Feb. 3

Christian Thomas, TE

Palmdale, CA

TE Christian Thomas picks USC over Ducks, Beavers and Canes

Christian Thomas, a four-star tight end from Highland (Palmdale, Calif.), has signed with the USC Trojans for the Class of 2010.

He also considered Oregon, Oregon State and Miami-Florida. Among his other offers were California, Florida State, UCLA and Washington.

USC may have collected the top group of tight ends in the Class of 2010 as the 6-foot-3, 235-pound Thomas joins two other four-star tight ends in Xavier Grimble of Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.) and tight end Randall Telfer of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.

Feb. 1

Jeffrey Whitaker, DT

Warner Robins, GA

Auburn wins the battle for top defensive lineman Jeffrey Whitaker

Four-star defensive tackle Jeffrey Whitaker of Warner Robins, Ga.) has committed to Auburn for the Class of 2010 over Georgia and Miami-Florida

California and North Carolina were recently eliminated. Tennessee, Alabama, Florida, Clemson and Oregon also extended early scholarship offers.

"It just felt comfortable," Whitaker told ESPN affiliate Web site AuburnUndercover.com. "There was like no question. I couldn't turn away from it. It just felt like home."

Jan. 26

Christian LeMay, QB

Mint Hill, NC

Top junior Christian LeMay down to 10, will graduate early

2011 quarterback Christian LeMay (Mint Hill, N.C./Butler) is now only considering 10 schools from his long list of suitors, ESPN's Brian Stumpf reports.

Florida, Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, Oklahoma, Miami-FL, Mississippi State, Florida State, Virginia Tech and North Carolina will battle for the ESPNU 150 Watch List prospect.

Additionally, the 6-foot-2, 187-pound talent hopes to narrow the field down to five by May and three by July and eventually name a "leader" instead of making a verbal commitment. LeMay will enroll at his school of choice January 2011.

Maryland, N.C. State, Oregon, Wake Forest, West Virginia, Illinois, Tennessee and Michigan have also offered.

As a junior, he completed 170 of 248 attempts (68.5-percent) for 3,396 yards, 44 touchdowns and just two interceptions, leading Butler to a 15-0 state title.

Jan. 24

James Gaines, OLB

Buffalo, NY

Hurricanes continue to add out-of-state recruits in Gaines

James Gaines, a 6-foot-3, 205-pound linebacker from Canisius (Buffalo, N.Y.), has committed to Miami-Florida for the Class of 2010.

Gaines, who had decommitted from Buffalo following the coaching change, has also been offered by Syracuse and Connecticut.

He made an official visit to campus this weekend. Fellow Miami pledge Kelvin Cain (Clovis, Calif./Buchanan), told ESPN affiliate Web site InsideTheU.com, "We were trying to convince him and he ended up committing so I guess we did a good job with that."

Gaines was all over the field as a senior registering 154 tackles, three sacks, one interception and one fumble recovery. On offense, he caught 15 passes for 270 yards (18 average) and two touchdowns.

Jan. 22

Trey Metoyer, WR

Whitehouse, TX

Big 12 powers battle for Trey Metoyer

Top junior wide receiver Trey Metoyer (Whitehouse, Texas) is already holding scholarship offers from Arkansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas Tech and Texas A&M.
ESPN affiliate Web site InsideTexas.com reports that Texas, LSU and Miami-FL are showing heavy interest.

"They have a good, winning tradition," Metoyer said of the Longhorns. "I hear about Texas a lot and I have a lot of people telling me I need to go to Texas. I just need to decide what school is going to be the best for me."

The ESPNU 150 Watch List prospect caught 74 passes for 1,260 yards (17 average) and 15 touchdowns as a junior. he also hauled in 72 passes for 1,105 yards (15.3 average) and 15 scores.