Thursday News and Notes: Eric Mack Commits and other News

The big news this morning is that Eric Mack of St. Matthews Calhoun County gave his verbal commitment last night to stay home and play for the Gamecocks. This is a HUGE coup for us. Mack is Scout.com's 5th rated guard and Rivals.com's 6th. He chose us over a long list of suitors that includes some of the heavy hitters. A quick look at this ESPN evaluation will give you a taste of what this guy brings to the table. Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Miami; the list goes on and on. Tide fans are disappointed at not getting him, which tells you how good he is. The fact that a number of recent signees, including A. J. Cann and Brandon Golson of this year's class, that are Mack's buddies chose the Gamecocks undoubtedly influenced his decision. Our staff has done a good job of creating a pipeline at St. Matthews, which is a bigtime producer of talent. They deserve lots of credit for the job they're doing right now.

As Scout.com Jonathan Jolley says, Mack is part of what could come

to form what could be one of the best line classes in America this recruiting cycle

That's high praise. Go 'Cocks.

Other news for today:

C. C. Whitlock has been formally reinstated. This was only a matter of time after Whitlock was cleared of charges a few weeks ago, but it's now official. Good news.

Check out Sidney Rice's new blog.