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Recruits falling into place for Prince

Mark Janssen Sports Editor

One by one, recruits are falling into place for coach Ron Prince's first Kansas State football recruiting class that now numbers in the mid-teens as for verbal commitments.

Of those, 10 come from the junior college ranks and six from the preps; 11 play on the defensive side of the ball and five on offense.

Another dozen or so prep and junior college talents are visiting the KSU campus this weekend with the headliner being 5-Star recruit Ervin Baldwin, a 6-3, 260-pound defensive end from Reedley (Calif.) Community College.

Baldwin, a native of Macon, Ga., has visited Michigan State and has plans to visit Marshall and Texas Tech.

''Ervin is very quick and strong,'' Mike White, Baldwin's junior college coach told KStateFans.com. ''He's a super edge rusher who gets after it. A high motor type guy who'll be very good the next few years.''

Also in town this weekend was Phil Loadholt, a 6-9, 325-pound offensive lineman from Garden City Community College.

Loadholt, a native of Fort Carson, Colo., was placed at Garden City by Colorado two years ago.

Giving verbal commitments in the last week with the Wildcats are Ray Cheatham, a 6-1, 185-pound corner back from Independence Junior College; Torey Huckaby, a 6-3, 200-pounder from Glendale (Ariz.) Community College; and, Chris Carney, a 6-1, 160-pound corner back from Mullen High School in Denver, Colorado.

Cheatham and Huckaby are 3-Star recruits, and Carney are 2-Star recruits.

"I just felt more comfortable there. The whole coaching staff really just made me feel comfortable," Cheatham told KStateFans.com. "Coach Prince is someone that tells you things like they are and I can go in and play there, and also get an education and graduate."

Cheatham, who will have three years to play three seasons, chose K-State over the University of Minnesota.

Of his decision, Huckaby said, "I've decided that I wanted to go to a big program and Kansas State showed me the most love."

Huckaby scored 93 tackles with seven sacks and three interceptions with Glendale.

Tim Horton, an assistant that came from the Air Force Academy, gets the credit for talking Carney out of the state of Colorado and into Kansas.

While recruited by the former KSU staff, Carney told KstateFans.com, "Coach Horton came by my school just to see film and talk, and he is just such a high energy guy. I mean, he told me that they were going to offer me and I just really connected with him. He is just a cool guy, him and coach Prince and I can not really wait to get down there and play for them."

Carney is ranked as the 89th best cornerback in the nation.

K-State also has received word from Scott Krehbiel, a 6-7, 272-pound offensive lineman from Pratt High School.

He is also considering Kansas, Tennessee, Colorado State and Arkansas.

Of the coaching change, Krehbiel, who recently underwent knee surgery, said, "To tell you the truth, the change actually helped a little bit. I have met with coach Prince and talked to him quite a few times, and I am very improvised with what he is planning on doing with Kansas State.

"I think coach Prince goes by his values and he is very honest. The impression that I got is not only is he a very good football coach, but he is an extremely respected man and he is going to be a well respected man there when others get to know him," Krehbiel said. "Kansas State is my favorite. They are in the lead right now."

Krehbiel will make his official visit to K-State on Jan. 21 or 28.

Freeman report

K-State quarterback signee Josh Freeman "tweaked" his knee this past weekend while playing in the US Army All-Star game in San Antonio.

"I do not think it's anything too bad," Freeman said. "I was hoping to get a little more playing time, but with my knee, I came out a little earlier."

Freeman, who enrolled at K-State earlier this week, is a 6-6, 230-pound quarterback from Grandview (Mo.) High School, who had earlier committed at the University of Nebraska.

Prince had actively recruited Freeman, a 4-Star recruit and listed as the 14th best quarterback in the nation, while an assistant at the University of Virginia.

"Kansas State offered a great combination in Josh being able to play for coach Prince and the chance for early playing time. On Josh's visit, he felt they had better facilities than what we expected," said Ron Freeman, the father of Josh. "Last spring we received more mail from Virginia than any other school."

