New five-star gets a new offer, names top five

Wednesday saw a lot of big news come in for Ft. Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas cornerback Lamarcus Joyner. With the release of the first edition of the Rivals100, Joyner was dubbed a five-star prospect and the top cornerback in the nation. Joyner also received news of an offer on the way from one of the few programs nationally that had yet to extend such.

"I got offered by USC," Joyner said on Wednesday night. "My coach got in contact with him and talked to him about me and the kind of player I am and the kind of person I am. I talked to Coach McNair on the phone at it was over from there. He said he was coming from a meeting with Coach Carroll and that he wanted to offer me a scholarship and that they would be putting it in the mail."

With a player of Joyner's caliber, offers are nothing new and have become routine. However this one definitely caught his eye. Not only did the offer impress him, but it immediately inserted the newcomers into Joyner's top five.

"This one, they came like Deebo and they just came and knocked it out," he said. "That's USC. How can you not consider them? I thought I had a top five all figured out and they came and knocked Tennessee to the curb. It's the program. They send players to the league every year and guys are happy there and I just want to go to a program and build myself around successful people and a program where people are happy."

The newly-anointed five-star has been one of the most highly-recruited prospects in the nation in the class of 2010 thus far. As summer approaches, he is ready to list the rest of his favorites that join USC in a top five, listed in order.

"Ohio State is number one," he said. "Alabama is number two. UF is number three. USC is number four and then Florida State is number five."

As one of the top players in the talent-rich region of south Florida, it may be surprising to see two out-of-state programs sitting atop his list but Joyner is looking at the big picture in his recruitment.

"Ohio State, that's the program they produce DBs out of all the programs the most," he said. "I have conversations with coaches and I look for certain things and Coach Paul Haynes and Jim Tressel, they just seem to have everything I'm looking for as far as having all the answers."

Joyner also talked about Alabama's presence near the top of his list.

"As this recruiting is going on now, I'm starting to look at all these programs and what fits me and what Nick Saban has going on over there, I like the things he's telling me about coming in. I look at things some other people might not. I look at the guys and how nice they're looking in those uniforms and I know that they're doing something right in that weight room."

For the spring, Joyner is sitting out of track due to his transfer from Miami (Fla.) Southwest but still has a few things planned, including a trip up to Columbus, Ohio. More importantly to him though, Joyner will be working out with his teammates and preparing himself for the fall with his new team.

"I'm going to the Ohio State spring game and I'm just going to go ahead and do what I do best and get on the field in the spring time and dominate, and just get a preview of what's going to come this coming season. [St. Thomas Aquinas] is the place to be. It's a great program. I'm glad I'm here."

Joyner got a little bit of extra motivation on Wednesday to continue to work hard when he was named the No. 7 prospect at any position in the country. But that wasn't good enough. He was also named the No. 2 prospect in Florida, also a slap in the face as far as Joyner is concerned.

"It's not personal," he said. "It's not Matt Elam. I just want that number one spot period. That's my goal. I'm proving it. I'm most definitely going to prove it."

Joyner will be at the Nike Football Training Camp at the University of Miami in late March to do just that.