Football Recruiting: Top prospect commits to UGA after serious flirtations with archrival Georgia Tech (Updated)
UGA coach Mark Richt went public with his recruiting goal of building a “Dream Team” of elite prospects from Georgia’s high schools.
Loading ...The Bulldogs added an all-star with the commitment of Wilcox County’s Nick Marshall.
The 6-foot-2, 190-pounder picked the Bulldogs over Georgia Tech, and also had offers from Alabama and Florida Sate. Marshall switched to UGA after reportedly being a “silent commitment” to Georgia Tech.
“This really all came out of the blue,” Wilcox County football coach Mark Ledford told the AJC’s Chip Towers. “Nick was leaning to Georgia Tech as of late last week. He had a close relationship to Georgia Tech the last month or so. Then out of the blue, Coach Richt called and wanted to offer him as a defensive back.
“Nick told me Monday he wanted to commit to Georgia. I said let’s talk about it Tuesday and see if you feel the same way. We talked after his work out and he said he defintely wanted to go To Georgia. I talked to his Mom and explained what that meant. She called Coach Richt and committed [Tuesday] night.”
What about being a “silent commitment” to Georgia Tech? “I don’t know if you’d call it a silent commit,” Ledford told Towers. “I’m not sure where that term came from. I’ll just say he was very close to committing to Georgia Tech.”
BREAKING NEWS: Wednesday was a tough day for Georgia Tech, which also saw football recruit Jake Skole sign with baseball’s Texas Rangers for a $1.557 million bonus. (Click here for story)
Marshall is considered the state’s No. 1 overall athlete for 2011, earning Div. I offers in both football and basketball. He started at both quarterback and defensive back while leading Wilcox County to the Class A state championship in football, and has pledged to sign with Georgia at defensive back. Marshall will also walk on UGA’s basketball team.
Richt has compared Marshall’s athleticism to the Charlie Ward, the 1997 Heisman Trophy winner from Florida State who played 11 seasons in the NBA. With Marshall, UGA has 11 commitments for its 2011 football recruiting class, including 10 from Georgia. The only outsider so far is QB Christian LeMay of Matthews, N.C. The other homegrown headliners of Richt’s “Dream Team” are East Hall DE Sterling Bailey, North Paulding WR Chris Conley and the “state’s fastest man” — Mitchell County WR Justin Scott-Wesley.
Earlier this spring, Marshall admitted UGA caught his attention with a signing day surprise, both offering and signing his cousin (Wilcox County 6-foot-7 WR Lonnie Outlaw) to a football scholarship on the same day. The Bulldogs signed Outlaw knowing he was a few credits shy and will require two years at Georgia Military College before being admitted UGA. Were the Bulldogs laying down the groundwork for a “package deal” to eventually land Marshall? Click here for the story.
No. 14 in blue is UGA's commit No. 11 (AJC)
Back to the “Dream Team” of Georgia prospects: Last April, UGA sent out a press release with Richt declaring his recruiting priorities. “By the end [of spring], our assistant coaches will have been to more than 350 schools in the state of Georgia,” Richt said. “Our coaches are really pounding the state of Georgia. The focus of our staff is to make sure we recruit the state of Georgia first.”
Who may end up being the biggest winner out of the Nick Marshall sweepstakes? UGA basketball coach Mark Fox, who is riding a wave of momentum after beating out powerhouses such as Kentucky, Texas, North Carolina and Memphis for the AJC’s Mr. Basketball, Westlake High’s Marcus Thornton. Marshall plans to also play basketball at UGA. At shooting guard this past season, Marshall led Wilcox again to the semifinals, averaging 27.5 points, including a 52-point performance in the playoff opener against Montgomery County.
“I’d say Nick is one of the best I’ve seen in high school basketball, and I’ve been around this business for 38 years,” Wilcox basketball coach George Kennedy said. “He just does some stuff that is God-given talent that you don’t see every day.”
- Georgia Tech loses football recruit Jake Skole to Texas Rangers for $1.557 million bonus (click here)
- How did Cam Bedrosian, son of 1987 Cy Young Award winner, celebrate his first-round selection in MLB Draft? Dining at the Waffle House (click here)
- Will Georgia first-rounder Kaleb Cowart be the $3,000,000 man? Click here
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
196 comments Add your comment
K9
June 9th, 2010
11:29 am
I don’t blame the kid for being a Tech silent commitment…. if I were committed to the Trade School I’d be ashamed of it too.
Dan
June 9th, 2010
11:36 am
But he could get to the league as a 6′2 corner at Tech too, Da,reek. You’re right – he won’t get there as an option QB but he might not get there as a pro-style QB either.
And I wouldn’t talk too much about hoops. Hewitt has not done a lot with the talent, but he’s proven he’s quite capable of getting players into the Association.