Of his own skills, Freeman said, "I have deceptive quickness and speed. Defenders underestimate what I can do on the run. Throwing the ball is one of my best talents at the quarterback position. I throw the deep ball the best, and my underneath passes are something I also do well."

Verbal Commitments

Junior College

CB — Ray Cheatham, 6-1, 185, Independence (Kan.) Community College

LB — Torey Huckaby, 6-3, 200, Glendale (Ariz.) Community College

DT — Brandon Balkcom, 6-1, 280, NE Oklahoma A&M

S — Antwon Moore, 6-0, 210, NE Oklahoma A&M

LB — Justin Roland, 6-2, 240, NE Oklahoma A&M

TE — Michael Pooshke, 6-3, 245, NE Oklahoma A&M

LB — Courtney Edmond, 6-2, 220, Blinn (Texas) College

CB — Devin Anderson, 5-9, 170, NE Oklahoma A&M

RB — James Johnson, 6-0, 190, Blinn (Texas) College

S — Cedric Wilson, 6-1, 185, Garden City (Kan.) Community College

High School

CB — Chris Carney, 6-1, 160, Mullen (Colo.) High School

QB — Josh Freeman, 6-4, 225, Grandview (Mo.) High School

LB — Wayne Daniels, 6-1, 220, Kilgore (Texas) High School

DT — Zach Kendall, 6-5, 280, Harrisonville (Mo. ) High School

RB — Leon Patton, 5-7, 180, Dallas, Texas

 
USC's major recruiting weekend resulted in haul of commitments

Gamecocks take major step toward filling class of 2006

By PHIL KORNBLUT

Recruiting

USC's major recruiting weekend resulted in huge haul of commitments as the Gamecocks took a major step toward filling their class for 2006.

Committing to the Gamecocks while on their official visits over the weekend were defensive back Captain Munnerlyn (5-foot-11, 182 pounds) of Mobile, Ala., defensive back Darian Stewart (6-1, 204) of Huntsville, Ala., defensive end Terrence Campbell (6-4, 240) of Atlanta, LB Eric Norwood (6-2, 245) of Acworth, Ga., linebacker Vandaral Shackleford (6-0, 200) of Riverdale, Ga., offensive lineman Pierre Andrews (6-3, 280) of Charlotte, offensive lineman Heath Batchelor of Haleyville, Ala., and DL Olufemi Ajiboye (6-2, 275) of College Park, Ga.

Players who visited USC over the weekend but did not commit were defensive end Byron Isom (6-3, 260) of Lovejoy, Ga., defensive lineman Gavin Smith (6-4, 275) of Raleigh, linebacker Alonzo McQueen (6-1, 210) of Jacksonville, offensive lineman Hutch Eckerson (6-6, 270) of Lumberton, N.C., offensive lineman Mike Berry (6-4, 300) of Brentwood, Tenn., wide receiver Jared Mitchell (6-0 195) of New Iberia, La., and linebacker A.J. Jones (6-2, 195), offensive lineman Daron Rose (6-6, 320) and running back Kylan Robinson (6-4, 260) all of Tampa, Fla.,

Isom plans to decide later this week between USC and Auburn, and said it's 50-50 between the schools. Smith is a strong lean to USC after decommitting from N.C. State.

Jones has also visited Southern Cal, Alabama and Ohio State and is scheduled to visit Florida on Jan. 20. However, he plans to announce his decision Wednesday night and won't visit Florida if he doesn't choose them.

Eckerson has also visited Virginia and N.C. State and will visit Virginia Tech this weekend. He said his decision will come down to USC and Tech.

Berry has visited Auburn, Kentucky and Vanderbilt, and is choosing between the Gamecocks and Tigers.

Rose has also visited Michigan and South Florida and will visit Florida this weekend and Florida State on Jan. 27. Rose said he does not have a favorite, but USC moved up on his list.

