Jadeveon Clowney: Are Miami and Auburn Serious Contenders for The Star Recruit?

Jadeveon Clowney, the consensus top recruit in the nation out of South Pointe High School in South Carolina, was in Columbia this past weekend to watch his home state Gamecocks pull off a monumental upset over the top ranked Alabama Crimson Tide.

The South Carolina win may have had a big effect on Clowney’s recruiting as he’s said to have been leaning heavily towards the two SEC schools. Although Clowney has refuted the reports that he has any favorites at this point.

The star defensive end has listed South Carolina, Alabama, LSU, Florida State, and Clemson as the schools he’s looking into but according to his high school coach Bobby Carroll, there seem to be two new schools that have entered the fray.

In a recent report from the Charleston Post and Courier (http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2010/sep/28/de-clowney-adds-two-more-to-list/), Carroll said that Clowney is also considering Auburn and Miami as well as the schools he’s already mentioned.

Considering that Clowney has mostly been looking into SEC and ACC schools up to this point, the announcement doesn’t come as much of a shock.

Auburn has gone through a revitalization under second year head coach Gene Chizik and currently sits undefeated six weeks into the season, looking like a true challenger to the SEC crown this year.

Chizik has already been reeling in commitments from some big name recruits in the 2011 class such as quarterback Kiehl Frazier out of Arkansas as well as wide receiver Jaylon Denson and offensive lineman Reese Dismukes out of Alabama. But if Clowney were to end up signing with the Tigers, he would absolutely be the star of the group.

Miami, on the other hand, has had an up and down start to the 2010 season but looks like they’re headed in the right direction under the guidance of head coach Randy Shannon.

Shannon has proved his worth as a recruiter and has started bringing in the type of talent that resembles the glory days of the Hurricane program.

Both schools look to be on the upswing with bright futures ahead of them but it remains to be seen if the staffs from either can out pitch the likes of Alabama's Nick Saban or South Carolina's Steve Spurrier.

No matter what’s been said or denied, it looks like the Tide and the Gamecocks are firmly in the lead for Clowney's services although the additions of Miami and Auburn to his list are interesting and worth keeping an eye on.

If I were a fan of either team, I probably wouldn’t set my hopes too high though.