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
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196 comments Add your comment
rogeriter
June 9th, 2010
3:12 pm
Dan–No offense because I am a Dogs fan–but not one who hates Tech, but you, like most Tech fans try to change the issue. So OK, considering Techs offense, etc. lets even things up. Would you trade Techs top 4 recruits, so far, for Georgias top 4 recruits? (I think you only have 4 recruits so far) It really doesn’t matter, but I don’t understand why Techers want to disparage Ga’s recruits. It just all seems so silly, as if the criticism’s is going to make a difference on game day. Nor do I understand why dawgs fans want to debate with Bama fans, Tech fans, or Florida fans on who puts more players in the Pros. All that matters is who wins on game day. Fla. has beaten Ga most of the time lately. Ga has beaten Tech (and Bama) most of the time lately. But that has nothing to do with the upcoming season…or who will beat whom. I will pull for Ga. You will pull for Tech. Bama and Fl fans will pull for their teams. I hope Ga beats all of you, but , if the don’t, they are still my team. I hope you all feel the same about your team. But let’s quit disparaging other teams recruits and coaches. Lets shift that concern to where it really counts, our goverrnment officials. Would you agree with that?
his mother must have really like that fancy mustard
June 9th, 2010
4:15 pm
So Saban having 2 great seasons out of 12 is good not great when considering body of work
.
Nick Saban went 6-5, 6-6, 6-6, 7-5 at Mich St.
He went 8-5 at LSU 2x
He went 7-6 at Alabama.
Saban has gone 5-3 or worse in conference 8 times.
Richt has only gone 5-3 or worse in conference 3 times in his first 9 years.
Compare that to Saban’s record and consistency in his 1st 9 years.
Richt has NEVER had a 7-6 or 6-6 season, Saban’s done it 5 times, including once at Alabama.
.
more facts…..over sabans HC career there are
.
1. Colorado St.
.
2. Florida
.
3. Florida St.
.
4. iowa
.
5. Mich
.
6. Nebraska
.
7. Penn st
.
8 Purdue
.
9. Stanford
.
10. Utah
.
11 Washington and
.
12 Wisconsin that having winning records against Saban.
.
thats 12 teams.
.
In Richts HC career there are only 2 …..West Virginia (at 0-1) and Fla.
.
12 to 2 in favor of Richt…..yep Saban is clearly the better coach
marcdawg
June 9th, 2010
4:25 pm
Tech supporters always mock UGA’s signing classes with some variation of “we didn’t want him anyway”, or “UGA doesn’t coach em up when they get them like we do”. Well, the fact of the matter is UGA and GT go head to head for most of the in-state kids. It is also true that the overwhelming majority choose UGA historically. Thus, the conclusion can only be that Tech is bitter about losing so often on the recruiting trail that they have created stock answers to trot out each time they absorb another blow. Face it, you will always be #2, at best, in the state in the grand scheme of things. You should focus on your engineering achievements because that is your true strength. Football is where UGA has, does, and always will be your superior. Oh, and in the workplace too.
Max Krakus
June 9th, 2010
4:59 pm
Georgia lands another big recruit and leaves Tech in the dust. Get use to the domination.
Georgia 2009 ACC Champions!
harold
June 9th, 2010
5:06 pm
GEORGIA GETS TALENT BUT NEVER WINS. 4-4 LAST YEAR. 20-12 LAST FOUR YEARS. MUST BE COACHING?
DawginLex
June 9th, 2010
5:16 pm
for all you Tech idiots:
Nick Marshall wants to play 2 sports at UGA.
It is more difficult being the QB in college and then turning around and playing basketball.
He wanted to play DB in college.
Richt was smart enough to offer and the kid accepted.
Take your conspiracy theories and put some chili on it from the Varsity and that might make this whole thing easier for you nerds to swallow.
trey
June 9th, 2010
5:38 pm
There is so much green (jealousy) on this thread that I thought it was St Patrick’s Day.
