Clemson target Newton's decision coming up

One of Clemson's quarterback targets will come off the board this week, and there's a 50-50 chance he'll be added to the Tigers' football commitment list. Morgan Newton (6-5, 215) of Carmel, Ind., is scheduled to announce his college decision Tuesday, and according to his mother, the choice is down to Clemson and one other from among Indiana, Purdue, Kentucky, Illinois and Florida.

"We still have a controversy in the Newton family about where he will go," Rubie Newton said late last week. "One place I like, one place his father likes, and one place Morgan likes. ... He doesn't really care. He just wants to play."

In other recruiting news:

Clemson also is on the final five lists of WR Jheranie Boyd (6-2, 185) of Gastonia, N.C., and DB Darius Winston (6-0, 180) of West Helena, Ark. Boyd also has Florida, Auburn, North Carolina and N.C. State on his list. He has, in the past, cited Clemson and Florida as his top two. Winston, who has decided and plans to announce the first week of September, picked from Clemson, Arkansas, Tennessee, Michigan and Ole Miss. Of those five, Arkansas and Ole Miss are the only two he visited.

OL David Harding (6-5, 285) of Orlando, Fla., made an unofficial visit to South Carolina on Friday with his parents, spending about six hours meeting with coaches and players and touring the campus and facilities. "It was a great visit overall," he said. "They are one of my top schools along with Duke and Central Florida. They are all standing pretty tall, pretty equal." He wants to make a decision before his season begins.

Richland Northeast DE Chris Bonds (6-4, 283) attended Saturday's USC scrimmage with his mother, stepdad and stepbrother. He said he spoke with assistant coaches Brad Lawing and David Reaves and got a chance to see close friend Andrew Power and ex-teammates Mark Barnes and Rodney Paulk perform. Bonds has USC, Southern Cal and Alabama at the top of his list because he has visited those three, and he's waiting to see Michigan and Notre Dame this season on official visits. He also plans to visit Tennessee.

USC and Clemson are two of the 35 offers for DB Zeke Motta (6-3, 210) of Vero Beach, Fla. Clemson was one of his stops earlier in the summer along with Wake Forest, Boston College, Notre Dame, Auburn, Stanford, UCLA, Florida, Florida State and Miami. Motta plans to trim his list soon to a final five. He said he's heard more from Clemson than USC. Last season, Motta had 152 tackles and blocked seven kicks.

USC is pursuing WR Stedman Bailey (5-11, 185), whom the coaches see as a Kenny McKinley clone. Bailey also has offers from Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Rutgers, South Florida, Florida International, Purdue, Vanderbilt and Boston College. USC will get one of his official visits.

WR Eric Williams (5-11, 185) of Bradenton, Fla., picked up an offer from Ole Miss, and that put the Rebels at the top of his list with USC. He plans to take official visits to USC, Ole Miss, Purdue and Marshall.

Clemson likely will get an official visit from DB Dre Kirkpatrick (6-3, 190) of Gadsden, Ala., when he gets down to deciding on the five. This summer, he visited Florida and FSU and camped at Alabama. He admitted he hasn't done much regarding recruiting but plans to focus on it a little more around midseason.

Clemson is in the top three with LB Conor O'Neill (6-1, 195) of Fort Lauderdale, Fla. He also likes Auburn and Wisconsin. O'Neill, also a baseball prospect, wants to make a decision before December so he can concentrate on his second sport. Clemson's success in both is a factor.He wants to play both sports in college, and Clemson baseball coach Jack Leggett has contacted O'Neill's coach. He has set an official visit with Auburn for the weekend of the LSU game, and he will set dates with Clemson and Wisconsin.

OL Kwame Geathers (6-6, 310) of Carvers Bay is holding steady with his recruiting, with USC, Clemson, Georgia and FSU heading up his list. He also has an offer from Maryland.

Dorman DB Taylor Sowell (5-10, 190) de-committed from UNC last week and now is looking at Miami, Georgia Tech and West Virginia.

USC is in the front four with DB Josh Hunter (6-2, 176) of Charlotte along with Florida, Virginia Tech and West Virginia. Hunter had 29 tackles and five interceptions last season. He's also a sprinter in track.

USC is in touch with LB Enrique Williams (6-1, 210) of Mobile, Ala., but hasn't offered. He has offers from South Alabama and Ole Miss. He's hopeful of a USC offer and would like to take an official visit there.

RB Tracy Lampley (5-9, 175) of Waynesboro, Miss., is drawing USC interest and expects to get an offer when he makes his official visit. He has been offered by Mississippi State, Southern Miss and UAB. He's also hearing from Memphis, Auburn, Alabama, Michigan, Illinois, LSU and Ole Miss. Last season, he rushed for 1,680 yards and 17 TDs.

Clemson is showing a lot of interest in ATH Justin Green (5-10, 180) of Louisville who is committed to Ohio State but still looking around. He also has offers from Alabama, Wake Forest, N.C. State, Illinois, Kentucky and Louisville. He plays WR, RB and DB. He's hopeful of an offer from Clemson.

DL Brandon Moore (6-6, 320) of Montgomery, Ala., plans to take one of his official visits to Clemson. He also has offers from Alabama, Auburn, Mississippi State, Memphis, UCF, Southern Miss, Tennessee and Miami. He recently made an unofficial visit to Alabama.

Basketball news

USC remains a factor with 6-6 Kevin Parrom of New York. "They will most likely be in my top five," Parrom said. He recently landed an offer from Connecticut and is expecting offers soon from Temple, Virginia and Virginia Tech. He also has offers from Providence, St. John's, Xavier, Rutgers, Pittsburgh, Marquette and Rhode Island.

Junior DeAndre Hopkins (6-3, 185) of Daniel also is a football prospect and is unsure which he wants to play in college. He has basketball offers from USC, Florida and Wake Forest and a football offer from Clemson. He said Clemson is pulling him the hardest for football, but the USC basketball staff also has been working him hard. He does not have a favorite and doesn't plan an early decision.

Baseball news

Strong-hitting SS Anthony Iacomini of White Plains, N.Y., committed to USC. He picked the Gamecocks over offers from Cal State Fullerton, Coastal Carolina, Seton Hall, Temple, High Point, Stony Brook and The College of Charleston.