AJC College Sports Recruiting

UPDATED SATURDAY, FEB. 6 . . .

Here’s the first pass from AJC correspondent Steve Slay at collecting all the signings in the state of Georgia this year (sorted by high school classification and school). It’s a work in progress. Coaches, please be sure to let us know if anybody is missing:

CLASS AAAAA

ALPHARETTA

Michael Bennett – Georgia

Justin Burns – Delaware

Connor Hollenbeck – Washington & Lee

Brandon Terry – Wake Forest

BERKMAR

Norman Booker – Hampton

BRADWELL INSTITUTE

Sheldon Barnes – Savannah State

Darvean Herron – Savannah State

Ulrick John – Georgia State

BROOKWOOD

Julian Suber – Georgia Southern

CAMDEN COUNTY

Jeremiah Booth – Wofford

Ean Days – Illinois

Robert Gabriel – Carson-Newman

Zach Griffiths – Carson-Newman

Matt Jackson – South Carolina State

Glenn Mack – Georgia Military (JUCO)

Steven Murphy – South Carolina State

Derrick Saulsberry – Delaware

Kevin Steele – Newport News Apprentice

CENTENNIAL

Ben Carpenter – Samford

Continue reading Working list of state’s college football signees (updated) »

The power of friendship cannot be underestimated in the decisions of Calhoun's Da'Rick Rogers (left) and Nash Nance to sign with Tennessee. (AJC photo by Bob Andres)

It requires some context to understand Da’Rick Rogers’ decision to leave Georgia at the altar on the eve of national signing day and follow his best friend Nash Nance to Tennessee.

And make no mistake about it — Nance and his family are the primary reason Rogers signed with the Vols.

“The power of friendship is huge,” Rogers told the AJC’s Bob Andres after he signed his letter-of-intent with UT on Wednesday.

Despite coming from divergent backgrounds, Rogers and Nance are indeed the best of friends. They met while they were attending the Darlington School, a private boarding school in Rome.

“We’re pretty much like brothers, black and white brothers,” Rogers said in a previous interview with the AJC.

Said Nance: “He’s more like a brother than a friend. I’ll always be there for him.”

That close relationship extends …

Continue reading Nance’s friendship main reason Da’Rick Rogers now with Vols »

As for Georgia’s 2010 recruiting class, I don’t think it was nearly the failure it’s being made out to be.

Granted, the Bulldogs lost a lot of prospects toward the end. In total four recruits that were committed before the season began backed out and signed with other teams by signing day, most notably five-star wide receiver Da’Rick Rogers of Calhoun.

And Georgia whiffed on a lot of high-profile talent it tried to land at the end. Five-star athlete Christian Green of Tampa signed with Florida State, as did Lowndes linebacker Telvin Smith (don’t kid yourself, this was close and Jimbo Fisher was sweating it). Defensive tackle Jeff Whitaker went to Auburn. And receivers Kadron Boone (LSU), Adrian Coxson (Florida) and Jordan Akins (UCF) all went elsewhere. The fact that the Bulldogs finished second on most of those players means nothing.

But recruiting is, after all, about the players you bring in. And Georgia brought in some really good ones.

It was routinely being reported …

Continue reading Georgia Bulldogs’ 2010 class a lot better than advertised »

THE TEN AT 10:

Derek Dooley was all smiles after his first Tennessee recruiting class was inked on Wednesday.

1. In case you didn’t get the point on national signing day, new Tennessee coach Derek Dooley reiterated in comments to reporters that, like his predecessor Lane Kiffin, the state of Georgia is going to be a primary recruiting target for the Vols. “One thing that is certain is that we have to do a good job in the state of Georgia, among other states,” Vince Dooley’s youngest son said. “There’s a lot of good football players in that state. In the past in all my years watching this program, when they’ve won, they’ve had some very good players come out of Georgia.” The Vols signed six players from Georgia on Wednesday, including the No. 1-rated prospect, Calhoun wide receiver Da’Rick Rogers.

2. New USC coach Lane Kiffin was being lauded Wednesday for landing the nation’s No. 1 prospect, 6-foot-8, 338-pound offensive lineman Seantrel Henderson of St. Paul, Minn. That …

Continue reading Ten at 10: Like Lane Kiffin, Derek Dooley targets Georgia »

Recruiting experts apparently don’t believe Urban Meyer’s leave of absence (when does that begin again?) is hurting Florida’s recruiting.

The Gators topped nearly every Signing Day rankings.

But as Georgia Tech Paul Johnson said, “How many five-star recruits are on the Colts’ roster?”

Regardless, here are the national recruiting rankings from some of most popular Web sites:

Rivals.com

1. USC
2. Florida
3. Texas
4. Auburn
5. Alabama

12. Georgia

43. Georgia Tech

ESPN

1. Florida
2. Texas
3. Alabama
4. Auburn
5. Oklahoma

12. Georgia

Tech not ranked in top 25

Scout.com

1. Florida
2. Oklahoma
3. Texas
4. Alabama
5. Auburn

21. Georgia

41. Georgia Tech

Continue reading Recruiting rankings: Florida consensus No. 1, but USC close »

Paul Johnson transcript from Wednesday news conference.