Mitchell has visited LSU and will decide between the Gamecocks and the Tigers. LSU coach Les Miles is to be in his home today and USC coach Steve Spurrier is there on Tuesday. He will decide after his visit with Spurrier.

USC will have prospects on campus today for the Martin Luther King holiday, headlined by Richland Northeast defensive end Adam Patterson (6-3, 260) who will make an unofficial visit. Patterson visited Tennessee over the weekend. Also making an unofficial visit will be deep snapper Adam Way (5-10, 200) of South Florence who has been invited to join the team as a walk-on.

Making official visits will be defensive back Chris Duvalt (5-10, 165) of Lakeland, Fla., and tight end Dennis Godfrey (6-4, 260) of Sanford, N.C. Duvalt has also visited Ohio and West Virginia and will visit Illinois and Southern Miss after USC.

Clemson also played host to its biggest recruiting weekend of the campaign, with most of the prospects on campus having already committed to the Tigers.

The Tigers added a commitment from Shrine Bowl offensive lineman Jamal Medlin (6-6, 300) of Orangeburg-Wilkinson. He also had offers from USC, Maryland and N.C. State.

Non-committed prospects seeing Clemson over the weekend were defensive back Ochuko Jenije (6-0, 180) of Tallahassee, defensive end Rodney Prince (6-3 235) of Irondale, Ala., linebacker Kevin Alexander (6-4, 218) of Lake Butler, Fla., running back Marcus Sims (6-0, 211) of Tallahassee, running back Terry Grant (5-10, 180) of Lumberton, Miss.

Jenije said his decision will come down to Clemson and Florida State. Tigers coach Tommy Bowden is to visit him Tuesday.

Linebacker Julius Wilkerson (6-3, 205) of Gaffney, who has been a Clemson commitment, was scheduled to visit over the weekend but did not make it in.

Clemson has one official visit scheduled for today: running back C.J. Spiller (5-11, 185) of Lake Butler, Fla. . He has been to Southern Cal and will visit Miami this weekend and Florida State on Jan. 27.

Furman picked up commitments from linebacker Channing Welch (6-0, 231) of Fayetteville, Ga., and quarterback Cody Worley (6-2, 200) of Calhoun, Ga.

Newberry gained a commitment from running back Jeriall Brannon (6-1 245) of Broome.

Defensive end Dekoda Watson (6-2, 210) of South Aiken visited Florida State over the weekend instead of North Carolina. In fact, he has dropped the Tar Heels from his list. He has also been to USC and will visit Tennessee this coming weekend and Virginia Tech on Jan. 27.

Defensive lineman David Williams (6-3, 230) of White Knoll visited Central Florida over the weekend and committed to the Golden Knights.

Shrine Bowl quarterback Stan Doolittle (6-3, 185) of Ninety Six committed Sunday to Gardner-Webb over Presbyterian and Appalachian State.

Byrnes wide receiver Jamar Anderson (6-0, 175) committed to The Citadel last week, according to his coach Bobby Bentley. This season Anderson caught 79 passes for 1,374 yards and 17 touchdowns.

USC was working defensive lineman Reggie Odom (6-2 285) of Deland, Fla., but he said last week he decided not to make a visit after not getting an official offer in advance. He will visit Mississippi State this weekend and Marshall on Jan. 27.

Defensive end Brian Whitmore (6-4 250) of Chesapeake, Va., has backed off an early commitment to Maryland and is making other visits. He was at North Carolina over the weekend and is scheduled to visit USC this coming weekend and Virginia Tech on Jan. 27.

Defensive end Justin Curry (6-3 225) of Buford, Ga., made an unofficial visit to Clemson on Saturday. He was not offered by the Tigers. He is scheduled to make an official visit to USC this weekend and then one to North Carolina on Jan. 27. Neither has offered at this point.

