Texas annually produces some of the top high school football players in the country, and last week Clemson landed a commitment from one of the best in the Lonestar State.
Defensive back Craig Loston (6-foot-3, 210 pounds) of Aldine picked the Tigers over Louisiana State University.
"I just feel like that is where I want to be,"
Loston said. "I feel at home at Clemson. I know I will get a chance to play early."
Loston actually initiated the contact with Clemson by sending them film. "They didn't know anything about me, and I put myself out there to them,"
he said. "I like the way they play, I like their style and I think I would fit in well with their defense."
Loston visited Clemson with his mother for the spring game, his first and only trip to the school. Last season, Loston totaled 68 tackles and three interceptions. He's the seventh commitment for Clemson's 2009 class and he plans to enroll in January.
A written offer from Southern California arrived in the mail last Friday for Columbia High School DB Damario Jeffery (6-3, 211). That's the 16th offer from Jeffery. Some of the others are South Carolina, Clemson, North Carolina, Virginia Tech, Alabama, Auburn, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Florida, Michigan and Nebraska.
USC assistant coach David Reaves was the first recruiter to visit Jeffery this week. Coaches from North Carolina and North Carolina State also came by the school. "He keeps saying he'd like to play in the SEC (Southeastern Conference),"
said Capitals head coach Kemper Amick.
Defensive end Chris Bonds (6-4, 283) of Richland Northeast High in Columbia picked up recent offers from Florida State, Virginia Tech, Purdue and Northwestern, according to RNE head coach Jay Frye. Coaches from USC, Michigan, FSU and Notre Dame have been by this spring. Bonds has visited USC, Southern Cal, Alabama and Virginia and will try to visit Tennessee, Michigan, Notre Dame and Miami.
Frye believes USC, Alabama, Notre Dame, Michigan, Southern Cal, Miami and FSU have moved toward the front with Bonds. "He wants to go to a school with a good engineering program,"
Frye said. "He wants to be in a football environment where he feels comfortable with the players and the coaches."
Michigan offered athlete Davis Sims (6-0, 208) and wide receiver Alshon Jeffrey (6-3, 217) of Calhoun County High in St. Matthews. Both also have offers from USC, Alabama, UNC, Tennessee and N.C. State. Sims' other offers are Georgia Tech, Wake Forest and Colorado. The other offers from Jeffrey are Kentucky, Southern Cal, Florida and FSU. Coaches from USC, Florida State, North Carolina, Michigan and Virginia visited last week.
USC is looking good with WR James Green (6-4, 200) of Tallahassee, Fla. "If I had a favorite, it most likely would be South Carolina,"
Green said. Gamecock assistant coach Shane Beamer is expected to visit the school this week. Green also likes Central Florida, Auburn and Mississippi. He feels the Gamecocks, Central Florida and Auburn are recruiting him the hardest.
USC also has an offer out to WR Willie Haulstead (6-3, 200) of Titusville, Fla. He also has offers from FSU, Purdue, Central Florida, South Florida, Auburn and Boston College. His top five are USC, LSU, Georgia, Miami and Florida with LSU the leader.
Clemson offensive coordinator Rob Spence checked on quartback Morgan Newton (6-5, 215) of Carmel, Ind., last week. "He spent about two hours with my coach going over stuff and looking at film,"
Newton said. Coaches from Cincinnati, Florida, Illinois, Purdue and Penn State also have been by the school. USC also is an offer and he expects a visit from the Gamecocks this spring, too. He does not have favorites.
Tight end Philip Lutzenkirchen (6-4, 240) of Marietta, Ga., has made a decision and plans to announce his choice at the conclusion of his spring practice May 16. Only his coach and family know the winner. He has offers from Clemson, Auburn, FSU, Georgia Tech, Mississippi State, Stanford and Troy. Clemson was one of his spring stops. "We have a house on Lake Hartwell, so that's a plus (for Clemson),"
he said. Lutzenkirchen is expecting Clemson coaches to visit his school this week. He caught 46 passes for 495 yards and seven touchdowns last season.
The top three with linebacker Hawatha Bell (6-1, 230) of Matthews, N.C., are USC, UNC and Virginia Tech, with the Gamecocks out front. He also has offers from Wake Forest, Miami, Illinois, Maryland, Duke, East Carolina and N.C. State. ATH Ray Ray Armstrong (6-4, 215) of Samford, Fla., has over 20 offers and is being recruited for QB and safety. USC is among his offers and he's expecting assistant coach John Hunt to visit his school. Some of his other offers are Southern Cal, Kentucky, Georgia, Purdue, LSU, Tennessee and Auburn. DE Izaan Cross (6-5, 253) of Flowery Branch, Ga., has seen recruiters from N.C. State, Mississippi State, Central Florida and Georgia come through his school this spring, and he's expecting USC's Beamer to stop by soon. Cross has offers from USC, Oklahoma, UCF, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest and West Virginia.
