AJC College Sports Recruiting

Speedy Mario Alford (blue shirt) vs. current UGA football player Justin Scott-Wesley (red) in a 100-meter heat at last spring's state championship meet. Could both be teammates at UGA? Alford is already qualified and could enroll this summer (AJC)

Remember all that talk about a UGA “mystery football recruit” that never happened?

It’s probably going to happen now after a gut-wrenching turn of events for UGA over the last week.

On signing day, the Bulldogs went 2 for 9 on targets that held UGA scholarship papers – and could’ve signed with them. However, the devastating news arrived a couple of days later when three members of last year’s “Dream Team” recruiting class were dismissed for team violations (DB Nick Marshall, DB Chris Sanders, and WR Sanford Seay).

All of sudden, UGA has at least seven scholarships to fill – if it chooses – by this summer.

Expect UGA to sign one by then, maybe more. The top candidate would be a junior-college prospect somewhere in …

Continue reading UGA may add that “mystery” football recruit after all »

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With signing day over for the state’s seniors, the most prolific recruiting sweepstakes that Georgia may ever see has officially kicked off with Robert Nkemdiche.

He’s the 6-foot-5, 270-pound junior DE from Grayson High School who is ranked as the nation’s No. 1 overall prospect for 2013 by several recruiting services — the first Georgia player to ever earn the distinction.

How good is Nkemdiche? He is definitely a better prospect than any of the nearly 200 Georgia seniors that signed last week, and was probably better as a sophomore than any kid that signed last year. His high school coach played on Alabama’s 1992 national championship team that was stocked with future NFL stars and says Robert is more talented. Lowndes coach Randy McPherson pretty much summed it up with this scouting report: “Once-in-a-generation player.”

With the seniors out of the way, the spotlight …

Continue reading Robert Nkemdiche: The circus begins for the nation’s No. 1 overall prospect »

Dalvin Tomlinson, who picked Alabama over Georgia Tech and UGA on signing day, was not connected to the Crimson Tide’s “grayshirting” scandal, according to his coach.

Two longtime Alabama commitments (both recovering from knee injuries) were told only weeks before signing day by Nick Saban that they couldn’t sign with the Crimson Tide this year. Both were given the option to “grayshirt” or delay enrolling at Alabama in 2013.

What we learned: If you commit to Nick Saban, it’s safe unless you get injured or Alabama has the opportunity to upgrade at your position before you officially sign the paperwork (AP)

Justin Taylor, a running back from North Atlanta High School, was apparently no longer needed after Alabama upgraded at the position when 5-star RB TJ Yeldon flipped from Auburn to the Crimson Tide. Taylor, who missed most of his senior season with a knee injury, ended up signing with Kentucky and had some strong comments for Saban: “[As] far as pulling the …

Continue reading Dalvin Tomlinson’s connection to Alabama ‘grayshirt scandal’ (UPDATED) »

Mike Bobo reportedly played a pivotal role in reeling home UGA’s most highly-publicized recruit a day after signing day.

Josh Harvey-Clemons, the 5-star linebacker from Lowndes, committed to UGA in front of a national TV audience at 9 a.m. Wednesday but didn’t turn in his paperwork until around 24 hours later. The delay caused a brief heart attack among UGA fans.

Harvey-Clemons had to get the approval – and signature – of his grandfather, Woodrow Clemons, who is also his legal guardian. Both of Josh’s parents are deceased.

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Grandpa had nothing against UGA, the story goes, he just wanted Josh to go to Florida because of convenience and thought it would be a safer commute for everyone.  Grandpa liked FSU also but felt the two-lane roads to FSU weren’t as safe as the 100-mile drive on I-75 from Valdosta to Gainesville. Note: FSU is 80 miles away, and UGA is 250.

Before …

Continue reading Mike Bobo to the rescue for UGA »

Georgia Tech did much better with recruiting than it appeared in the team rankings, according to a couple of national analysts. On Wednesday, the Yellow Jackets signed 17, including 4-star DE Francis Kallon of Central Gwinnett and speedy QB Justin Thomas of Prattville, Ala.

Georgia Tech finished with a No. 58 ranking by Scout.com, and at 58 by 247Sports. The Yellow Jackets didn’t crack the top 25 of ESPN or the top 50 of Rivals.

Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson scored a top DE and QB for 2012 (AJC)

• Scout.com’s Chad Simmons: “I like their class. A lot of these kids are never as flashy as some others, specifically on the offensive side of the ball. It’s because of the system they run. They’re not always going to get the 6-foot-5. 300-pound offensive tackle and elite running backs in the option, or at quarterback, even though this year was an exception. Even though Francis Kallon gets a lot of the headlines and rightfully so, I’m very impressed with how they pulled …

Continue reading Recruiting experts: Georgia Tech’s class gets some love »

UPDATED: UGA’s 10-year Rivals streak was both documented and written about by Rivals in this article by Rivals.com from July. Click on story link

Even after a little help from Josh Harvey-Clemons’ grandpa, UGA’s record-breaking streak in recruiting appears to be over.

