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Recruiting Rumor: Nickell Robey to USC?

Hearing Nickell, who's coming off an official visit this weekend, will likely sign with SC on Wednesday. Nickell's commitment to UGA was pretty much over when Willie Martinez was fired as DC and word is he wants to be coached by Monte Kiffin at the next level.  Here's some info from SouthernPigskin.com:

Four star super quick Nickell Robey is at Southern Cal this weekend. While Robey was flying to USC, his father notified Georgia’s Mark Richt that Robey will not be signing with the Bulldogs. Monte and Lane Kiffin from USC and Bill Stewart, Dave Johnson and Steve Dunlap from WVU have made several trips to Frostproof over the past week. With a mid week visit to USF this past week, it appears the Bulls are out of it and Robey has not met the new Tennessee staff so obviously they aren’t in the mix any longer. 

For Robey it is a Southern California verses West Virginia battle. Robey will have a press conference at Frostproof on Wednesday with all the bells and whistles including two hats on the table. Word is he doesn’t have a WVU hat, take that for what it’s worth. This one is too close to call.

Obviously a lot can change between now and Wednesday, but things look good at this point.  From everything I've seen and heard, this would be an excellent pick-up for SC.  Nickell, although undersized, is one of the fastest and toughest corners in the South.

Coaching: Aaron Ausmus Hired as Strength & Conditioning Coach

Another former UT coach will join Lane's staff.

Recruiting: Updated Official Visit List

Following up from yesterday's post, here's the updated list:

Added

• Marquis Jackson (brother of Malik Jackson)
  Height/Weight: 6'4, 235lbs
  Position: DE
  Ranking: 4-star (Rivals), 4-star (Scout), N/A (ESPN)
  Status: Committed to UCLA

• Jordan Zumwalt
  Height/Weight: 6'4, 220lbs
  Position: LB
  Ranking: 4-star (Rivals), 4-star (Scout), 3-star (ESPN)
  Status: Committed to Stanford

Cancelled

• Corey Nelson
  - Corey cancelled his trip after going through a recruiting whirlwind the past 24 hours.  It was reported this morning that Corey switched his commitment from Texas A&M to Oklahoma, which was later reported to be untrue.  Corey reaffirmed his commitment to Texas A&M.

• Latwan Anderson
  - Rumor is Latwan is looking to get back in the mix with Ohio State after Jordan Hicks committed to Texas today.  OSU had 2 scholarships remaining before today: one for Seantrel Henderson and the other for Hicks.  Latwan might get the offer soon.

• Eddrick Loften
  - Firmed up his commitment to Tennessee.

Go get 'em Lane!

Recruiting: Official Visit List for Final Weekend

Big weekend for recruiting.  Here's the official list:

• Corey Nelson
  Height/Weight: 6'0, 210lbs
  Position: OLB
  Ranking: 4-star (Rivals), 5-star (Scout), 4-star (ESPN)
  Status: Committed to Texas A&M

• Nickell Robey
  Height/Weight: 5'8, 165lbs
  Position: CB
  Ranking: 4-star (Rivals), 4-star (Scout), 4-star (ESPN)
  Status: USC/WVU

• Dietrich Riley
  Height/Weight: 6'1, 200lbs
  Position: S
  Ranking: 4-star (Rivals), 4-star (Scout), 4-star (ESPN)
  Status: USC/UCLA

• Latwan Anderson
  Height/Weight: 5'11, 185lbs
  Position: S
  Ranking: 5-star (Rivals), 4-star (Scout), 4-star (ESPN)
  Status: Committed to WVU

• Demar Dorsey
  Height/Weight: 6'0, 175lbs
  Position: S
  Ranking: 4-star (Rivals), 4-star (Scout), 5-star (ESPN)
  Status: USC/FSU (Decommited from UF this week)

NFL Draft: Stafon Johnson Senior Bowl Interview

DraftNasty.com has a video interview with Stafon Johnson at Senior Bowl.  Good to see Stafon motivated and in high spirits again.

Recruiting: Giovanni Di Poalo Reaffirms Commitment to USC

From ESPN.com:

"He's a USC commit," Therrien said Tuesday morning.

"We weren't in school yesterday, but I talked to him today and he's here wearing a USC sweatshirt," Therrien said.

Therrien also added that Di Poalo has canceled the visit to Oregon and will sign with the Trojans next Wednesday.

"When all that coaching stuff was up in the air, he was up in the air," Therrien said. "But he's back with USC now."

Big news.  I had a good feeling about Giovanni coming back on board.  I think he's an underrated prospect that can be elite if he's able to put on the proper weight.  Right now he's listed at 260lbs but a redshirt year should do big things for him.  He reminds me sort of Jeff Byers.

Preferably we land 3 O-Linemen in this class.  With Giovanni locked up, the ideal situation would be commitments from Seantrel Henderson and Chaz Green. Definitely a possibility.

Coaching: Joe Barry Named New USC Linebackers Coach

Joe comes from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and will reunite with Monte Kiffin. He has roots at SC as a former player and graduate assistant.

Kiffin continues to dial up the hatred from Tenn fans as Joe was recently being considered for the Tenn DC job.

NFL Draft: Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank's Letter to Stafon Johnson

Very nice gesture:

http://blogs.usatoday.com/gameon/2010/01/under-armour-to-uscs-stafon-johnson-a-little-something-for-the-effort.html

Make sure to watch Stafon at Senior Bowl game this Saturday.

Coaching: Willie Mack Garza Leaving Tennessee to Join USC Coaching Staff

And you thought Tennessee fans hated Lane Kiffin before?  That dial has been turned up another level.

Mack was one of the few remaining pieces of stability in UT recruiting.  UT just landed Justin Hunter this week after losing Markeith Ambles (who many expect will end up at SC); now they might potentially lose Hunter (among others) with Mack leaving.  This is a big blow for UT recruiting.

On to Willie Mack, this is a great hire by Lane.  Mack has tons of coaching experience and is a excellent recruiter.  He'll likely end up being the defensive backs coach, which on a side-note might seal the deal for Dietrich Riley to commit to SC, and will be big in making in-roads into Texas recruiting since he has a lot of roots in the state.

Video: USC Kyle Prater Army All-American Bowl Highlights & Interview

Kyle only had a few catches so the highlights are few and the interview is slanted towards the "NCSA", but the quality of the video is excellent and you get a nice on-field perspective.