Defensive lineman Chris Donaldson (6-3, 260) of Westside will visit S.C. State this weekend. He also has offers from Appalachian State and Western Carolina.

Quarterback Justin Cramer (6-2 190) of Summerville will visit Liberty this coming weekend. He has an offer from Newberry and is also getting interest from Charleston Southern and The Citadel.

Orangeburg-Wilkinson defensive lineman Zack Middleton (6-2 265) visited Howard over the weekend. He has visited Furman and will visit Navy on Jan. 27.

USC leads for Lake Worth, Fla., defensive lineman Kenrick Ellis (6-5 335). Ellis has visited Tennessee and Rutgers. He is scheduled to visit USC this weekend and Michigan on Jan. 27.

Offensive lineman Josh Harrison (6-6, 290) of Lake City visited Wingate over the weekend. He will visit S.C. State this weekend and Newberry on Jan. 27.

Quarterback Armanti Edwards (6-1, 175) of Greenwood visited Elon over the weekend. He will visit Appalachian State this weekend and Western Carolina on Jan. 27.

Appalachian State offered Strom Thurmond quarterback Co Co Hillary (5-10, 185) last week and he visited over the weekend. He said he is favoring the Mountaineers but will visit Carson Newman this weekend and then Tusculum.

Offensive lineman Chandler Rearden (6-3 250) of Greenwood will visit Liberty this weekend and Appalachian State on Jan. 27.

Tight end Antuanne Kerr (6-5, 215) of Prince Avenue Prep in Pickens will visit S.C. State on Jan. 27.

Linebacker David Erby (5-11, 185) of Rock Hill will visit S.C. State this weekend and Western Carolina on Jan. 27.

Wide receiver Andre Roberts (6-0, 165) of Spring Valley was scheduled to visit Coastal Carolina over the weekend. He has also been to The Citadel.

Running back Gerald LeGree (5-11, 180) of Beaufort will visit Newberry on Jan. 27. He also plans to visit Mars Hill.

Linebacker Craig Brewton (6-0 185) of Byrnes visited Catawba over the weekend and is visiting Tusculum.

Wide receiver Steven Goulet (6-3, 185) of Dutch Fork made his official visit to Vanderbilt over the weekend. He has been committed to the Commodores and remains so.

Defensive lineman Kareem Crowell (6-5, 300) of Tallahassee visited Auburn over the weekend. While he remains committed to the Tigers, he plans to take an official visit to Clemson this coming weekend.

Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis called Richland Northeast coach Jay Frye late last week about his two highly regarded juniors, wide receiver Mark Barnes (6-3 190) and defensive back Gary Gray (5-10 165). "Looks like they (Notre Dame) will offer both," Frye said. Gray was offered by Clemson over the phone Saturday. He made an unofficial visit to USC on Saturday for the basketball game.

Sophomore wide receiver A.J. Green told the Charleston Post and Courier last week he favors USC and Georgia. Green is one of the nation's highest rated players in his class. Gamecock head coach Steve Spurrier spoke at his high school banquet last Thursday night.

 
Early offers raise mixed emotions

By MICHAEL CARVELL

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Published on: 01/16/06

Florida quarterback Chris Leak will forever be a part of recruiting folklore after receiving his first football scholarship offer in the eighth grade.

Leak was spotted while Wake Forest coaches were recruiting his older brother, C.J. NCAA rules prohibit colleges from making official offers until a player's junior year, but legend has it that Wake let its intentions be known in an indirect manner.

"It's not too hard to get around that rule: The recruiter will tell the high school coach, 'We can't offer him until he's a junior, but when that time comes, he'll have an offer,' " Scout.com recruiting analyst Scott Kennedy said.

The topic of early scholarship offers is one of the hottest issues in recruiting. While Leak's situation is rare, it's becoming more and more popular for college coaches to make offers to players during their junior seasons.

High school coaches have mixed emotions about players being offered as juniors — or earlier.

