Recruiting Analysis - Offense

Notes on Recruits (Offensive Breakdown) that I have gathered from high school coaches, recruiting experts, and my own analysis of the recruit’s video. This list is not complete as I do not have info on every single recruit.

On offense, I do not have anything on WR Charles Holmes or any of the offensive line prospects. Of note with Holmes though is that he may not qualify academically and could be headed to prep school.

Andrew Clifford

6-3, 215 QB

Tampa, FL (Wharton)

-The lone quarterback signed by USC in this class, signed with the only FBS school to offer him.

-Accurate deep passer, but does not possess great arm strength.

-Makes quick reads of the defense, and does not hesitate to throw when he finds his man.

-He is somewhat mobile, not necessarily a scrambler, but can rollout to throw and does a good job of avoiding the rush – think Tony Romo with a little speed.

-Could excel with possession receivers – does well with a short three-step dropback, and throws crisp, well-timed passes on short routes.

-Seems to let some passes drift, sometimes tossing them too lackadaisical through coverages – those will get picked off in the SEC.

-He has good size, and if he can grow a little strength and weight wise, he may be one of the more impressive QBs physically in the SEC.

-Also of note: he comes from a football family. His dad played for the Florida Gators, he has two uncles who played for Clemson, and two different uncles who played for the Citadel. Two of his uncles are high school coaches.

Ben Axon

6-1, 195 RB

Bradenton, FL (Manatee)

-Has too much spinning and juking during his runs that will not work against SEC caliber tacklers.

-Has good vision and finds holes, but lacks speed to burst through them.

-Could develop into a solid power-back with work in the weight room.

-Doesn’t give up on plays when checked by defenders and keeps feet moving.

-Axon has some work to do academically before he can enroll in USC. If he does not make the grade, prep school placement will be an option for him.

Jarvis Giles

5-11, 168 RB

Tampa, FL (Gaither)

-Giles is all about speed, speed and SPEED. He has great acceleration to go along with that excellent speed.

-He is a bit undersized right now so he will need to hit the weigh room this summer and fall.

-He has great agility and can stop, turn, juke, spining, etc without losing much momentum.

-Can run through piles of defenders without being touched.

-A home run threat anytime he gets to the outside, but can find holes and explode through them with his incredible quickness.

-He hits his top speed almost instantly.

-I would describe him as “Percy Harvin-esque” (how bout that adjective?), and he is the Gamecocks’ best commitment on offense in my opinion.

-He enrolled early for the spring semester so that should give him a head start in the weight room, giving him a better chance for early playing time.

Justice Cunningham

6-3, 242

Pageland, SC (Central)

-Does a good job of finding the ball, is an adequate jumper, has soft hands, and runs routes well – as a pass catcher.

-Lacks speed and play-making ability.

-Tough to tackle because of his size, which is already sufficient for Division-1 football.

-Has a shot at playing DL if TE doesn’t work out, though USC needs the depth at TE and there is far more depth on the DL.

DeMario Bennett

6-3, 185

Douglas, GA (Coffee County)

-At 6-3, he has good height and above average jumping ability to catch jump balls.

-Has adequate speed, not a burner, and won’t break many tackles.

-May become a possession receiver as he played that role some in high school.

Alshon Jeffery

6-3 217

St. Matthews, SC (Calhoun County)

-Lacks great speed, a possession receiver for sure, but is deceptively quick.

-Uses size advantage to beat CBs to the ball, and then is tough to tackle consequentially.

-I am unaware of his blocking abilities, but he should be physically capable of blocking for the run game and short passes.

-Has soft hands and is already a polished pass catcher in that area.

-Jumping ability enhances height and times jump balls very well.

-Probably ready to make an immediate impact in the SEC as he appears to fit Spurrier’s system well – I would compare him to Sidney Rice in terms of his pass catching (jump balls, finding the ball in the air), but you could also view him as a Julio Jones type (from Alabama) who is very dangerous with the ball already in his hands.

-I feel he is a bit overrated as a prospect, but his ability to make an impact with his size, get immediate playing time, and the way he fits into Spurrier’s system will make him a great pick-up for USC in the end.

-As a DB – the qualities that make him a good receiver make him a good safety as well. Great hands and a knack for finding the ball in the air.

-Lacks speed to adequately cover receivers though, and would be a DB better suited for coverage-heavy defensive systems. Could have potential in a cover-3, but likely will not see that side of the ball in college.

Lamar Scruggs

6-3, 212

Jacksonville Beach, FL (Duncan U. Fletcher)

-Playmaker with the ball in his hands, but not a possession receiver solely.

-Has great speed and agility.

-Has quick feet and displays excellent balance in the air.

-Appears he could work on his route running ability, as he doesn’t seem to find many holes in the defense, but makes up for that with his physical attributes.

-Has similar size to Alshon Jeffery, but I am more impressed with Scruggs because of his speed. Jeffery is better at the jump ball while I can see Scruggs going over the middle of the field more often. Jeffery appears to have better hands.

-Scruggs has lots of raw talent and could be special once he is coached up.

-He also looks to be a potential kick or punt returner.

DeAngelo Smith

6-0, 170

Kingsland, GA (Camden County)

-Top speed better than any other receiver’s in USC’s ’09 recruiting class.

-His size is comparable to McKinley’s and combined with his speed, expect to see him line up in the slot.

-Appears to be open A LOT, which indicates to me his route running may need little refining.

-Runs the corner route well and catches the ball over his shoulder like a center fielder – Smith and Clifford would work well together in that regard.

