Jan. 16, 2007

Head Coach Steve Spurrier announced the arrival of four incoming freshmen to the Gamecock football squad as spring semester classes got underway Tuesday on the University of South Carolina campus. The newcomers are Ladi Ajiboye, Ryan Broadhead, Stephen Garcia and Travian Robertson.

Olufemi “Ladi” Ajiboye is a 6-2, 295-pound defensive tackle from Riverdale, Ga. He spent this past season at Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Va. where he was coached by Robert Prunty. He is ranked by Rivals.com as the nation’s No. 7 overall prep school prospect and is a three-star prospect by Scout.com. He originally signed a national letter of intent to play at Virginia Tech in 2006. He is a former teammate of current Gamecock cornerback Carlos Thomas at Banneker High School in College Park, Ga. He was credited with 74 tackles including five sacks as a senior after logging 80 tackles and 10 sacks as a junior. He was also offered by Illinois, Louisville, Michigan State and Minnesota out of high school.

Ryan Broadhead, a 6-5, 290-pound offensive lineman from Leesburg, Ga., originally signed with the Gamecocks in February of 2006 but did not enroll in the fall. He graduated from Lee County (Ga.) High School in 2006 where he was coached by David Johnson. He played center as a junior before moving to right tackle as a senior. He graded out at 90 percent or better in every game his senior year and had 60 pancake blocks. He was a Class AAAA first-team all-state honoree by the Georgia Sports Writers Association. He led Lee County to a 10-2 record and its first Region I-AAAA Championship while earning first team all-metro, all-area and all-region recognition by the Albany Herald.

Stephen Garcia is a 6-3, 215-pound quarterback from Jefferson High School in Tampa, Fla. He is ranked by Rivals.com as the nation’s third-best dual-threat quarterback, is a consensus top-10 player in the state of Florida and is a member of the Rivals100. He is a four-star prospect by both Rivals.com and Scout.com. He accumulated 7,800 yards passing and 80 touchdowns as a prep signal-caller while leading his team to the playoffs each season, including a spot in the championship game as a sophomore. He played in the Offense-Defense All-Star Game held in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. following his senior season. As a junior, he passed for 2,800 yards and 28 touchdowns and rushed for an additional 700 yards and eight touchdowns. As a sophomore, he threw for just under 2,800 yards with 27 scores. He was regarded as the third-best quarterback at the Elite 11 camp in the summer prior to his senior season. He also considered Oklahoma, Auburn, Florida and Ole Miss among others.

Travian Robertson is a 6-4, 240-pound defensive end from Scotland High School in Laurinburg, N.C. where he was coached by Mark Barnes. He was named his squad’s defensive end of the year after recording 74 tackles with 7.5 sacks, two fumble recoveries and four forced fumbles. He played for the North Carolina squad in the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas, where he had four tackles, a sack and a fumble recovery, and logged three tackles and a pair of sacks in the Offense-Defense All-Star Game in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. following his senior season. He is considered a four-star prospect by both Rivals.com and Scout.com, is regarded as the No. 18 defensive end prospect in the country by Scout.com and is on the Rivals100 list. He missed much of his junior season after tearing an ACL. He selected South Carolina over Clemson and had offers from North Carolina, NC State and Virginia Tech.

All four players will participate in spring drills, which are scheduled to begin Tuesday, March 20, with the annual Garnet & Black Spring Game slated for Saturday, April 14. The game time will be announced at a later date.

An orientation meeting for prospective walk-ons to the football program will be held in the Dr. Charles Crews Football Facility team meeting room on Monday, Jan. 22 at 5 p.m. All interested students must be enrolled and in good academic standing at the University of South Carolina.