"Some players tend to fade after committing early," said Stephenson coach Ron Gartrell, whose program has turned out dozens of big-time prospects, including Georgia Tech's Reggie Ball and Georgia's Kregg Lumpkin and DeMario Minter.

"If a player has committed before the end of his senior season, he may feel like he has nothing else to prove. If that player gets injured, he may not feel motivated to return on schedule.

"On a positive side, some kids who get a lot of early offers tend to make a commitment to academics to get qualified.

"Also, with everyone knowing they have offers, some players take their game to another level to show that they were worthy of the offers."

Tucker coach Bill Ballard, whose former players include Georgia's Thomas Brown and Tennessee's Jabari Davis, said he wishes the NCAA would make colleges wait to offer until after a player's senior season.

"This is an issue that every high school coach in the state is learning to have to deal with because the recruiting process has accelerated so tremendously," Ballard said. "In some ways, it is out of control.

"You always want the best for your kids, but sometimes it's hard to keep a player grounded if he has a bunch of offers as a sophomore or junior."

LaGrange coach Steve Pardue says he has a junior, defensive end D.J. Stafford, who got scholarship letters last fall from Auburn and Kentucky, among others. Pardue said early offers have been a positive for his players, motivating them to focus on academics.

But he's not an advocate of early offers.

"I'm not particularly crazy about it because you have so many kids that really don't develop until their senior year," Pardue said.

"However, by then, the colleges may be caught up in other guys they offered early. Then those deserving seniors may get overlooked.

"But I understand why the colleges do it: They want to be the first one to offer a super prospect. It's just so competitive in the recruiting business."

Roland lures former players to Louisiana

Former North Gwinnett coach Dennis Roland, now the coach at Southeastern Louisiana, got commitments from three of his former players — quarterback Bradd Schlosser, wide receiver Crawford Kilpatrick and offensive tackle David Ward.

"He's such a great man in a lot of ways — not only on the football field, but in a lot of ways," Schlosser said.

"He's been a real good influence."

Schlosser, who passed for 2,443 yards and 25 touchdowns, chose the Lions over Charleston Southern and Tennessee-Martin.

 
Another defensive end commits to Seminoles

By Jim Henry and Steve Ellis

DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITERS

Kevin McNeil felt at home at Florida State during his official visit over the weekend.

In fact, McNeil, a 6-foot-3, 245-pound defensive end from Camden County High in Kingsland, Ga., felt so comfortable that he committed to FSU on Sunday.

McNeil pushes FSU's commitment total to 18 with National Signing Day on Feb. 1, less than three weeks away.

FSU recruiting coordinator John Lilly has said the Seminoles hope to sign at least 25 players.

McNeil told Scout.com that FSU “felt like home. I am not going to take any more visits.” McNeil had visited Louisville and was scheduled to visit Georgia next weekend.He had 17 tackles for loss and seven sacks last season.

McNeil's commitment is FSU's second from a defensive end. The first, Justin Mincey, currently is attending Hargrave Military Academy.

Also, Brandon Walker, a junior-college All-American who visited FSU this weekend, now lists FSU as his favorite over Oklahoma and Arizona State. Walker played at Coffeyville (Kan.) Community College this season and is scheduled to graduate in May.

Loves Canes

Many wondered whether Miami's recruiting class would be impacted by head coach Larry Coker's decision to fire four assistant coaches two weeks ago, including veteran Art Kehoe.

Kehoe, who also played at Miami, had been part of the program for 27 seasons and has five national championships. He was recently hired at Mississippi.

One of Miami's 14 commitments is Rickards High cornerback Ryan Hill. Hill, the cousin of former Florida State standout Corey Fuller, remains firmly committed to the Hurricanes, according to Rickards coach Maurice Belser.

"As far as I know, he was not changed at all," Belser said.

"He loves Miami, not any particular coach. He has seen coaching changes before."

