Cats, Cavs, Gamecocks offer LB

Junior to Watch: Lawrence Timmons

School: Florence (S.C.) Wilson HS

Position: Linebacker/Tight End

Size and speed: Timmons is 6-foot-3, weighs 220 pounds and runs the 40-yard dash in 4.6 seconds. He bench-presses 325 pounds, squats 450 and has a 31-inch vertical leap.

Statistics: As a junior, he recorded 95 tackles at linebacker. He also had 42 receptions for 680 yards and 14 touchdowns as a tight end and slot receiver.

Honors: Was selected AP All-State and to WPDE’s “All-Zone” team as a tight end.

Favorite Schools: South Carolina, Kentucky, Virginia, N.C. State, Maryland, Georgia.

Skinny: Florence’s Lawrence Timmons is emerging as one of the Palmetto State’s top prospects for the Class of 2004.

The all-state tight end and play-making linebacker has reeled in early scholarship offers from South Carolina, Kentucky and Virginia.

“They all like me at linebacker. They like the way I run and hit,” he said. “I like playing offense and catching the ball, but I don’t really have a big preference when it comes to college. Wherever they think I’ll fit in best, that’s where I’ll play.”

Timmons says he’s visited South Carolina on occasion in the past and attended Kentucky’s “Junior Day” in February. He plans to camp at Virginia this summer in order to get a close up look at the other school which has offered a scholarship.

“South Carolina is a nice campus, and it’s close to home. They have a good program with coach (Lou) Holtz,” he said. “Kentucky looked real good, too. Coach (Joker) Phillips was recruiting me for South Carolina, but now he’s there at Kentucky. I like him a lot. He’s a nice guy. I was impressed by their campus.”

Timmons, who maintains a 3.3 GPA and will take the SAT for the first time this weekend, said academics may wind up being the top factor in his final decision.

“It’s No. 1 for me,” he said. “I’ve got to make sure I’m OK when football’s over. I’m looking for a school with a good engineering program.”

In addition to top three on his list, Timmons is receiving interest from Georgia, Clemson, Maryland, N.C. State, Wake Forest, Northwestern, Virginia Tech, Penn State and Colorado.