Dec. 21, 2005

The South Carolina Gamecocks have signed three junior college players to national letters of intent, head coach Steve Spurrier announced today. The trio includes a linebacker and defensive lineman from Georgia Military College and an offensive lineman from Lackawanna Community College in Pennsylvania. All three will enroll at Carolina in January.

“We are excited to get these players,” said Coach Spurrier. “We felt we needed some immediate help and these guys are a little older than incoming freshmen. They should be able to make more of a contribution to the team in 2006.”

Jasper Brinkley is a 6-3, 250-pound linebacker from Georgia Military College in Milledgeville, GA. He is originally from Thomson, GA. He also visited Arizona State and Memphis before selecting the Gamecocks.

Joel Reaves is a 6-2, 265-pound defensive lineman who also played junior college ball at Georgia Military College. He is originally from Marion, SC. He was pursued by Baylor, Illinois, Louisville and East Carolina before signing with USC.

Clarence Bailey is a 6-7, 320-pound offensive lineman from Lackawanna CC in Scranton, PA. He was named second team All-America by NJCAA and was named the Fighting Falcons’ Offensive MVP in 2005. He also considered Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Florida State and Pitt before casting his lot with the Gamecocks. He is originally from Trenton, New Jersey where he played at Ewing High.