Virginia running back ‘enjoyed every second of’ South Carolina official visit

Four-star running back Ramon Brown of Midlothian, Virginia is one of the top running back prospects on the South Carolina recruiting board, and he spent two days this week in Columbia on an official visit.

Brown (5-11, 202) had the Gamecocks in his top seven going into the visit, and it appears they will remain on his board as he continues with the process.

“It was a great trip. South Carolina showed great hospitality. Coach Hardesty kept it real, a hundred percent. I just enjoyed every second of it.”

South Carolina has a talented running back room led by Kevin Harris and MarShawn Lloyd. Great backs often attract other great backs, and USC running backs coach Montario Hardesty showed Brown plenty of what he could do in the Gamecock backfield.

“Coach Hardesty and I chopped it up and watched film in a little one-on-one session,” Brown said. “I think I would fit. We’ve got a great relationship.”

All in all, Brown called his experience at USC a good one, and the visit left him with a positive feeling.

“Lot of things stood out that gave me a good feeling, that felt like home and I could see myself playing there,” Brown said. “Taking a tour and seeing around the campus and the downtown area, just things like that.”

Brown has also taken an official visit to West Virginia. He has an official visit to Penn State this weekend followed by official visits to Maryland and Virginia Tech. He also plans an unofficial visit to Tennessee in late July. He is looking at August for making his decision.

“I put out my top seven a while ago, so there isn’t an order yet,” Brown said. “It’s all over the place. Those are my top seven right now. I’ll probably cut it down after I take all my official visits and I can make my decision from there.”

That top seven was USC, Kentucky, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Penn State, Maryland and West Virginia.

In a seven-game spring season earlier this year, Brown rushed for 871 yards and 14 touchdowns.

For local receiver on USC visit, ‘the love was unreal’

Former Dutch Fork and Ole Miss basketball star Murphy Holloway has a new role these days: guiding stepson Antonio Williams through the twists and turns of the recruiting process.

Williams, from Dutch Fork High School, is one of the nation’s top receiver prospects, a four-star and ranked 22nd nationally at the position by the 247Sports Composite. Last Friday he visited USC, and Sunday he was at Clemson.

Holloway was with Williams for much of the USC trip before leaving for a wedding in New York.

“South Carolina went good, it was a lot of love,” Holloway said. “We actually got to see the campus. Everybody was real nice and it was family oriented. Antonio enjoyed it. We all enjoyed it. Shane Beamer, Justin Stepp, they were amazing. I was kind of blown away. It was amazing.

“We watched the team work out. He’s never seen workouts at that level. Seeing those kind of workouts and being able to see the guys interact, and see how much they feed them he was blown away by stuff like that.”

Holloway said they got a tour of the facilities along with an inside look at the life of a USC football player.

Beamer and Stepp have made it clear to Williams how much he’s wanted for their program. They view him as a centerpiece for the recruiting class and a major part of their rebuilding. Holloway said his son couldn’t help but notice the passion the coaches had for him.

“He appreciated the love a lot,” Holloway said. “He said the love was unreal. That was his first visit. He felt comfortable. And I know he likes Coach Stepp. They are in contact a lot. I think their relationship is great. I know Antonio definitely enjoys them showing as much interest as they do. That’s a big part of recruiting, feeling like you are wanted and feeling like you might be a missing piece to their success. I think he likes it a lot.”

Holloway was not with Williams on the Sunday trip to Clemson, but he got some feedback from him on his time with the Tigers.

“He said it was nice,” Murphy said. “The campus was real nice. The facilities were real nice. It’s Clemson. He didn’t say much about his relationship with the coaches, but he had a good time. You’ve got to look at the two programs as far as wants and needs. Carolina needs some good wide receivers right about now. Clemson has a good amount, and everyone wants to come there. I feel like Carolina is doing a great job pursuing him.”

This weekend Williams plans to visit Georgia and Auburn. Alabama, which has not offered and wants to see him in camp, is a possibility for Sunday, though Holloway said there’s no real sense in going without an offer. And the following weekend will be spent at Ole Miss.

“It’s on him when he wants to make his decision,” Holloway said. “After he takes these visits, he still has his official visits left, and I figure he’ll go see schools that are a little farther away from here. But I’m not sure when he’ll want to make his decision.”

Last season Williams had 51 catches for 837 yards and eight touchdowns. He amassed 1,504 total yards.