Not many guys want to be a taliban so this isn’t really that surprising.
Gratefuldawghead
June 9th, 2010
5:39 pm
Congrats Marshall!
GO DAWGS!
sandyspringsjacket
June 9th, 2010
6:08 pm
Yawn, THUGA signs number 1 recruiting class again, finishes 2d or 3d in the SEC east and beats a 6 win team in the pizza bowl. That’s the dream team, oh wait that is what happens every year so nothing really new here. With all those 4 and 5 stars what has THUGA won lately, in any sport! Missed them in the BCS, missed them in march maddness and have missed them in the baseball regionals too. Even the girls gym team sux these days.
DMAN
June 9th, 2010
6:41 pm
Coach Fox,Grantham,Lakotos are the reason you Idiots!
jarvis
June 9th, 2010
9:27 pm
sandyspringsjacket….don’t even talk about sucking in athletics.
Georgia Tech has ONE NCAA recognized championship. Women’s Tennis in 2007.
Even if you include your half football championship in 1990, you have two TWO National Championships in the last 2 decades.
Want more evidence of how crappy you are at everything? Check out your own blog on this website.
http://blogs.ajc.com/georgia-tech-sports/2010/06/09/pretty-good-year-for-tech-sports/
“Pretty Good Year”….that’s laughable. That type of year would have gotten Damon Evans fired.
jarvis
June 9th, 2010
9:34 pm
Also, we beat you every year in football.
You are 9-25 against the Dawgs in my lifetime, and I am getting dangerously closed to middle-age.
bufbox
June 9th, 2010
9:43 pm
NM not the body type to play QB in the PJ Tech system. That position takes an unusual physical pounding as compared to QB’s in more standard offensive sets. Best for him personally to avoid setting his body up for that kind of abuse. Save the body and give the pros a shot one day, in either sport.
Dawgnasty
June 9th, 2010
10:24 pm
Shaping up to be another typical recruiting class for UGA. Too bad it won’t translate to anything on the football field. We will be ranked top 10 by all the recruiting services and lose 3 or 4 to JUCO. Same thing every year. Maybe Steve Spurrier was right.
Diamond Dog's Parole Officer
June 9th, 2010
10:31 pm
I didn’t think coaches were allowed to make comments about any recruit until they had signed their LOI. But since when does anyone in Athens follow the rules?
Flapjacket
June 9th, 2010
10:56 pm
That’s a mighty quick change of heart…so quick it stinks. I’m thinking some $$$ changed hands.
Scaley Dog
June 9th, 2010
11:14 pm
Big L – Am I the only one that noticed your faux pais? The late great John Wooden never coached football at THE Ohio St. University. He is famous for his remarkable success in basketball at UCLA. I think you are talking about Woody Hayes – the same guy that said after a resounding win over Michigan that the reason he went for two after a TD was ” they wouldn’t let me go for two.” He never understated the Ohio St/Michigan rivalry. He was fired because he slugged a Clemson player – a decision I would consider a pretty good trade off!
QB
June 9th, 2010
11:22 pm
This post shows how many people are just casual football fans. The kid played both ways last year at Wilcox and was good on both sides of the ball. Some teams would not even throw to his side and that was just because he was that good. Trust me he knows he wants to play both sports and being a QB in college is too demanding to focus attention on another sport. Lakatos will have a 6′2 beast of an athlete to groom into an all sec cornerback Second coming of Primetime.
Friend of All
June 9th, 2010
11:49 pm
I believe toddlers complain less than most of you guys leaving comments. FACT is Nick grew up dreaming of playing at UGA. As of three weeks ago he was going to GT (even though he hadn’t made it official, he was leaning that way. UGA wasn’t even an option because Nick didn’t want to play QB)… to play defensive back and basketball. Coach Richt called and re-offered, but this time offering Nick to play defensive back rather than QB. His mind was made up. Coach Ledford has been pro ACC since the beginning of Nick’s recruiting. Nick is an honor student with exceptional athletic ability. Fact is great athletes don’t grow up dreaming of playing at GT… they dream of being a Bulldog. They simply settle for being Yellow Jacket. So Richt’s “Dream Team” is aptly named to attract those great athletes that have dreamed all their life of playing sports at a higher level.
