Tigers, USC fill needs with commitments

Clemson boosted its offense, South Carolina its defense with commitments from Floridians last week.

Preparing for the loss of James Davis and C.J. Spiller after this football season, the Tigers reeled in running back Ben Axon (6-2, 195) of Bradenton, Fla. Axon, a power back who likes a heavy workload, rushed for 1,026 yards and 16 touchdowns last season. "I'm a fourth quarter guy, that's the most important thing for me," said Axon, who also caught 38 passes as a junior. Some of his other offers were USC, Florida State, South Florida and West Virginia. He is the Tigers' 10th commitment.

In other football recruiting news:

USC's fifth commitment is from speedy LB Brent Singleton (6-1, 204) of Plantation, Fla. He was in on 60 tackles last season, 20 for loss, and five sacks. Singleton also had offers from Minnesota, Syracuse, Indiana, Miami of Ohio, Colorado State, Northern Illinois, Florida International and Central Michigan. "I compare myself to Jasper Brinkley a little bit," he said. Singleton also rushed for 650 yards and 15 touchdowns last season.

Another linebacker looking hard at USC is Matt Coffee (5-11, 210) of Fort Walton Beach, Fla.He made an unofficial visit over the weekend and has the Gamecocks firmly No. 1 on his list. "I didn't commit then, but they are my leader now and I'm feeling really good about them," Coffee said. "I'm going to commit soon." Coffee, whose brother plays for Alabama, also has offers from Ole Miss, N.C. State, Maryland, Illinois, Southern Miss, Marshall, Iowa State and Mississippi State. He said an offer from Alabama would not shake him from his plans to commit to USC, which he said could come by the end of the summer.

TE Justin Jones (6-8, 250) of Con-yers, Ga., made a brief stop at USC on Wednesday but committed to Kentucky on Friday. However, Jones said he might make a return visit to USC in July. He also has taken visits to Clemson, Mississippi State and Alabama along with Kentucky.

Another tight end considered by the Gamecocks but headed elsewhere is Jim Teknipp (6-6, 230) of McDonough, Ga. He committed last week to Central Florida. He also had offers from Akron and Marshall.

Three Floridians recruited by USC and Clemson committed to South Florida recently after attending a camp at the school. WR James Green (6-4, 200) of Tallahassee and ATH Victor Marc (6-0, 205) and DB Ricardo Dixon (6-0, 175), both of Hollywood, were once teammates in Miami and decided to reunite at USF. However, the three do plan to make visits to other schools.

ATH David Sims (6-0, 215) of Calhoun County recently visited N.C. State, which is recruiting him as a running back. He has now visited all of his favorites, the others being USC, Tennessee and Georgia Tech.

Calhoun County WR Alshon Jeffrey (6-3, 217) made an unofficial visit last week to Southern Cal, where he also participated in a camp. He has been committed to the Trojans and remains so. "My commitment is strong; there's no second thoughts," Jeffrey said.

Clemson is keeping in touch with DL Brandon Moore (6-6, 318) of Montgomery, Ala., and he says he still has interest in the Tigers. He camped at Alabama on Saturday and has also camped at Southern Miss. He wants to visit Auburn and Mississippi State this summer. Tennessee and Miami recently offered.

USC is the team to beat for WR Eric Williams (5-11, 188) of Bradenton, Fla., a teammate of Ben Axon. "I went up there for the spring game and I just had a bond with the coaches," Williams said. He plans to visit USC in July and might go to a camp at Florida State. He has offers from USC, Middle Tennessee State, Marshall, Troy and South Florida. Last season, Williams caught 30 passes for 435 yards and four TDs.

OL Andrew Carter (6-6, 265) of Tallahassee, Fla., is visiting Central Florida, USF, Michigan, Indiana, Purdue, Michigan State and Illinois this summer, and he will try to get to USC. Carter said the Gamecocks are on his list right now and that he doesn't have a favorite.

DE Dyron Dye (6-5, 225) of Sanford, Fla., made an unofficial visit to Southern Cal this month. He might visit USC and Clemson in July. He has over 50 offers and wants to trim that to eight by the end of summer.