NFC running back/linebacker Marcus Sims, who visited Miami on Dec.16, continues to list the Hurricanes among his favorites.

However, he has said that UM hasn't been in contact with him since his visit and that Coker's decision to fire running backs coach Don Soldinger could factor into his final decision.

Miami has received commitments from two running backs - Craig Cooper of Memphis, Tenn., and Javarris James of Immokalee. James, however, has said he plans to make other visits due to the firings.

Former Army coach Todd Berry was named UM's quarterbacks coach Friday, the first hiring by the Hurricanes since Coker's house cleaning.

Berry spent the past two seasons as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Louisiana-Monroe. He was fired by Army in October 2003 after going 5-35 in parts of four seasons.

Team rankings

Florida, at the moment, currently boasts the nation's top recruiting class, according to Rivals.com. National champion Texas, Notre Dame, Southern Cal and Georgia round out the top five. FSU is currently seventh behind LSU, while Miami is No.18.

Family ties

Safety Anthony Leon of Miami Gulliver Prep is one of FSU's 17 commitments. He has good bloodlines, too.

Leon, who visited FSU this weekend, is the cousin of former Miami great Sean Taylor, now a starter with the Washington Redskins. Leon, a 6-foot-3, 210-pounder, also is an excellent basketball player, earning all-state honors last season. Leon has said he wants to play basketball at FSU.

On the road

Tailback C.J. Spiller of Lake Butler Union County is a traveling man.

Spiller visited Florida over the weekend, attending the Gators' home basketball game on Saturday against Auburn. UF beat the Tigers 69-57 to move to 16-0.

At one point during the game, the Gators' student section began chanting, "We want Spiller." Spiller sat next to UF football coach Urban Meyer during the game.

RECRUITING '06

Spiller departed for Clemson late Sunday for an official visit. Spiller says he will visit Miami next weekend and conclude his visits at FSU on Jan.27.Updates are available daily in the Tallahassee Democrat and online at Tallahassee.com.

 
From Daily Camera:

Dan Hawkins has his first commitments as the head football coach at Colorado.

Hawkins, who replaced Gary Barnett last month, received two verbal commitments over the weekend for the 2006 recruiting class, according to recruiting Web sites. Both are defensive linemen, and one is rated as a three-star player. The Buffs now have 10 known commitments.

Jason Brace, a 6-5, 240-pound defensive linemen, comes from the Pacific Northwest, where Hawkins and most of his staff already have strong connections. Brace, out of Spanaway, Wash., is rated three stars by Rivals.com and is the No. 45 D-end in the nation, according to the Web site.

He also had a scholarship offer from Boise State, Hawkins' former school. He chose Colorado over Oregon, Oregon St., Washington, Washington State and UCLA.

While the Buffs used connections with their new staff to get Brace, they used connections with their old staff to nab B.J. Beatty. Beatty is from Hawaii, the home state of veteran assistant Brian Cabral.

Cabral was hired by Hawkins from Barnett's staff and has pulled several key players from Hawaii in the past. Senior defensive tackle Vaka Manupuna is expected to have a chance to play in the NFL, while linebacker Jordon Dizon was the Big 12 defensive rookie of the year two seasons ago.

Beatty, who won a state title this year in Hawaii at Kahuku High School, has more connections to CU. His uncle, Chris Naeole, was a consensus first-team All-American guard for the Buffs in 1996 and plays for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Boise State also offered a scholarship to the 6-2, 200-pound Beatty, rated as a two-star player by Rivals. The Honolulu Advertiser's defensive player of the year in Hawaii chose Colorado over the Broncos and New Mexico State.

Hawk speaking on Feb. 13

New Colorado football coach Dan Hawkins will be the featured speaker at the Feb. 13 banquet of the Colorado Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame.

The date for the banquet was incorrectly reported in Sunday's Daily Camera. It will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 13 at the Denver Tech Center Marriott. Tickets are available at 303-898-9260.

 
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