USC gains commitment from Rock Hill standout

Defensive back Stephon Gilmore (6-foot-2, 195 pounds) of South Pointe High School of Rock Hill committed to the University of South Carolina on Tuesday over Alabama.

Gilmore made his announcement at a news conference at his school. Gilmore made official visits to USC, Alabama and Tennessee.

“I just feel like I’m home when I go there,” said Gilmore, who said he also likes the plan the Gamecock coaches laid out for him. “They are going to use me at the cornerback spot. They think I can be great at corner. And they are going to put me on the offensive side at quarterback. They have some packages so I can go in and do some zone reads and all that stuff. They really compare me to (current USC defensive back) Captain Munnerlyn a lot.” Gilmore said it was after his official visit to USC that he began thinking strongly about the Gamecocks, and his relationship with the coaches was a major factor in the decision.

“They are good coaches, (assistants) Coach (Ron) Cooper, Coach (Ellis) Johnson, Coach (Shane) Beamer, who will be my position coach, all of them, we get along,” Gilmore said. “They are good coaches and they have some good players on the team. It’s just great people around the school.”

Gilmore becomes the 19th commitment for USC’s 2009 class. His teammate, defensive back Devonte Holloman, who decommitted from Clemson on Monday, attended Tuesday’s news conference and confirmed his plans to take an official visit to USC this weekend.

Gamecock basketball coach Darrin Horn is hopeful of a commitment from 6-8 Keith Clanton of Orlando. Clanton made an official visit to Central Florida over the weekend. He’s also considering South Florida.

One USC football target who got away is defensive end Derrick Lott (6-5, 270) of Kennesaw, Ga. He committed to Georgia last week a few days after getting an offer from the Bulldogs.

Clemson missed on a pair of linebacker hopefuls last week. Conor O’Neill (6-1, 195) of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., picked Wisconsin and Jerod Askew (6-1, 230) of Chesapeake, Va., committed to Tennessee.

DB Josh Hunter (6-1, 172) of Charlotte, who holds an offer from USC and several others, committed last week to North Carolina.

DB Jonathan Scott (6-4, 185) of Daytona Beach, Fla., is scheduled to visit Alabama this coming weekend and is looking at USC, Louisiana State and West Virginia for visits.

The Gamecocks are talking with DE Will Hill (6-4, 260) of Williamsburg, Va., about making a visit. Hill said he’s down to USC, Penn State, Maryland, Tennessee, Virginia and Connecticut.

Running back Jarvis Giles (6-0, 180) of Tampa remains a Tennessee commitment, but he’s aware of the rumblings coming out of Knoxville regarding the coaching staff and thus not closing out all the other schools interested in him. Giles said Clemson contacted him a couple of weeks ago. He said Clemson and USC are two he would consider if things change at Tennessee.

DB Justin Green (5-10, 180) of Louisville, who has been committed to Ohio State, is considering taking an official visit to Clemson around Thanksgiving. He talked recently with Clemson recruiter Brad Scott.

LB Lance Ray (6-3, 190) of Havana, Fla., said last week USC recently told him they are full at his position right now but will keep in touch with him. Ray is focusing on Illinois, Florida, Arkansas and LSU. Ray also plays receiver and said he would rekindle his interest in the Gamecocks if they started to recruit him for that position.

DB Brandon Smith (5-11, 165) of Atlanta was scheduled for an official visit to Florida over the weekend. He will visit Tennessee on Oct. 25, Auburn on Nov. 15 and Clemson on Nov. 29 . He also will set a date with Georgia.

Wide receiver Jheranie Boyd (6-3, 185) of Gastonia, N.C., was scheduled for an official visit to Florida during the weekend. He previously visited Oklahoma and North Carolina State officially and has upcoming visits set with Missouri and Illinois. Clemson and North Carolina also are factors but won’t get official visits because he’s taken multiple unofficial visits to each. He said he will take another unofficial visit to Clemson before making a decision. Florida commitment offensive lineman Jonathan Harrison (6-4, 285) remains solid with the Gators but said last week he would like to take an official visit to USC. WR Justin Brown (6-4, 210) of Wilmington, Del., has not decided on official visits but remains interested in USC, which he visited unofficially in the summer. Some of his other offers are Penn State, Pittsburgh, North Carolina, N.C. State, Virginia Tech, Maryland, Rutgers, Oregon, Vanderbilt and Kentucky.

LB Daniel Mack (6-0, 198) of Miami has taken an official visit to Boston College and will visit Liberty on Oct. 25 and Wake Forest on Nov. 1. He’s still hearing from Clemson and remains interested in the Tigers.

LB Jonathan Davis (5-9, 205) of Tucker, Ga., wants to take an official visit to USC this weekend, but he said the Gamecocks haven’t been showing as much interest as they once did. He’s getting the strongest push from Georgia Tech, Alabama-Birmingham and Boston College.

LB Antwon Higgs (6-2, 245) of Pompano Beach, Fla., still favors USC though he’s not sure there’s room for him there with the linebackers already committed to the Gamecocks. Higgs said he talked recently with recruiter Robert Gillespie.

Higgs has visited Purdue and is scheduled to visit USC Nov. 8. He’s also getting interest from Kansas State, Florida, Louisville, N.C. State and Kentucky.

Another linebacker who still likes USC but might be left out is Robert Nelson (6-0, 205) of Stone Mountain, Ga. He wants to schedule official visits with USC, Auburn, Tennessee and Troy.

DB Frank Crawford (6-1, 170) of Miami has visited Minnesota and wants to set trips with USC, South Florida and Mississippi.

DB Ricardo Dixon (6-0, 175) of Hollywood, Fla., remains committed to South Florida but wants to take official visit to USC, West Virginia, South Florida and either Rutgers or Tennessee.

DE Euclid Cummings (6-3, 235) of Roswell, Ga., is looking at USC, Tennessee and North Carolina for official visits which he will schedule once his SAT score returns. He’s also considering Georgia Tech.

DB Riyahd Richardson (5-9, 165) of Byrnes claims an offer from Texas A&M and is also looking at N.C. State, Syracuse, Notre Dame and Colorado.

WR Richard Drake (6-2, 182) of Stone Mountain, Ga., is in touch regularly with Clemson recruiter Chris Rumph and is hoping for an offer. He also likes Vanderbilt, Middle Tennessee State, Purdue and Miami of Ohio. His only offer right now is Eastern Michigan.