DB Terry Shankle (6-0, 170) of Norwood, N.C., attended a Clemson camp earlier this month and has the Tigers in his top five along with Alabama, Florida, N.C. State and North Carolina. There's no leader. He was to visit N.C. State over the weekend and plans to visit Alabama and Florida in July. Shankle recently picked up offers from Tennessee, Marshall, Maryland and Miami.

WR Lance Ray (6-3, 190) of Havana, Fla., remains very interested in USC and he keeps in touch with recruiter Shane Beamer. "South Carolina, South Florida, Central Florida and Arkansas are standing out with me," he said. One of his official visits in the fall will be to USC. He recently camped at Florida and USF and he plans to visit Auburn and LSU in July.

ATH Marsalis Teague (5-11, 170) of Paris, Tenn., visited Clemson and Miami in June and has no other visits planned. He recently picked up offers from Michigan and Stanford and wants to visit those two along with UNC and Duke. He doesn't have favorites.

USC and Clemson are among the many offers for DB Darren Myles (6-2, 185) of Atlanta. Some of his other offers are Notre Dame, Purdue, WVU, Tennessee, Rutgers, Ohio State and Georgia Tech. USC and Clemson coaches scouted him in the spring. He said Rutgers and the Vols are recruiting the hardest right now.

RB Demonte Terry (6-2, 194) of Laurinburg, N.C., who camped at USC in early June, plans to make a return trip to see the Gamecocks. He has an offer from East Carolina, and after attending camps at UNC and N.C. State, he thinks those two might offer soon. He also plans to visit Virginia Tech and Maryland.

Clemson commitment DB Devonte Holloman (6-3, 210) is transferring to South Pointe in Rock Hill from Independence in Charlotte. He maintains a strong commitment to Clemson, and his presence at South Pointe could help the Tigers with ATH Stephon Gilmore (6-2, 190), who is strongly considering Clemson, USC, Tennessee and Alabama.

DL Javon West (6-3, 275) of Crestwood has been offered by UAB, Hampton and Gardner-Webb. His teammate, DB Randy Moulds (6-2, 175), has an offer from Presbyterian.

A.C. Flora DL Darius Hammond (6-6, 260) impressed Clemson coaches in a recent camp, and Falcons coach Robin Bacon thinks the Tigers are close to offering. He has an offer from S.C. State and is drawing interest from USC.

A.C. Flora OL Trip Watson (6-4, 270) attended camps at Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Duke, and also has visited Wofford. He's also getting interest from Penn, The Citadel, Georgetown and Presbyterian.

A.C. Flora PK Grant Clayton (5-8, 170) visited Maryland last week and impressed the coaches there. He also did well at a camp at Central Florida. He has an offer from Air Force.

Sumter LB Quinn McClendon (6-4, 215) camped at USC and Clemson in June and might go to a camp at Virginia Tech. He has an offer from Kentucky.

Sumter junior QB Stephen Curtis (6-3, 205) camped at USC and Clemson and also is hearing from Tennessee and Maryland. Last season he passed for 1,800 yards and 18 TDs, completing 58 percent of his passes.

Basketball news

Junior point guard Eric Smith (6-0, 185) of Mullins visited USC and Clemson last week, and right now he has the Tigers out front. "I know the coaches well and they have been on me since day one." His offers right now are USC and Clemson and he's also hearing from Virginia Tech, Oklahoma, Cal and LSU.

6-3 CJ Harris of Winston-Salem cut his list to Clemson, Wake Forest and Virginia Tech and has no favorite.

6-5 Shaunesy Smith of Macon, Miss., is holding to a top three of Clemson, Mississippi State and Kentucky, and Baylor is creeping up on the leaders. Kentucky and Baylor have not yet offered.

6-5 Donte Hill of Virginia Beach, Va., was at Clemson for an invitational camp and is waiting to hear back from the Tigers regarding an offer, an offer that would likely lead to a commitment, according to his father. He has offers from Marquette, Old Dominion and George Mason. He also has camped at ODU and Marquette.

7-0 Matt Wilson of Raleigh impressed N.C. State coaches at a camp and was to meet with them last week. He recently visited UNC Wilmington and the College of Charleston and plans to visit USC. He's also considering Davidson.

All-State guard Shane Phillips of Wheeling, W.Va., plans to walk on at USC this fall, according to a TV report. In his state's North-South All Star Classic, he scored 12 points and won the 3-point and the free throw shooting contests.