DB Dale Peterman (5-11, 175) of Youngstown, Ohio said last Friday he wants to commit to USC, but the Gamecocks have not yet seen him in person and aren't prepared to accept a pledge from him. "I plan to come down to a camp and talk more with the coaches,"
Peterman said. "I would rather play in the SEC than the Big 10. It's a faster game."
Peterman claims offers from USC, West Virginia, Bowling Green and Akron. He's also hearing from Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio State, Penn State, Pittsburgh and Purdue. Coaches from Pittsburgh, West Virginia, Penn State, Wisconsin and Purdue were by his school last week.
Recruiters from USC, North Carolina and N.C. State visited Dorman High in Roebuck last week to check on offensive lineman Brandon Thomas (6-4, 286), and he's expecting Clemson. Thomas nearly committed to Clemson last month.
"I did feel that way because I thought I was going to have to make my decision early,"
Thomas said. But he now plans to take official visits to Clemson, USC, UNC, Maryland and Vanderbilt before deciding. He said his top three are USC, Clemson and North Carolina.
LB Qua Huzzie (5-11, 207) of LaGrange, Ga., has offers from USC, Indiana, Memphis, Kentucky, Mississippi, Oklahoma State and Duke. He's also hearing from Auburn, Florida, Alabama and UNC. USC recruiter Robert Gillespie was by his school last week. Huzzie plans to visit Kentucky and Auburn this spring.
Gillespie also checked on WR Rashad Wynes (6-1, 211) of Warner Robins, Ga. The Gamecocks have not yet offered Wynes, who has offers from Alabama-Birmingham, Indiana, Troy, Ole Miss and Georgia Southern. He's also hearing from Oklahoma State and Oregon State. Wynes said his top three are USC, Ole Miss and UAB.
North Augusta High LB Brett Johnson (6-2, 206) is attracting looks from some major schools. Recruiters from LSU, UNC and Georgia were by last week. He's also hearing from Georgia, N.C. State, Vanderbilt, Purdue and Indiana. He has an offer from Air Force. USC and Clemson are among the more than 40 offers for DB Dre Kirkpatrick (6-3, 185) of Gadsden, Ala., and he's not eliminated anyone. He's hearing the most from Texas, Alabama and Auburn and attended spring games at Georgia, Alabama and Auburn.
TE Malcolm Bush (6-5, 235) of Hackensack, N.J., has a verbal offer from Clemson and is hoping recruiter Billy Napier will make it an official offer when he visits this month. "He wants to make sure I can catch the football," Bush said. Bush attended Clemson's spring game. He also visited Rutgers and will go to a 1-day camp at Florida June 8. Bush has a written offer from Connecticut and other verbal offers from Florida and Rutgers. He's also getting interest from Ohio State and BC.
LB Mike Marry (6-3, 210) of Largo, Fla., has offers from USC ("I talk to South Carolina a lot"), Arkansas, BC, Iowa, Kentucky, Ole Miss, Nebraska, Purdue, Florida, South Florida, Stanford, Vanderbilt, West Virginia, UCF and Duke. Last season, Marry had 142 tackles with four quarterback sacks and three interceptions.
DE Dyron Dye (6-5, 225) of Sanford, Fla., is holding 33 offers with USC and Clemson among them. Some of the others are Southern Cal, West Virginia, Florida, FSU,Miami, LSU, Auburn and Tennessee. Last season, Dye had 65 tackles with 13½ sacks.
WR Kendall Kelly (6-3, 205) of Gadsden, Ala., has offers from Clemson, USC, UNC, Colorado, Florida, FSU, Auburn, Oregon, Southern Cal, Tennessee, Virginia, Georgia, Alabama, Georgia and LSU. "Clemson is a school he's very interested in," said Ali Smith, an assistant coach at Kelly's high school. Clemson recruiter Dabo Swinney is expected at the school. USC is in touch with LB Phillip Bailey (6-2, 215) of Daytona Beach, Fla., and he talked recently with recruiter Steve Spurrier Jr. "He just said he'd love to have me up there," Bailey said. He's expecting Spurrier Jr. to visit his school this spring. Bailey has an offer from Florida International and also is hearing from Florida. Last season, he had 125 tackles and eight sacks.
RNE ATH Derek Frost (6-1, 180) is hearing from Louisville, Duke, Coastal Carolina and Wake Forest, and Cavalier running back Alexander Greene (5-8, 175) is drawing interest from Vanderbilt, ECU, Appalachian State, Coastal Carolina, Furman and Wofford. He rushed for 1,200 yards last season. DL Eric McDaniel (6-3, 297) of Calhoun, Ga., has no offers but is getting consistent interest from Clemson. He's also hearing from UCF, Alabama, Oklahoma State and Georgia Tech. OL John Sullen (6-6, 330) of Auburn, Ala., is hearing from Clemson, but the Tigers haven't offered. He has offers from Duke, Memphis, UAB, Georgia Southern and Jacksonville State.