TO ALL TECKERS
June 9th, 2010
11:38 am
everybody knows that you are running your mouth because you are scared , CMR has been cornered and its not real pleasant to get in the face of a cornered DAWG . Paula Johnson is a good coach and i expect wars between tech and UGA , but the odds are certainly improving for the DAWGS and you know it .
and certainly do not let the facts get in your way when you talk about how bad we have been under Richt who needs facts when it will get in the way of a good rant
Da'reek
June 9th, 2010
11:40 am
He really hasn’t done much to get his players into the league. He’s done a good job landing the 5 star, blue chip recruit that is already an NBA lottery pick when he comes onto the campus. It’s not as if Hewitt turned these kids into lottery picks.
I don’t even know what position Tech wanted Marshall to play at Tech, I assumed it was QB. Am I wrong? I think people should also take into account that Marshall will be playing with his cousin Lonnie and his other cousin or half brother or whatever, Kentavious Caldwell will most likely be playing ball with him too. I think that’s pretty intriguing to be able to play with a couple family members in both sports.
Dan
June 9th, 2010
11:43 am
I honestly don’t know what position he would play at Tech. It seems like Johnson has a handful of QBs there already though.
About Hewitt, you’re right – but a lot of high profile recruits go play basketball and they never make it. And if the issue of five star guys getting to the next level on their own is true, it means that UGA can no longer say to football players that they can get to the NFL if they go to UGA instead of GT (QBs aside).
Highly Touted HS Football Recruit
June 9th, 2010
11:43 am
I let out “silent” farts sometimes, do you think Rivals knows about that?
rogeriter
June 9th, 2010
11:46 am
This is for the Tech fans. I don’t understand this high school Harry stuff. One simple question: Would you rather have Ga’s recruiting class so far or Tech’s? It doesn’t mean the Dogs will win a NC. Nor does Fla’s or Bama’s, Clemson’s or anyones. But would you rather have Tech’s recruiting class or Ga’s.? Be honest and just answer the question. Forget academics. Were talking only football.
Columbus
June 9th, 2010
11:46 am
I really hope that all of the drama that Nick’s Elite basketball team is going thru here in Columbus doesnt put his eligibility at issue. Just need all three of those big Carver Tiger recruits to head to Athens now!
Paul in RDU
June 9th, 2010
11:50 am
Good luck to the kid. Hopefully he ends up in the situation that is best for him – athletically, academically and socially.
Some of the people throwing around comments about the kid’s academic performance should be ashamed of themselves for just making things up. We have GT idiots saying we didn’t want him because he’s a bad student. Then some guy named Longdog saying he’s a great student because he has a 1350 SAT – he obviously made the number up and doesn’t realize that the SAT scale is now based on 2400 not on 1600 and that a 1350 score is very poor.
Dan
June 9th, 2010
11:50 am
Rogeriter, right now UGA has more numbers so the question is flawed. Second, y’all recruit different players for your offense so the comparison doesn’t work. On defense, we only have one defensive recruit so far. So, yeah, I would probably rather have the numbers UGA has. In Tech’s defense, they seem to do more with the players they get than UGA does.
How2fish
June 9th, 2010
12:00 pm
Congrats young man ! And Welcome to the Bull Dog Nation..best of luck on and off the field and in the classroom.
BamaZach
June 9th, 2010
12:03 pm
UGA has become Gimmick U. Blackouts, uniform changes, dream teams, and endzone celebrations don’t beat Florida or Alabama and don’t win championships. Mark Richt seems desperate knowing who he is up against to the south (Urban Meyer) and to the West (Nick Saban).
C tha 1
June 9th, 2010
12:05 pm
Congratulations to Nick Marshall. But the hard truth UGA fans need to realize is that CMR has had highly ranked recruiting classes before that have sorely underperformed. The culture may be changing between the hedges, but they have to prove it on Saturdays between the hedges and every where else they play. Actually they need to prove it during the summer by not getting arrested for ticky tack misdemeanors. I mean damn get your driver’s license reinstated for God’s sake!
Conversely, GT footbal will still be a step child in the state of GA…but with an offense to be reckoned with. Defense Coordinators won’t catch up to CPJ offense this year. Especially with a senior QB pulling the trigger in his third year of the offense. GT needs to prove to the nation they are legit by repeating as ACC Champs and winning a BCS bowl game in order to get the respect they crave.
BIGDOG
June 9th, 2010
12:07 pm
It’s like every year, UGA has all these great recruting classes andthe expectations go through the roof, then the team looses a handful of games that all the UGA fans think should have been won and then the post game radio show with CMR is so full of venom that it is obvious CMR does not know what he’s doing and should be fired!!!!!SAME OLD SH-TIt’s just like Spurier says WHAT HAPPENS TO THEM WHEN THEY GET TO ATHENS?
