Carolina and Coach Steve Spurrier.

McEvoy on Coach Spurrier:
"Coach Spurrier is great - he's a legend - "The Old Ball Coach". I'm really looking forward to playing for him and him coaching me.
 
"I called him last night and talked to him last night. He sounded really excited and talked to my parents. He spent a lot of time on my official when I went down. I'm actually flying down Saturday morning, coming back Sunday, so I'll spend the weekend down there."

McEvoy on the importance of playing QB in college (he is Bergen's lead receiver, and just transitioned to QB his senior year):
 
"Towards the end, all the schools that I stuck with were pro quarterback. South Carolina was really one of the first schools to offer me as quarterback so I felt confident with them. I know they'll do a great job with me and get to learn the position more and more. I have a lot to learn as I only played (QB) for a year and I'm really looking forward to it."
____
Thanks to Seth and MSG Varsity’s High School Sportsdesk for providing this Gamecocks blog with those quotes.  As you can tell Tanner is excited and us the Gamecock faithful should be excited.  The Class of 2011 is shaping up to be solid.

DB Sheldon Royster (5-11 190) of Jersey City, NJ committed Thursday night to the University of South Carolina.  This is a really great catch by Spurrier as he is a excellent player that can have immediate impact in 2011.

He picked the Gamecocks over Rutgers.  He's the third highly regarded prospect from New Jersey recruited by GA Mangus to commit to the Gamecocks joining WR Damiere Byrd and QB Tanner McEvoy.

This season Royster had 20 tackles on defense and scored 5 touchdowns on offense.  Royster gives USC 30 commitments for the 2011 class after Tanner McEvoy gave his verbal earlier today and two others the other day.

Bergen Catholic (NJ) 6-5 QB Tanner McEvoy has committed to the Gamecocks according to MSG Varsity.com

McEvoy picked the Gamecocks over Rutgers, Michigan, UNC and Boston College.  McEvoy led Bergen Catholic to the NJ Non-Public Group 4 State Championship game this past season in his first season as a starter at the quarterback position.  He threw for 2,264 yards and 32 touchdowns on the season. 

We here at LOHD would like to welcome McEvoy to the Gamecock Family.  He is a great recruit for Coach Spurrier and seems to be a perfect fit for what USC needs in a future quarterback.  With a little coaching and development, he could be All-SEC and when it happens remember the site that said it first.

Stay tuned as the other New Jersey Gamecock recruit four star defensive back Sheldon Royster will make his annoucement this evening.  So the Gamecocks will have by the end of tonight recruits 29 (McEvoy) and 30 (Royster).  The Class of 2011 is shaping up to be really special, just have to make the numbers work.

Link to Full Story  HERE

Good news on the Gamecocks recruiting trail as TE Rory Anderson and LB Marcquis Roberts gave their verbal today to play football at the University of South Carolina.  These two recent commiments are number 27 and 28 for USC and very good pick-ups for Spurrier.  Both are in the top 25 at their position coming out of high school and it seems our prediction was correct.

The tight end position at USC needs the depth and a kid like Anderson (3 star recruit) is a pefect fit for Spurrier's offense.  He has good speed, is tall and presents the mis-match Spurrier loves in a tight end.  May need to improve his blocking but overall a good get.

Linebacker is another area that needs kids like Marcquis Roberts.  He will be a good Gamecock in due time as he has huge upside with a knack for being around the ball.

Both of these kids were recruited by Coach Magnus and these two recruits are a great way to start a important seven days in Gamecocks recruiting.  Royster and McEvoy will announce Thursday.  On top of this, a very important recruiting weekend is in store for USC.  Stay tuned....

Profiles from Rivals
Rory Anderson
Marcquis Roberts

The South Carolina Gamecocks are working the recruiting trail hard to close out the 2011 cycle.  This Gamecocks blog will work hard to keep you abreast of the ongoings via this site, our twitter feed and our facebook account - so make sure you got us covered.  You can also download Iphone, Android and/or Blackberry applications so you won't miss anything. 

Make sure you read our last post and here is a quick rundown of the latest Gamecocks recruiting news...