South Carolina duo enters draft

Associated Press

The college football notebook...

COLUMBIA — South Carolina’s record-setting receiver Alshon Jeffery is giving up his senior season for the NFL.

Jeffery said Thursday he will enter the NFL draft this spring. He set the school record with 3,042 yards receiving over three seasons. He had 49 catches for 762 yards and eight touchdowns this season, capping the year as the Capital One Bowl MVP in the Gamecocks’ 30-13 win over Nebraska.

Jeffery had four catches for 148 yards against the Cornhuskers, including a 51-yard Hail Mary touchdown grab right before halftime. Jeffery was ejected from the game in the second half for fighting.

His best year came in 2010 when he set single-season marks at South Carolina with 88 catches and 1,517 yards.

GILMORE GOING PRO

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina cornerback Stephon Gilmore is giving up his final season to go pro.

Gilmore’s mother Linda said Thursday her son had decided to enter the NFL draft. She said he told his parents and the Gamecocks coaching staff of his plans Wednesday, two days after South Carolina’s 30-13 victory over Nebraska in the Capital One Bowl.

Gilmore had an interception and five tackles in the bowl game, and led the Gamecocks with four interceptions this year. He had eight interceptions and 181 tackles in three seasons.

The 6-foot-1, 194-pounds Gilmore started all 40 games he played at South Carolina.

HILL ENTERS DRAFT

ATLANTA — Stephen Hill says he is bypassing his senior season at Georgia Tech to enter the NFL draft.

Hill caught 28 passes for 820 yards, including five for touchdowns, this season. He led FBS players and set a school record with his average of 29.3 yards per catch.

Hill said Thursday he is “ready to move forward and work on getting better.”

The 6-foot-5, 200-pound Hill had 49 catches for 1,248 yards in three seasons in Georgia Tech’s run-first option offense.

PLUS-1 DISCUSSION

NEW ORLEANS — Southeastern Conference Commissioner Mike Slive says he expects “meaningful discussions about possible changes to the BCS” in the coming months, including about making it a four-team playoff.

Slive said Thursday he would “reserve judgment” about the nature of the change.

The commissioner pushed for the so-called “plus-one model” in 2008, but there was not enough support for it among the other conference commissioners.

He says this time around he’s interested to hear his colleagues’ ideas.

SEC rivals LSU and Alabama play Monday in the first BCS title game involving two teams from the same league. The matchup guarantees the SEC a sixth straight BCS title.

PENN ST. COACHING

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — New England Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien was interviewing Thursday for the vacant Penn State head-coaching position, his agent said.

Agent Joe Linta told The Associated Press that O’Brien was “flattered by the interest.”

USA Today first reported that O’Brien was scheduled to interview, citing an unidentified person with knowledge of the situation.

In his first year coordinating the Patriots’ high-scoring offense, O’Brien has also coached star quarterback Tom Brady since 2009. He spent 2008 coaching receivers.

O’Brien first joined New England in 2007 following 14 seasons on the collegiate level, including stops at Duke, Maryland and Georgia Tech. He played college football at Brown — Joe Paterno’s alma mater.

Paterno was fired two months ago in the aftermath of child sex abuse charges against retired defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky. Paterno, Division I’s winningest coach with 409 victories, coached 46 seasons before trustees ousted him Nov. 9.

Penn State officials have termed the search “methodical and deliberate.” Acting athletic director David Joyner has said he would like to give Paterno’s replacement at least a few weeks to recruit before high school seniors can begin to announce their official intentions to attend college on Feb. 1.

Defensive coordinator Tom Bradley, who took over for Paterno on an interim basis, has also interviewed. Bradley was on the road recruiting Thursday, the second of a four-day recruiting contact period. Another 16-day contact window starts Jan. 13.

“I believe the search is continuing and progressing very well as we hoped it would,” Joyner said during a taped segment at halftime of the radio broadcast of Thursday night’s game between Purdue and Penn State. “I anticipate having a new head coach in place in time to take full advantage of the open period that’s coming up.”

Calls and emails of interest from qualified potential applicants were still coming in, Joyner said.

Defensive line coach Larry Johnson has also received an interview. Two persons with knowledge of the coaching search also confirmed earlier reports that Paterno’s son, quarterback coach Jay Paterno, has interviewed for the job. The persons requested anonymity because no one was authorized to speak about the search.

San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Greg Roman interviewed in November and his agent said this week he was on the “short list” for the job.

Among other rumored names, Tennessee Titans coach Mike Munchak has denied interest in the job three times since his former coach was fired. Green Bay quarterbacks coach Tom Clements has declined comment when asked if he was interested in the job and would not confirm a report that he had interviewed.

The Associated Press

01/05/12 21:20