JB
June 9th, 2010
12:13 pm
Dawgs/Bama in SEC game this year……
Topp Dogg
June 9th, 2010
12:14 pm
Dump GT to play at UGA thats nothing new but it is funny as hell.
Spike
June 9th, 2010
12:16 pm
Sorry Techies. You lose again. This guy dumped you for UGA. HAHAHAHAHAHA.
Glory Glory
June 9th, 2010
12:17 pm
You YELLOWjackets sure are GREEN today…..
and I love it!!!!!
Glory Glory
June 9th, 2010
12:22 pm
I am SO SO SO excited to hear the Paul Johnson talk among the Nerds after the horrendous year they are about to have.
The manboobs days in the ghetto are numbered.
Glory Glory
June 9th, 2010
12:24 pm
(((((30-24)))))
8-1
60-39-5
Recruitment Landslide
We. Run. This. State.
RDR
June 9th, 2010
12:24 pm
The rich just keep getting richer, and the poor (git) just continue to wallow in mediocrity. Love it. Go Dawgs!!!
MooreUGA
June 9th, 2010
12:24 pm
I think UGA’s rising basketball program with an energetic guy like Mark Fox played a big part in this decision. I know that GT has a great hoops program as well but UGA wouldn’t have stood a chance with this kid if Fox and his kids weren’t on the rise.
Thanks Mark Fox and I’m proud to have both Fox and Richt representing UGA. Hope Marshall excels for both of you!
REALIST
June 9th, 2010
12:25 pm
If I was a Tek fan I would be more than a little concerned…one more year of Johnson’s philosophy and you will be almost totally devoid of bonafide DIV I athletes. Have you taken a good look at the incoming class? Ouch…
Realist
June 9th, 2010
12:26 pm
I’m really scared of getting the crap kicked out of me by Division II players. And I have a two inch wang.
Steve Spurrier
June 9th, 2010
12:35 pm
What happens to all those athletes after they get to Georgia?
GT Fan
June 9th, 2010
12:36 pm
We didn’t need him anyway I like the upcoming players we have coming in he’s gonna regret not signing with GT.
Gatorman
June 9th, 2010
12:37 pm
Ole Mark is getting smart taking a running QB away from Tech, but that kid better be good as a DB, because he’ll never play under center. I hope Richt told him that??
WhatDidImiss
June 9th, 2010
12:40 pm
DawgDave, let’s talk NC’s. When you run out of fingers to count you NC’s, then you will be in the same class as Bama.
BigLebowski
June 9th, 2010
12:41 pm
Yeah, Techies…Mark Richt is “NOTORIOUS” for “waisting scholarships on non-deserving players to secure Package Deals…” And How many scholarships has Mark Richt granted to financially needy WALK-ONS in the last 3 years???? I think the number is 6…how many coaches do you know who do that as regularly as CMR???
Keep drinking the Hateraid!!!!
dawgster
June 9th, 2010
12:42 pm
Roll Tide, what is your problem, the young man committed to a school that he thought would be best for him, whats wrong with that, why do you feel the need to bash the dawgs..this article was about a young man making a decision and if he is comfortable with playing DB and also playing Basketball then let it be…Yes i think he is a very good QB, and i’m sure he will have an opportunity to give that a go once he steps on campus, but he also is a very talented DB and Basketball player so i’m sure he took this into account when making the decision…And who knows, many tbings could change between now and time to sign, so making a big fuss over a committment at this point is a little premature, i hope he honors his committment, but what has happened with recruiting nowadays who’s to say….
LMAO@BamaZach
June 9th, 2010
12:45 pm
Bama Zach…what is Mark Richt’s record against Bama again…Yeah..relish that ONE Victory, prick!!!
Rodney Dangerfield
June 9th, 2010
12:52 pm
To be honest, just a mention of GA Tech in any 4/5 star recruits final five is a victory for GA Tech.
Pago Pago Dawg
June 9th, 2010
12:54 pm
We’re looking at another pre-season # 1 for 2011, 2012 etc.
Southside Dawg
June 9th, 2010
1:01 pm
I think 2012 and 2013 will be a great seasons for the DAWGS as this “Dream Team” class matures and gets experience. Also consider, the basketball team will be a top 25 program with all those good in-state recruits. Of course the other sports will continue to strive. Man, it’s looking good BULLDOG NATION!!!.
Dawgrulz
June 9th, 2010
1:10 pm
UGA- SEC Champs 2002
UGA- SEC Championship game 2003
UGA- SEC Champs 2005
UGA- Top 3 nartional ranking 2007
UGA- 2010, 2011???