-Not an underrated prospect, but fills a big need for USC as a slot receiver type – a bigger pickup than anyone is talking about in my opinion.

-He is among the four smallest commitments for USC (Payne, Giles, Smith, Legree), so a redshirt season is possible if he doesn’t make the two-deep.

WTF Monkey on the 2009 Recruiting Class

I have been following football recruiting very closely the last few years for the University of South Carolina. I am not an expert scout of talent by any means, but I have been paying attention to what the experts say, watching video on my own, and have even had to opportunity to talk to several high school coaches about prospects during this past recruiting cycle.

I will provide here, in my first blog, a fairly detailed recap and analysis of USC’s 2009 recruiting class. Included will be random notes, general assessments, and individual details.

All three major recruiting services (ESPN, Rivals, Scout) have USC ranked as the No. 12 recruiting class nationwide. That is interesting, considering there usually seems to be a significant amount of deviation between the three.

By nationwide positional rankings, Rivals ranks USC at 8^th for running backs and wide receivers, 1^st for defensive ends, 6^th for linebackers, and 2^nd for athletes. (Athletes are players who have the potential to play several different positions at the collegiate level, usually skill positions).

By nationwide positional rankings, Scout ranks USC at 5^th for linebackers, and 12^th for defensive backs.

The Gamecocks had great success recruiting in the state of Georgia this cycle. They landed eight recruits from that state, and it may be due to the fact that UGA only signed 18 commitments this cycle. Five of USC’s eight Georgia recruits were prep school players.

Steve Spurrier clearly still has plenty of pull and name recognition in the state of Florida. The Gamecocks once again found many great athletes in that state this recruiting cycle, signing seven prospects.

Several of the Sunshine State’s top prospects including running backs Ben Axon and Jarvis Giles, athlete Matt Coffee, wide receiver Lamar Scruggs, and linebacker Tony Straughter chose the Gamecocks. USC’s number of Florida commitments each cycle since Spurrier’s tenure at USC: 2005 (4), 2006 (4), 2007 (12), 2008 (2), 2009 (7).

The USC roster in 2009 should feature 25 players from the state of Florida, by far the most of any other state other than South Carolina.

The 2009 recruiting cycle features 12 offensive, and 17 defensive players, though many of them could play on either side of the ball (more on that later).

USC filled most every position of need with great talent, though I felt they should have signed one more tight end in this class. Very early in the process, the Gamecocks had Will Middleton out of Georgia committed, but each side seemed to back off of the pledge not too long after it was made. Justice Cunningham 6’3’’, 242 pounds out of Pageland, S.C. is the Gamecocks’ only TE in the class.

Another 2009 commit, Aldrick Fordham, played TE in high school, but will likely get a shot to play defensive line when he arrives on campus.

The only significant contributor at TE returning in 2009 for the Gamecocks will be rising junior Wesley Saunders.

On the offensive line, the Gamecocks would have been wise to sign one or two more lineman. They lost a key recruit at the very end in Quinton Washington of Timberland High School, who had been reported to be a South Carolina lean throughout the entire process, who signed with Michigan in the last couple of days of the process.

The offensive line will need to be an area of emphasis for USC in the 2010 cycle, and new offensive line coach Eric Wolford is already evaluating potential talent around the South.

In the final week, USC picked up their lone QB in the class in Andrew Clifford. The signal caller from Tampa, Fl. (yes, another one), had only one FBS offer, and only got it after a visit to USC’s campus with an evaluation by Spurrier and the staff.

Clifford seems very excited about being a Gamecock, judging by his post-commitment interviews, and the fact that he was the first recruit to send in his signed letter of intent before 8 a.m. on Wednesday morning.

The late push for Clifford is most likely a result of the early departures from the program by QBs Chris Smelley (transfer to Alabama) and Tommy Beecher (early graduation).

Had the USC staff had more foresight (if that was possible) to recognize their need for a QB, it would have been more likely that they would have pursued some more highly regarded QB prospects earlier.

As I mentioned earlier, many of the 2009 commitments can play on both sides of the ball. By my count, 13 of the 29 commitments for USC this year played two ways in high school. It is possible that many of the other 16 did too, but there is limited information on it.

Number of commitments classified as ‘athletes’ by recruiting service: ESPN (2), Rivals (4), Scout – does not use the ‘athlete’ classification.

Here is a list of the most versatile athletes in the 2009 class, and where they may play:

Player/Primary Position/Other Positions

Ben Axon/RB/LB

Alshon Jeffery/WR/LB,S

Justice Cunningham/TE/DE,LB

Ronald Byrd/DL/OL

Aldrick Fordham/DE/TE

Matt Coffee/OLB/SPUR,S,RB

Quinn Smith/OLB/S,FB

Corey Addison/CB/QB

Stephon Gilmore/CB/S,QB,WR

Devonte Holloman/S/OLB,SPUR,QB

DeMario Jeffery/S/OLB,SPUR

Jimmy Legree/CB/QB,WR,TB

Chris Payne/S/SPUR,RB

DJ Swearinger/S/SPUR,QB,WR

Make sure to make your way back to The Daily Gamecock’s Sports Blog, Carolina Pride, as I will give detailed analysis of many of the 2009 recruits on an individual basis. Look for that within the next several days!

Overall, the Gamecocks hauled in a highly versatile class with loads of talent. I have heard very positive things about the character of these players as well…more on that in the next blog.

Also impressive about this class was recruiting coordinator Shane Beamer’s ability to hold on to so many commitments amid so many assistant coaching changes on the USC staff after the season…which wasn’t that great itself, with the Gamecocks going 7-6 and losing their last three games.