Paul's Johnson
June 10th, 2010
2:09 am
The entire “dream team” concept is yet another Mark Suntan gimmick. And like the black-outs and the “celebrations”, its effect will be short-lived. Is that’s the best he’s got? The Perma-tan regime is starting to wind down in Athens.
4 ncs are better than 1
June 10th, 2010
8:52 am
It’s sill 4 (or 6) to 1 in what really matters.
4 ncs are better than 1
June 10th, 2010
8:53 am
correction STILL.
4 ncs are better than 1
June 10th, 2010
9:00 am
Ugay, signing day heroes, national championship zeroes!!!!!!
4 ncs are better than 1
June 10th, 2010
9:59 am
For a team that puts so many players in the NFL, why can’t they win big in college?
collegeballfan
June 10th, 2010
10:09 am
“Richt has compared Marshall’s athleticism to the Charlie Ward,”
If this is correct then Marshall will be the starter at QB for UGA by the 2013 season. Ward was the best QB Richt ever had.
dawglasville
June 10th, 2010
10:17 am
Until Paul Johnson wins a Division 1 National Championship he still hasn’t accomplished more than Mark Richt. Richt hasn’t done what Saban, Meyer, or Brown has – fine. He didn’t do what Pete Carroll did? After today we will be happy about that. Tressel, Miles or Stoops… I wouldn’t trade. So there are less than 5 NCAA coaches more accomplished than Richt this decade. I’ll take him.
The Saint, Reverand Richt talk… I’ve never heard Richt be judgmental or be holier than thou. You guys who blog this junk sure are. You guys are consumed with putting others down to pump yourselves up. Churches are full of sinners. Where else should they be? Noah got drunk. Moses was a murderer. David was adultereer amoung other things. These are some of the biggest hitters in the Bible. Richt knows he is not perfect, like most Christians do, but he is not answering to you.
dawglasville
June 10th, 2010
11:32 am
Mr. 4/1 – One National Championship is better than none. Sorry about your baseball team. You guys sure put a lot in the MLB but no rings. Imagine that.
dawglasville
June 10th, 2010
11:46 am
Paul’s Johnson – after Tech loses 4 games this year D RAD is going to start making Johnson wear turtle necks on the sideline. He can tolerate the turkey waddle and the cleavage as long as they are winning.
Just one kiss « Get The Picture
June 10th, 2010
12:32 pm
[...] It doesn’t sound like it took too much convincing on Mark Richt’s part to turn Nick Marshall from the Dark Side: “This really all came out of the blue,” Wilcox County football coach Mark [...]
HMMmm
June 10th, 2010
1:06 pm
What happened to all the Dawg saying: If he ain’t no true dwarg we don’t want ‘em??? I gaurantee you if Da’Rick Rogers decided to come back to UGA they would love him again. What a bunch of idiots!! As for “Dream Team,” an old saying comes to mind: you can put lipstick on a pig, but by God it’s still a pig. I think that is what ole’ Marky Mark is trying to do here.
Jackets in Sandy springs need to wake up
June 10th, 2010
1:30 pm
Which is more hilarious Tech getting beat in every bowl or having to travel 3000 miles to have asses handed to them. Headed back to Boise or San Fran this year?
GoldenDawg
June 10th, 2010
2:28 pm
Roll Tide you need to watch them both play before making comments. Marshall will possibly get a shot at playing QB but I don’t think he could beat out LeMay or Murray.
As for Outlaw the only reason he didn’t get a lot of attention during recruiting is because of his grades. If he had Marshall’s grades and sat scores he would have been a 4 or 5 star recruit.