To all the UGA haters the history says that CMR has had successful teams that compete at the top of the conference and nationally over the last nine years. Last two years was not good but I would not count on continued down slide occurring. Looks like new DC is bringing in results already.
Chris
June 9th, 2010
1:12 pm
Keep it going Richt, other schools in the SE need you to keep being good, not great! Good enough to keep your job would be ideal!
She's into malacas dino
June 9th, 2010
1:18 pm
Awesome! Welcome aboard Nick.
LeftCoastDawg
June 9th, 2010
1:20 pm
I used to wonder about the rabid fans that are so wrapped up in college football that they’d send death threats to players/coaches. I think I see a few of them on this page. CMR is doing what is necessary to compete with Florida and Bama. This is a good signing for him.
I don’t buy the silent commitment BS. If you can’t commit publicly then you’re not committed.
Richt adds to his ‘Dream Team’ at Georgia | theSPORTSpage Arkansas
June 9th, 2010
1:30 pm
[...] for the 2011 class. He’s off to a blazing start. The Bulldogs on Wednesday picked up a commitment from quarterback/defensive back Nick Marshall of Rochelle, Ga. The 6-2, 185-pound Marshall is considered one of the top athletes in the state of [...]
dawgfan
June 9th, 2010
1:30 pm
Look on the brightside Techies. The fewer top prospects that you sign the more you can cry like little sissies about how unfair recruiting is because your players take calculus. I have no idea why you would be upset about Marshall. You don’t really want the top guys. You just want to make excuses. You would rather feel sorry for yourselves than be successful anyway. Once a loser always a loser.
Thanks.
suwaneedawg
June 9th, 2010
1:46 pm
Steve Spurrier, to answer your question, what happens to all the great athletes once they get to UGA? Most of them go onto the NFL.
Richt adds to his ‘Dream Team’ at Georgia | Hog Country Online
June 9th, 2010
1:52 pm
[...] for the 2011 class. He’s off to a blazing start. The Bulldogs on Wednesday picked up a commitment from quarterback/defensive back Nick Marshall of Rochelle, Ga. The 6-foot-2, 185-pound Marshall is considered one of the top athletes in the [...]
Richt adds to his ‘Dream Team’ at Georgia | SportsTalk South
June 9th, 2010
2:04 pm
[...] for the 2011 class. He’s off to a blazing start. The Bulldogs on Wednesday picked up a commitment from quarterback/defensive back Nick Marshall of Rochelle, Ga. The 6-foot-2, 185-pound Marshall is considered one of the top athletes in the [...]
E. Tolley
June 9th, 2010
2:05 pm
I’m gonna do my level best to keep ‘em all out of the pokey. This is my “dream team” if you know what I mean.
Coach Spurrier
June 9th, 2010
2:11 pm
Once again, another great recruiting class shaping up. Congratulations.
Eight wins a year……..cool.
AJ
June 9th, 2010
2:13 pm
Whats wrong with a “package” deal Mr. Buzzed? Its not related to integrity at all. Somebody has to be #2 in the state, and fortunatly for UGA, its not us. C-ya #2.
WUOG 90.5fm » Sports » Nick Marshall commits to Georgia
June 9th, 2010
2:16 pm
[...] in Marshall’s commitment might be basketball coach Mark Fox. In an article published by the AJC, Marshall’s high school basketball coach George Kennedy states that Marshall is “one of [...]
Adonisdaking
June 9th, 2010
2:26 pm
6′2 195Lb- 6′2 200Lb Cornerback For The DAWGS! GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO DAWGS GATA!
What UGA Really Means
June 9th, 2010
2:38 pm
OK, lets recap.
“The Bulldogs signed Outlaw knowing he was a few credits shy and will require two years at Georgia Military College before being admitted UGA.”
So, let me get this straight, Outlaw, another fine product of this state’s fine high school education system……
……”has just a few credits shy…”,
yet he will require…2 FULL YEARS at GMC ??
So, Outlaw cant even meet the ROCK-BOTTOM educational requirements
of the highly dubious “Special Admissions” program at UGA ??
Sounds like Outlaw cant even read.
But hey, not worry. Thats just “Business As Usual” at UGA.
You know, use semi-illiterate student-athletes to earn money
for the private corporation known as the UGA-AA. Right, Caleb?
And this…is a “Dream Team” model that CMR is trying to put together?
Geeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeezzzzz.
U – Uneducated
G – Georgia
A – Athletes
Da Hood
June 9th, 2010
2:52 pm
Nicks’ coach states that he was orignally offered as a QB at UGA until Lemay gave a verbal. UGA reoffered as a DB and he took it. BTW his coach also states that he was also offerred as a DB at Tech with the option of trying out at QB.