Gilmore the Gamer
posted by David Cloninger, 10/14/2008 05:46:00 PM
------------------- PRINCE
I try not to get too caught up in the manic nature of recruiting rankings. It simply does not do to glorify an 18-year-old who may change his mind at the drop of a hat.
But I'm having a hard time not getting excited when discussing Stephon Gilmore.
I first heard of him when I was slogging away at The Herald, working on some godforsaken story about a 13-year-old race car driver, when I answered the phone. Preseason football practice was about to start and the guy on the other end -- it was a Gilmore, although I can't recall if it was his father or uncle or what -- was promising me great things.
He said to expect great things from South Pointe with Stephon at quarterback. Me, knowing full well how first-year football programs usually are, politely thanked him, hung up and thought, "Proud Family Syndrome."
That all changed the first time I saw him play. It was South Pointe's inaugural game and Gilmore, then just a freshman, was cutting and throwing his way all over the field. The Stallions, befitting their youthful nature, went undefeated in their first year of non-varsity ball, then hit the big-time, winning three and then nine games in their first two years.
Now they're 7-0 with that undefeated freshman team holding onto four years of work.
I tried, Lord, how I tried, to keep it reasonable by following my rules of recruiting. Never get too excited about a verbal commitment, because in the words of a former journalism professor of mine, verbal contracts aren't worth the paper they're not written on. Never praise a recruit too much until they get into school. Never say one recruit's better than another unless you've seen them all play several times.
But Gilmore kept getting better and better. Every flaw I could find in the way he played was corrected in what seemed like a span of five minutes.
He was only a running back with an above-average arm, I said, so he threw for 1,800 yards. He wasn't getting his teammates involved, I said, so he turned Devin Wherry and Charles Holmes and Pete Roseboro and scores of others into solid college (any level) prospects. He was taking too many chances, I said, so he embarked on hopeless runs and dead pass routes that never did anything but work.
When he pulled that USC hat on during Tuesday's ceremony, I didn't feel excited that USC was getting a four-star recruit or that his presence would probably boost the Gamecocks' rankings into the Top 20. I've already discussed my opinion of rankings.
What I was excited about was I get to keep watching this kid play.
The best thing I can say about Stephon Gilmore is he falls into that rare "gamer" category, a spot I hold vacant until I see someone who mimics Syvelle Newton. Covering him in high school and college, I couldn't begin to count the times Newton turned nothing into something.
He was a different player with the ball in his hands. Gilmore is the same way.
They project him as a cornerback, which means he should feasibly be able to compete right away after seniors Carlos Thomas and Stoney Woodson are done this year. Three of the other four starting defensive backs are NFL-eligible, so Gilmore may get a shot there too.
He's following in the line of defensive backs from York County -- think Rick Sanford, Chris Hope, Johnathan Joseph. All of those became great and Gilmore may be the next one.
After watching him play several times over the past four years, he's that kind of player that fans want with the ball in his hands. Gilmore said coach Steve Spurrier told him he may get a few reps at quarterback -- and with the way the Head Ball Coach talks about Newton and the desire to have another like him, that's possible -- and he was looking forward to get to Columbia.
Me too.
I've been fooled too many times before by high-ranking prospects never living up to their hype. That's a big reason why I like to judge recruits by how I see them play.
Gilmore has never looked like anything but a superstar.
My only problem now is trying not to build him up too much before he ever gets on campus. Stephon Gilmore is a great player but he has yet to play a college snap, much less an SEC snap.
Of course, I said the same thing about Ko Simpson.
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"I've seen the future and it works."
------------------- PRINCE
I try not to get too caught up in the manic nature of recruiting rankings. It simply does not do to glorify an 18-year-old who may change his mind at the drop of a hat.
But I'm having a hard time not getting excited when discussing Stephon Gilmore.
I first heard of him when I was slogging away at The Herald, working on some godforsaken story about a 13-year-old race car driver, when I answered the phone. Preseason football practice was about to start and the guy on the other end -- it was a Gilmore, although I can't recall if it was his father or uncle or what -- was promising me great things.
He said to expect great things from South Pointe with Stephon at quarterback. Me, knowing full well how first-year football programs usually are, politely thanked him, hung up and thought, "Proud Family Syndrome."
That all changed the first time I saw him play. It was South Pointe's inaugural game and Gilmore, then just a freshman, was cutting and throwing his way all over the field. The Stallions, befitting their youthful nature, went undefeated in their first year of non-varsity ball, then hit the big-time, winning three and then nine games in their first two years.
Now they're 7-0 with that undefeated freshman team holding onto four years of work.
I tried, Lord, how I tried, to keep it reasonable by following my rules of recruiting. Never get too excited about a verbal commitment, because in the words of a former journalism professor of mine, verbal contracts aren't worth the paper they're not written on. Never praise a recruit too much until they get into school. Never say one recruit's better than another unless you've seen them all play several times.
But Gilmore kept getting better and better. Every flaw I could find in the way he played was corrected in what seemed like a span of five minutes.
He was only a running back with an above-average arm, I said, so he threw for 1,800 yards. He wasn't getting his teammates involved, I said, so he turned Devin Wherry and Charles Holmes and Pete Roseboro and scores of others into solid college (any level) prospects. He was taking too many chances, I said, so he embarked on hopeless runs and dead pass routes that never did anything but work.
When he pulled that USC hat on during Tuesday's ceremony, I didn't feel excited that USC was getting a four-star recruit or that his presence would probably boost the Gamecocks' rankings into the Top 20. I've already discussed my opinion of rankings.
What I was excited about was I get to keep watching this kid play.
The best thing I can say about Stephon Gilmore is he falls into that rare "gamer" category, a spot I hold vacant until I see someone who mimics Syvelle Newton. Covering him in high school and college, I couldn't begin to count the times Newton turned nothing into something.
He was a different player with the ball in his hands. Gilmore is the same way.
They project him as a cornerback, which means he should feasibly be able to compete right away after seniors Carlos Thomas and Stoney Woodson are done this year. Three of the other four starting defensive backs are NFL-eligible, so Gilmore may get a shot there too.
He's following in the line of defensive backs from York County -- think Rick Sanford, Chris Hope, Johnathan Joseph. All of those became great and Gilmore may be the next one.
After watching him play several times over the past four years, he's that kind of player that fans want with the ball in his hands. Gilmore said coach Steve Spurrier told him he may get a few reps at quarterback -- and with the way the Head Ball Coach talks about Newton and the desire to have another like him, that's possible -- and he was looking forward to get to Columbia.
Me too.
I've been fooled too many times before by high-ranking prospects never living up to their hype. That's a big reason why I like to judge recruits by how I see them play.
Gilmore has never looked like anything but a superstar.
My only problem now is trying not to build him up too much before he ever gets on campus. Stephon Gilmore is a great player but he has yet to play a college snap, much less an SEC snap.
Of course, I said the same thing about Ko Simpson.
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David Cloninger. David is a full-time staff writer for GamecockCentral, and covers Gamecock football, men's basketball, baseball and recruiting. He may be reached by email at david(at)gamecockcentral.com. Replace (at) with @.