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.