This is how you know that the college game rules an area. The paper runs stories listing potential recruits. Down in Charleston, South Carolina a listing of players that have the Gamecocks on their list.

DL Josh Elizondo (6-2, 270) of Naples, Fla., is not attending camps this summer, preferring to spend most of his time working out and lifting weights. He said four schools that have moved to the front of his list are USC, Duke, Pittsburgh and N.C. State, with Duke the leader.

Elizondo is a 3-star defensive tackle, that apparently is best against the run (Insider subs.).

Elizondo is a tough and productive player in the trenches. Has the tools to develop into a productive starter who will do most of his damage against the run.

In Lancaster, a running back named Jerome LaRue is headed to Milford Academy.

“I need this,” LaRue said. “I need to go there and get good grades, enjoy the football experience and get ready for college.”

The 6-0, 195-pound speedster has a pair of football scholarship offers in his back pocket. Pittsburgh and Arizona have both offered LaRue a ride, but he needs to perform well academically to become eligible for any Division I college.

Not sure how long that offer will be available. He doesn’t appear to be a high prospect.

Via press release, this week the USA Today Sports Weekly will be a college football preview.

LeSean McCoy will be the cover boy for one of the 6 regions. (Dammit, Laurenitis is one of the others, so I know which will be the cover in Ohio.)

Really? Cinci recruits were running their mouths at the Big 33 game. Seriously?

“We were saying how we were going to try to send a message to everybody else that Pitt was coming, and we’re going to play for the national championship in years to come,” Baldwin said. “Every last one of us contributed.”

Added Saddler: “The whole game, we were saying, ‘I feel bad for the Big East because the next four years they’ve got to deal with all of us.’ It was that kind of feeling that had us excited about one another. All week, the Cincinnati (recruits) were mouthing off that they supposedly have one of the best recruiting classes in the Big East. We wanted to show them that we don’t supposedly have the best recruiting class; we do have the best recruiting class.”

The next step is to get out on the field in the fall.

The other item from the story was picturing Coach Wannstedt and AD Pederson, uh, getting down at a Kenny Chesney concert.

There was two other all-star games this past weekend. Sort of. The North-South game in Johnstown, though it was called late in the 3d quarter because of ongoing downpours. That game featured one incoming Pitt player.

Johnstown’s Antwuan Reed rushed for 123 yards on 11 carries and one score for the South, and the Pitt-bound speedster added a 53-yard punt return. Matt Varga of Bishop McCort had a pair of touchdown receptions to earn offensive back MVP honors for the South, while quarterback Jordan Kaufman of Somerset threw a pair of scoring passes.

The East-West game was in Altoona and featured two Pitt-bound players. Tight End Mike Cruz, who was named one of the team captains for the West. Also on the West team was RB Chris Burns.

This game was shortened due to lightning and was a struggle for the offenses. The West won 10-0.

Cruz, a quad-captain on the West, started the first series on offense and had one pass thrown to him during the first quarter. The ball short-hopped Cruz, who was lining up in the slot. Cruz also lined up on the inside of a three-wide set.

“It’s just a great experience,” Cruz said. “This week was a lot of fun, throwing in that spread offense was all fun.”

In addition, Cruz handled the long-snapping duties on the West’s punt team.

Cruz mainly blocked for Wilmington’s Chris Burns, who finished with 43 yards rushing. Cruz has committed to play football at Pitt and will be a future teammate of Burns.

Burns also had a couple receptions in the game. His running was characterized as “rugged.” His 43 yards came on 9 carries.