USF's 2008 recruiting class has doubled to six verbal commitments in the last week, with Lake Gibson teammates Josh Garvin and James Jones accepting scholarship offers Friday to play for the Bulls.

Lake Gibson has been a reliable source of early commitments for the Bulls, starting with quarterback Matt Grothe three years ago, then defensive end Claude Davis, who committed last summer but failed to qualify. The latest are Garvin, a 6-foot-4, 275-pound offensive lineman who could play guard or tackle, and Jones, a 6-2, 232-pound defensive end who had 93 tackles and 12 sacks last season.

"I liked the way the coaches treated me and the way the players acted around each other," said Jones, who said he had offers from West Virginia and Indiana and also was recruited by Virginia Tech and Iowa.

Garvin, who moved to Lakeland from Akron, Ohio, his freshman year, said he had offers from Baylor, Ball State and Florida International and drew interest from Florida, Florida State, North Carolina and Alabama. Tide coaches called his line coach at Lake Gibson on Monday, encouraging him to keep his options open, but he says if he takes any official visits this fall, it'll only be so he can "enjoy the recruiting process."

"I don't plan on changing my mind. I'm definitely committed to USF," said Garvin, who said the Bulls didn't start recruiting him until this spring.

The Bulls are after another Lake Gibson senior, lineman Ricky Barnum (who has 20-plus offers and will take visits this fall), and are in strong position to land former Lake Gibson receiver Roger Frazier, now at Pearl River (with Claude Davis) in Mississippi. So in two years, you could have easily have five or more Lake Gibson graduates on USF's roster.

From the Where Are They Now Dept., Jones is a stepbrother of former South Sumter and Florida star Earl Everett, now a rookie with the Cincinnati Bengals, and South Sumter's Carlos Everett, who strongly considered USF before signing with N.C. State in 2006. He failed to qualify and spent last season at Hinds Community College in Mississippi, where he's now one of the top juco receivers for next year's class. South Sumter coach Inman Sherman said Carlos is talking to Florida and Florida State about next year, as well as Mississippi, but wants very much to return to his home state. And loyal blog readers will remember former South Sumter quarterback Jarrod Fleming, who had sought to walk on at USF in January but was not accepted into school. He'll play quarterback at Hinds this fall.