South Carolina's final pitch to Deering fails

Give South Carolina much credit for trying to sway Leto running back Jeremy Deering, but the Gamecocks' efforts didn't work.

On the eve of Deering making his final official visit to Rutgers, Gamecocks assistant coach G.A. Mangus made one more pitch to Deering Thursday night at a Tampa restaurant.

But Deering remained committed to making his final visit to Rutgers and departed Friday morning.

Deering had originally scheduled a visit to South Carolina for last week, but he instead made a trip to UF.

He has also made official visits to Purdue, Illinois and Florida State.

-- EDUARDO A. ENCINA (eencina@sptimes.com)

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Players in post

• Jeremy Deering

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• Leto High School