I hope we already have a silent comment from Crowell and that is why we aren’t working the RB to hard. I have seen him play and he would be playing as a FR. I don’t know that he would see the field at Bama until he was a red shirt SO.
wesleywhatwhat
June 10th, 2010
2:41 pm
marshall is a nice pick up by uga but this year’s recruiting class isn’t over by a long shot and there are a LOT of uncommitted players in georgia for either georgia tech or uga to pick up.
may the best man win.
Harolds magic numbers
June 10th, 2010
2:55 pm
bama is 22-10, lsu 20-12 UGA 20-12 , fla 25-5
Eisendawg
June 10th, 2010
3:27 pm
I guess this means, don’t put too much stock in a “silent commitment”, whatever that is. From what I’ve heard, Dawgs got a good one. Reggie says,”theres a new Marshall in town”.
dap01
June 10th, 2010
3:27 pm
Reasons why Nick chose UGA:
1. GT could not guarantee safe passage through the parking lots for Nick’s family.
2. Nick saw Coach Johnson’s moobs!
3. Nick counted how many passes GT QB’s actually make.
4. Nick want’s to play in front of 45,000 on BOTH sides of the field.
5. Thursday nights on TV just is not as good as Saturdays when real teams play.
6. Nick watch video of how CPJ treats his players on the sidelines.
7. Nick visited the GT campus and noticed the female student population.
8. Nick wants to be a part of the dream team.
9. Nick wants to be a Bulldog!
bruce mac
June 10th, 2010
3:46 pm
Welcome to the Dream Team Nick, you will have the greatest experience available in College Football and BBall. Congratulations on your choice. It is great to be a Georgia Bulldawg.
Georgia Bulldogs get commitment 11 from Nick Marshall, who will play DB | Crimson Tide 411
June 10th, 2010
6:19 pm
[...] Michael Carvell reports in the Prep Zone Blog — I’m on vacation in Florida — Wilcox County quarterback Nick Marshall committed to Georgia [...]
oleballcoach
June 10th, 2010
10:42 pm
They get the best players and we always win the game. How all those top five classes worked out for you so for Puppies?
GREG
June 11th, 2010
1:58 pm
OK, after 10 years as head coach of UGA–the preimment program N the state, Richt is devoted to recuriting and keeping the best talent the state has to offer-to recurit Georgia first. In the words of Buggs Bunny, “what and idiot.” Athletic ability is important when and if viewed in conjunction with a students academic ability and the students character and background. After all, UGA doesn’t want a JEFF MAJOLI on their hands. But, maybe Richt wants such problems, it would be a distraction FM UGA’s subpar performance. Actually, UGA would be better suited in the ACC and that converences subpar programs.
LakeDawg57
June 11th, 2010
8:14 pm
Welcome aboard NICK MARSHAL great player should be consided for QB great game at State last yr. Also any of you so called UGA fans that think CMR is trying to save his job is just plain stupid. He is a great coach. Do you remember that we didn’t win the SEC for Twenty yrs. He got two now and played for a third. Great Job CMR can’t wait for football season looks like a great yr coming and better yrs to come with the players to hit the feild in next few yrs. GO DAWGS !!!!!!
icedawg
June 11th, 2010
8:38 pm
And UGA athletes ranked #2 in academics in the SEC right behind Vanderbilt. Go DAWGS.
The Generic Tuesday Post « Dawg Day Afternoon
June 15th, 2010
4:57 pm
[...] other recruiting news, the Dawgs scooped up “silent Georgia Tech commit” Nick Marshall recently, and may have a shot at adding another top notch prospect when Tucker linebacker James [...]
Will UGA's Mark Richt add to “Dream Team”? LB to announce between UGA, Georgia … | Bulldogs 411
July 7th, 2010
7:04 am
[...] this week, Wilcox County two-sport standout Nick Marshall narrowly committed to UGA over Georgia Tech, while also considering football scholarships from [...]
GT BABY
July 14th, 2010
11:06 am
I’m not going to lie, this one hurt, hurt bad!
Styrofoam Blocks
June 16th, 2012
5:02 am
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