On the recruiting class:
“I’m excited about the class. I felt like we addressed a lot of needs .Not only good football players but good people. We tried to ID guys who fit our program and fit Georgia Tech.”

On instate signees:
“We wanted to make in-state a huge priority when we came here. We’ve had this class put together a long time. The majority committed before the season was over and didn’t lose anybody. We identified the kids we wanted early and were able to get the kids committed. Fourteen out of 18 in-state (signees) shows that we are committed.”

On which signees will play early:
“You don’t ever know who is going to play and help early. That’s part of the beauty of it. But everyone will contribute before they leave Georgia Tech. The new defense might help (young players) some. But maturity and strength factor more than that.

On how class fits new defense:
“We just tried to balance the numbers. …

Continue reading Paul Johnson Signing Day news conference transcript »

The bottom line

Instead of a pretty blue ribbon, the 2010 class was wrapped tightly Wednesday evening with adhesive bandages. The last month of recruiting was brutal to Georgia, and the spoils show it. While many schools would love to have a recruiting class like Georgia’s, it was not a great class, particularly by Georgia standards. In fact, this is not a consensus top-10 or even top-15 class.

“Recruiting is about relationships built, and we knew when we went through a process like we did with our coaching changes, that some relationships were broken,” coach Mark Richt said. “It put a strain on some young men, and we know that some of them changed their minds and didn’t stick with their commitment.”

Still, defensive coordinator Todd Grantham got some nice pieces to play with as he revamps the defense. Freakish athletes such as Jakar Hamilton and Alec Ogletree could contribute quickly and several defensive linemen were added. On offense, the list is short on …

Continue reading UGA recruiting class grade, overview »

The bottom line

By mid-morning, the grade was in on Paul Johnson’s recruiting class, and it was … different depending on who assigned it. In terms of throwing bodies at perceived positions of need: B.

With at least nine defenders in the 18-man class (more offensive players may convert), a nod was made to the area that most frustrated the Yellow Jackets last fall. They added a scholarship kicker for the first time in years, and tried to grow some positions new defensive coordinator Al Groh considers critical: outside linebacker and safety.

But should the Jackets have added even more heft in the lines?

Bottom line grade, again: NRK — nobody really knows. “I think we’ve increased our athleticism,” Johnson said. “We’ll know in about three years,”

A-plus for that assessment.

 Loading …

Among friends

Scout.com ranked Tech’s recruiting …

Continue reading Georgia Tech recruiting class grade, overview »

2010 Georgia State signees
(The quote about each player is from George Pugh, assistant head coach, recruiting and special projects/receivers at Georgia State)

Pat Baker, K, 6-0, 170, Vero Beach (Fla.)

“Baker gives you that added dimension that once you cross the 35-yard line you’re going to score points.”

Christo Bilukidi, DE, 6-4, 295, Eastern Arizona College

“He is extremely fast and quick.

Evan Bostic, LB, 6-3, 230, Jones Co. JC (Miss.)

“He one of those guys that you don’t have to coach them very much, and he makes a lot of plays.”

Jocquez Fears, DB, 5-9, 208, Northeastern University

“He was a starter at Northeastern University, which just dropped their program, and we were very lucky to get him.”

Alex Findura, DE, 6-5, 235, Woodland

“He is a long string-bean guy who is very versatile and gives us a lot of depth.”

Aaron Gambrah, LB, 6-2, 200, Riverside Military

“He can go from sideline to sideline and knock your head off.”

Jeff Holmes, DT, 6-3, …

Continue reading Georgia State 2010 Recruiting Class »

AJC photographers were all capturing the best shots from National Signing Days.

National Signing Day in Metro Atlanta

http://projects.ajc.com/gallery/view/sports/recruiting/national-signing-day/

Georgia Tech National Signing Day

http://projects.ajc.com/gallery/view/sports/tech/tech-signing-day-2010/

UGA National Signing Day

http://projects.ajc.com/gallery/view/sports/uga/uga-signing-day-2010/

Fox Sports National Day Party

http://projects.ajc.com/gallery/view/sports/recruiting/fox-signing-day-2010/

Alec and Alexander Ogletree

http://projects.ajc.com/gallery/view/sports/recruiting/ogletree-twins-sign/

Northview High School

http://projects.ajc.com/gallery/view/sports/recruiting/northview-signing-day/

South Paulding High School

http://projects.ajc.com/gallery/view/sports/recruiting/paulding-signing-day/

Calhoun High School

http://projects.ajc.com/gallery/view/sports/recruiting/calhoun-signing-day/

Sandy Creek High School

Continue reading National Signing Day photos: Metro Atlanta and beyond »