South Carolina football recruiting: Gamecocks go after Hokies commit Caleb Farley; Emory Jones to visit|USC Hot Topics|Team BattleGround|College BattleGround

Gamecocks’ staff high on Virginia Tech commit

3-star 2017 athlete and current Virginia Tech commit Caleb Farley of Maiden, North Carolina is a player that the South Carolina staff is extremely high on. He was offered by the Gamecocks a week ago and his feedback to the offer, despite his commitment to the Hokies, has been positive. He plans to visit Columbia unofficially tomorrow. Farley is a stereotypical “diamond in the rough” type of prospect at this stage. He has been under-recruited but from his film you can see loads of potential in him to be a great player at the next level.

5-star QB Emory Jones will visit

The 2^nd ranked dual threat quarterback in the country for the class of 2018, 5-star Emory Jones of Georgia, was offered by South Carolina offensive coordinator Kurt Roper back on May 4^th. While the Gamecocks are not yet considered to be major player for Jones, in an interview with SEC Country reporter Hale McGranahan on Sunday, Jones said he would “definitely” be up to see Columbia at some point this summer.

Nation’s No. 2 dual-threat QB will ‘definitely’ visit South Carolina this summer https://t.co/pyWhKinz1Y

— Hale McGranahan (@Hale_AJC) May 16, 2016

Again, as of now, South Carolina isn’t considered to be a major factor, but this is obviously not a bad sign for the Gamecocks. Once you get a kid on campus, you never know what could happen. If nothing else, it shows that the current staff is capable of going out and attracting some of the top talent in the country, which bodes well for the program going forward.

Here’s some highlights of Jones in action:

USC still in the mix for Hayden

2017 3-star running back Chase Hayden of Collierville, Tennessee is still high on the Gamecocks and the feel is that South Carolina should be right there until the very end for his services. Hayden is a Tennessee legacy whose father played for the Vols, but even with that being the case, the Gamecocks have made a real impression on him thus far and remain in the mix to ultimately land him, which would be a huge coupe for the South Carolina staff.

Five stand out for Wren QB

Five schools currently stand out for 3-star Wren quarterback and Gamecock target Jay Urich: South Carolina, Duke, Furman, Coastal Carolina and Harvard. The Gamecocks remain in a great position for Urich, who is taking his time going through the recruiting process and making sure to weigh all of his options. It would still be a surprise if he chose anywhere over South Carolina at this point. Securing an Urich commitment would likely mean the Gamecocks are done recruiting quarterbacks for the 2017 class, unless a highly-touted prospect decided to come aboard last minute.

Highly-touted Georgia DT has Gamecocks on his radar

4-star 2017 defensive tackle MJ Webb of Madison, Georgia will visit South Carolina next week. Webb, who is ranked as the 6^th best strong side defensive end in the 2017 class, would be a huge pick up for the Gamecocks, who are currently battling Auburn, Georgia, Alabama, Florida and Clemson for his services.

Here are some of Webb’s highlights:

Four new offers extended

2018 tight end Judge Culpepper of Tampa, Florida was offered by the Gamecocks on Tuesday afternoon.

Excited to receive an offer from the University of South Carolina #Gamecocks #SpursUp pic.twitter.com/p9KH8lNRtH

— Judge Culpepper (@JudgeCulpepper) May 17, 2016

Culpepper, who currently holds offers from hometown Florida, Tennessee, Syracuse, Alabama, Michigan and North Carolina, stands at 6’4, 235 pounds as a rising high school junior. He is a monster blocker with soft hands to boot, and, as seen in this clip, he seems like a well-spoken kid with a good head on his shoulders. Solid offer by the Gamecocks’ staff to get in the game with him.

– South Carolina extended an offer Tuesday to 2016 3-star safety Jaylin Dickerson of Pinecrest, North Carolina.

#STRecruiting: USC Tuesday offered DB Jaylin Dickerson of Southern Pines, NC. https://t.co/HSWYLhPbhE

— SportsTalk (@sportstalksc) May 17, 2016

Dickerson, who also holds offers from Virginia, East Carolina, Charlotte and Appalachian State, does a little bit of everything for his high school team. No matter which side of the ball he’s on, Dickerson seems to make plays. He has good speed, feet and play-making ability. This is a smart, late offer by the Gamecocks’ staff on a kid that isn’t super highly recruited, but could end up being a solid college player. South Carolina should be a factor with him going forward.

– 4-star 2018 wide receiver Xavier Williams of Hollywood, Florida received an offer from South Carolina on Monday, his 30^th offer to this point.

Blessed To Receive My 30th Offer From South Carolina Gamecocks @RyanBartow @HamiltonESPN @moose_coach pic.twitter.com/4s1EaKkuxt

— Xavier Williams (@zayborghini_6) May 16, 2016

Williams holds offers from Alabama, Florida State, Georgia, Oklahoma and others. He’s a very smooth, fluid athlete on the field who has the ability to make men miss with the ball in his hands and the ability to go get the ball in the air on defense. It’s no wonder he has so many offers to his credit and the Gamecocks will really need to make an impression quickly in order to get into a position of staying power with him.

– The Gamecocks also reached out and offered 2018 running back Shaun Shivers of Hollywood, Florida on Monday.

Blessed to receive an offer from South Carolina #Gamecocks pic.twitter.com/FV4vl2cc06

— shaun shivers (@V8Blazing) May 16, 2016

Shivers is known as one of the fastest players in South Florida and although he is small, 5’7, 160 pounds, his speed sets him apart on the field. Both Shivers and Williams attend Chaminade-Madonna Prep and have prior relationships with South Carolina’s own Chris Lammons, who also hails from South Florida.

Here are some of Shivers’ highlights: