Clowney A Gamecock, Herbstreet and Cowherd Whiners

With an announcement in which anticipation had kept the recruiting world, or most of it anyway, on the edge of their seats for the last few weeks, South Pointe High School defensive end Jadaveon Clowney, the number one prospect in the country, selected the University of South Carolina Gamecocks as his school of choice to further his career.

While many suspected the Gamecocks were the leader all along, I had
maintained that he was going to be a Gamecock and that decision had been made for a long time. So, this was no surprise to me. There is little more to discuss about Clowney right now, as we have reviewed, evaluated, and discussed the impact he could have on the South Carolina program for the past few months. What I would like to comment on is the situation with ESPN, who is apparently the God of the sports world and now trying to own the recruiting industry. I have no problem with their coverage of recruiting and that they want to get in on the action, as well. What I do have a problem with is when their "faces" like Kirk Herbstreet and Colin Cowherd shout their opinions of how there was way too much hype around this situation and it wasn't necessary. Cowherd said this morning, and I paraphrase, was that Clowney didn't need to hold press conferences because he was a kid. If it bothers Ohio's golden boy and Cowherd that much, TAKE IT UP WITH THE GUYS THAT SIGN YOUR CHECKS! Your bosses at the
"mother ship" (or is it the Death Star?) are the ones who created this monster, fed it throughout the process, and then capitalized with the finale live showcase. You can't have it both ways...if there is too much hype around the "seventeen year old kids," QUIT VISITING THEIR CAMPUSES AND QUIT WRITING AND TALKING ABOUT THEM.

I, for one, will continue to give the kids the recognition they deserve.

Who Shot JR? Err..I mean, Where Is Jadaveon Clowney Going?

Don't want to age myself here, but this hole "Clowneygate" reminds me of the "who shot JR" from the old "Dallas" series. I get mutliple emails and texts every day wanting to know the answer to the biggest question on world of recruiting at this very moment - where is Jadavion Clowney (the top prospect in the country) going to play his college ball. I've maintained all along that I feel Clowney is a Gamecock and I think he's had his mind made up for a long time.

I base my recruiting opinions on the relationhsips that I've developed with these kids throughout their high school career. I think that the continual success of the South Carolina program is undeniably a factor. But there is much more to it than that. Life is about relationships and if you weigh that among the schools, the Gamecocks definitely have the edge there, with the Dixon brothers commitments, Devonte Holloman, who played his senior year with Clowney, and Stephon Gilmore, who has a strong on-field/teammate relationship with Clowney. When Roderick Byars committed to Oregon over SC, that gave me confirmation that Clowney was an SC guy and Byars already new it. There is no love loss between the two and for Byars to walk away from an SC offer told me there was more than what was meeting the eyes.

Projection: South Carolina.