SPORTS

Recruiting roundup: Farragut's Jaden Gibbs offered by South Carolina

Chris Thomas
USA TODAY Network - Tennessee

Farragut High School's football success is snowballing into recruiting momentum for some of its players.

Farragut's Jaden Gibbs (17) watches as a pass intended for him falls to the ground during a high school football game against Oak Ridge at Oak Ridge on Friday, Sept. 2, 2016.

Jaden Gibbs, a 6-foot-3, 185-pound sophomore wide receiver, picked up his first scholarship offer earlier this month, from South Carolina. South Carolina also offered Farragut junior tight end Jacob Warren, in December.

Warren also holds offers from Oklahoma State and Tennessee.

Both players helped Farragut win its first state championship this past season, including its stunning 28-point rally and 45-35 win over Independence in the Class 5A BlueCross Bowl.

Gibbs caught 33 passes for 618 yards and five touchdowns as a junior. Warren, an All-PrepXtra second-team pick, had 29 catches for 479 yards and nine TDs.

The players aren't eligible to sign with a college until February 2018. National signing day for current seniors is Feb. 1.

Buell Visiting Virginia: Central senior defensive end Isaac Buell will take an official visit to Virginia this weekend. The 6-4, 268-pound three-star prospect picked up an offer from the Cavaliers in November, not long before Buell helped Central reach its first Class 4A championship since 1999. The Bobcats finished runner-up.

Buell finished with 117 tackles, including 11 TFL and five sacks.

Schools Pursuing Harper: Southern Miss and Charlotte are still pursuing Austin-East senior quarterback Darius Harper, who has been committed to Coastal Carolina since June.

The 6-3, 200-pound Harper plans to visit Charlotte this weekend and Southern Miss next weekend. Coaches from both schools already have been to Austin-East to see him in person.

Harper, a Class 2A Mr. Football Back finalist, completed 170 of 286 passes for 3,479 yards and 42 touchdowns as a senior. He also rushed for 455 yards and nine TDs to lead the Roadrunners to the state semifinals.

Joe Doyle Rules: Farragut senior punter Joe Doyle, an Under Armour All-American, is hoping to boost his recruitment after winning the Kohl's Kicking Senior Punt Challenge from Jan. 14-15 in Marietta, Ga. The event featured several of the top kicking and punting prospects in the country.

Doyle's college opportunities mostly consist of preferred walk-on spots, though Air Force has offered an appointment and UNC-Charlotte offered a scholarship.

South Carolina, Memphis and Middle Tennessee State are among the schools offering PWOs, and he said he's had conversations with Southern Miss, Rutgers, Iowa and Illinois about scholarships. At No. 9 overall, he's the top uncommitted punter/kicker in the country according to ESPN's rankings.

He averaged 41.1 yards on 40 punts this past season, including a long of 60 yards.

In other news:

South-Doyle senior running back Kent-Ta Tanner and senior wide receiver Jake Harper have accepted offers to play football at Georgia Military College, one of the top junior colleges in the region. Harper and Tanner helped the Cherokees advance to the Class 5A state semifinals for the first time.

Austin Peay offered scholarships to four Greeneville sophomores on Wednesday: QB Cade Ballard, TE/DE Logan Shipley, WR Dorien Goddard and WR/S Cameron Hite.