The South Carolina football team got a nice Father's Day present as Arden Key (Lithonia, Ga./Martin Luther King Jr.) gave his pledge to join the 2015 Gamecock recruiting class.

The 6-foot-6, 205-pounder chose South Carolina over the likes of Georgia, Arkansas, Clemson, Kentucky, Louisville, Miami, Mississippi State, North Carolina and Ole Miss among others.

Key is one of the top defensive ends in the 2015 class as he ranks as the No. 3 weakside defensive end and No. 70 overall prospect in the 2015 class according to 247Sports.

This young man will make a immediate impact for USC and will be a great end-rusher for the USC defensive. Check out this video of him:

Welcome Mr. Key to Gamecock Nation!

It is official, the fifth commitment of the 2014 South Carolina Gamecocks football class is four-star tight end Kevin Crosby, Jr.  Just a few days ago, this Gamecocks blog had wrote about our wish that he would commit as the Gamecocks could use his talents.

The 6-foot-2, 236-pound prospect chose the Gamecocks over offers from the likes of Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Florida State and LSU. Just think, USC beat out some top schools (not talking about Clemson here) to get this young man and that says a lot about the direction of the program.

Last season, Crosby had 36 catches for 786 yards and 14 touchdowns. On defense, as a linebacker, he had 68 tackles with eight sacks, three interceptions and defensive two touchdowns.

Crosby is ranked the No. 6 tight end in the country by 247Sports. Getting Crosby will continue a long line of great talent at the tight end spot for USC. Expect to see a lot of two tight end sets in the future.

Check out these highlights:

The South Carolina Gamecocks are in the running to land another quality tight end as Kevin Crosby Jr. of Bamberg-Ehrhardt has USC in his final group. Will he choose the Gamecocks?

A decision from the young man could come Friday night or Saturday morning according to his coach and father Butch Crosby. Crosby Jr. is to announce his decision at Noon on Saturday at the Savannah Creek Baptist Church in Ehrhardt.

He use to be a "USC lean" but has since backed off that ledge. Now he states that he is considering USC, Clemson, Alabama, North Carolina and Florida with no leader.

I hope USC can land Crosby as he is a solid recruit. He ranks as No. 83 in the ESPN150 and one of the top tight end recruits in the country. He would be a perfect match with recent USC recruit Kalen Ritchie at tight end.

Well, we shall see.....I hope Crosby says "I want to be a Gamecock" real soon. The USC football team could use his talents.

The South Carolina Gamecocks should pursue Kendal Vickers again to be a member of the football team.

Vickers, of Havelock, N.C., has always wanted to be a member of USC but his standing on the academic side questioned his ability to play Division I. Now, he has the grades and USC should give him a chance. To me it shows the determination of the young man and this is exactly the kind of man USC needs. One that wants to be a Gamecock and one that will give it his all to make that happent.

Vickers will enroll at Georgia Military Junior College this fall and hopes to transfer to USC in January according to his coach. That transfer, of course, hinges on USC re-evaluating Vickers in the fall and deciding to take him. Vickers, a defensive end, would have four years to play three at USC. If USC "takes him" he will count towards the 2014 class.

Here is video of him in action:

In case you missed it, the South Carolina Gamecocks got a verbal pledge from D.J. Neal. This was on the heels of him making it known that it was on the horizon. On the surface, this may not appear like a big deal but it is for USC.

Here are the main reasons on why we think so:

- Neal chose USC over Tennessee. Always good to beat the other SEC teams for top recruits.

- He is a member of the Class of 2015 and he is a wide receiver that stands at 6-foot-2, 195 pounds. Read into this that the Spurrier factor still matters and this is a big target for the future USC QBs.

- His skill set is similar to the receivers who have been successful in Columbia, along with excellent hands to go with great body control. So expect to hear his name called in Willy B.

- He hails from one of the most successful programs in Georgia - Stephenson High. Getting another recruit out of that program helps establish roots for USC.

There you have it. Good pickup for USC football. Welcome, Mr. Neal.

South Carolina missed out on their top quarterback target for the Class of 2014 as Drew Barker chose Kentucky over being a member of the Gamecocks.

Barker was the only quarterback, thus far, that USC had offered.

Last season, Barker passed for 2,072 yards and 22  touchdowns while rushing for 1,455 yards and 18 touchdowns. No doubt he is good and this is a setback for USC in the recruiting hunt but life goes on. In fact, USC is pretty loaded at the QB slot and a result of that, they may not recruit a QB this cycle since losing out on Barker. So don't think the world has ended.

Our reaction....oh well. This again shows the beauty of recruiting as you feel you have a legit shot but don't count your "gamecocks until they hatch."

One thing is for sure, he may enjoy being closer to home and be the "big man on campus" at UK but I hope he enjoys looking up to USC in the SEC East.

So what will high school quarterback Drew Barker do? Will he choose to be a member of the South Carolina Gamecocks or stay in-state to be a member of the Kentucky Wildcats? On May 10th fans of these two programs will know for certain as Barker has stated that is the day he will "break some hearts."

Anyone that has follows USC recruiting knows that South Carolina quarterbacks coach GA Mangus has made Barker his number one target for the Class of 2014 and was one of the first to offer Barker. Safe to say a relationship has been built but quickly the Kentucky program has made up ground on getting Barker to think hard about leaving the state. The UK program has also made him a focal point for their recruiting efforts and it appears to made a dent in what once was a "lean" towards the Gamecocks.

So will he make a South Carolina pledge or choose UK or surprise all and go with Tennessee? Time will tell but this blog has concerns.

We once thought he was surely a USC guy but Big Blue Nation has worked him hard. On top of that, the messaging from Barker himself leaves one to assume as he is soaking up the attention in the direction of UK. I am sure it is hard to say no to the local school and be the "hero." Just ask Marcus Lattimore.

Are we giving up on Barker...no. We hope he realizes that USC's football program is way ahead of UK. For Barker, is it about being "the big fish in a small pond" at UK or going to be the main guy under center for a Top 10 football team?

I hope he sees that under Spurrier and as a member of USC that the sky is the limit.  

Drew Barker, make the right choice and choose USC. It may hurt to shun the in-state program but your future as a quarterback has so much more potential in Columbia, S.C.

The South Carolina Football program extended a offer to junior wide out Dexter Neal (6-3 195) of Stone Mountain, GA, and soon after Neal indicated on twitter that he is planning to pledge to be a member of the Gamecocks...check it out:

I need to make this #Gamecock official when should I officially become apart of the #GAMECOCKFAMILY

— ONS dj neal (@guapo_pluto) May 4, 2013

Even if you visit his twitter page it has a Gamecocks banner. Is it safe to assume he will be a Gamecock or will the likes of North Carolina, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech and Cincinnati (his other offers) be successful in changing his opinion?

Let's hope not as the Gamecocks could use his talent, check out the video:

The South Carolina football team got its third commitment of the 2014 recruiting class when three-star prospect Kalan Ritchie announced his commitment to South Carolina early this week. This was a solid gain for USC as Ritchie has all the tools to be the next USC tight end to make it on a NFL roster just like Justice Cunnigham and Jared Cook.

The tight end spot is deep at USC but Ritchie has the size, 6-foot-6 and around 220, to be the kind of tight end with a bright future. He has the ability to run the passing route but also hold his own along the line. Give this young man time and he will be a great addition to Spurrier's program.

Here is his highlights and I hope you see the potential too:

Linebacker Bryson Allen-Williams of Ellenwood, Ga., committed to South Carolina on Monday, is the right kind of recruit for the Gamecocks. He has tremendous upside on the field, is a high character kid and has the potential to be a great ambassador for the program.

Allen-Williams who had 88 tackles and 18 sacks last season, will play the weak linebacker spot with South Carolina. As noted earlier, he is a kid that will serve as a ambassador for USC so I am sure he will be asked to lean on other potential recruits; especially, the likes of running back Stanley Williams, wide receiver Terry Googer and defensive back Wesley Green.

Allen-Williams had long been favoring South Carolina. Over the weekend he updated his top three as the Gamecocks, Alabama and UCLA after garnering numerous other offers. This was a great "get" for USC and lord knows we need linebackers.

He’s the second commitment for South Carolina’s 2014 class.