The Bulldogs are the nation’s only team to finish in the top 10 of the Rivals’ top 10 team rankings every year since 2002. Until this year.

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What about this year? After Harvey-Clemons turned in his paperwork on Thursday, UGA rocketed from No. 19 overall to No. 11 – one spot away. Is that Harvey-Clemons really that good? Good enough to move an entire team up eight spots? Yes, he’s good but not that good. The jump also had to do with Rivals recalculating its rankings with the overnight addition of late signees from colleges across the nation.

“It can’t last forever,” Rivals’ Mike Farrell said. “This …

Continue reading UGA’s record-breaking recruiting streak is over (UPDATED) »

The Josh Harvey-Clemons’ recruiting soap opera is over. He got his grandfather’s signature on Thursday morning and turned in the scholarship papers, one day after committing to UGA in front of a national TV audience.

You can read extensive coverage of Harvey-Clemons, how everything went down, and UGA’s reaction in this blog by the AJC Chip Towers. (Click on story link)

Now let’s get back to the Big Picture for UGA with some of the recruiting experts:

What did it mean for Georgia for Josh Harvey-Clemons to finally sign with them a day later?

• Scout.com’s Chad Simmons: “It caps it off … I guess the cherry on top today with some drama. Yesterday, it seemed like they were going to get off to a good start at 9 o’clock in the morning [when Harvey-Clemons committed on ESPNU] – and I guess they kind of did with the commitment. But until the LOI is signed, nothing is official, as we all know now. This really caps it off well for Georgia. I’m sure they wish they …

Continue reading Josh Harvey-Clemons has signed with UGA … How will it affect national rankings? »

Georgia Tech and UGA may have to use the home-state connections to get a big and bright red Chick-fila-A built on the center of campus.

It may be a pretty big deal in college football recruiting.

A linebacker from Birmingham, Ala., who is now dubbed “The Chick-fil-A recruit” selected Auburn over Clemson to both attend college and play football — partly because of the fast-food restaurant that has its headquarters in Atlanta.

Cassanova McKinzy of Birmingham, Ala., signed with Auburn on Wednesday and gave some of the reasons for his choice to a local TV station:

“(It was) kind of the environment and plus they had no Chick-fil-A on campus. You had to go like, probably like 15 minutes off campus to go to like a real restaurant. Their café was kind of small.”

Here’s the link the video.

Who knew that food was so important in recruiting? Then again, one of  UGA’s top recruits, 4-star tailback Todd Gurley out of Tarboro, N.C., couldn’t stop talking about the food at …

Continue reading Chick-fil-A recruit? Linebacker signs Auburn over Clemson for fast food »

Ex-Alabama RB recruit Justin Taylor on Crimson Tide: "… As far as pulling the scholarship, I think they did me wrong. I was the No. 7 to commit, that’s all I’ve got to say. I was committed to them for a year. They could’ve handled it better.” (AJC)

After star Atlanta running back Justin Taylor was safely signed by another SEC school on Wednesday, he was ready to speak more candidly about his recruitment by national champion Alabama.

A 5-foot-10, 208-pounder from North Atlanta High School, Taylor signed scholarship papers with Kentucky rather than to wait to sign with Alabama in January 2013, a promise made by coach Nick Saban two weeks ago.

Taylor committed to the Crimson Tide around a year ago, but was informed by Nick Saban in January that he couldn’t sign this year. Saban said it was because of Taylor’s knee injury that cut short his senior season, asking him to enroll next January in a practice known as grayshirting. Speculation became rampant in the …

Continue reading Justin Taylor: Safely signed with Kentucky, speaks candidly on Alabama »

After Josh Harvey-Clemons committed to UGA on national TV (pictured), his grandfather — and legal guardian — isn't ready to sign yet (AP Photo/The Valdosta Daily Times, Ed Hooper)

BREAKING: 8:50 a.m Thursday: Josh Harvey-Clemons’ letter of intent arrived at UGA this morning, according to UGA spokesperson Claude Felton.

Recruiting is considered to be “Soap Operas for Men” — and there’s a good one going on in Georgia.

Josh Harvey-Clemons, ranked the state’s No. 1 overall prospect by ESPN, committed to UGA on national TV but his grandfather – who is also his legal guardian – reportedly won’t sign off on the scholarship papers.

“Everyone has to sign, you know?” Josh’s uncle, Roy Hart, told the AJC around 3 p.m. Wednesday. “But he’s going to sign, from what I understand.”

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Josh has to get the approval of 51-year-old Woodrow Clemons, who has become almost as …

Continue reading IT’S OFFICIAL: Josh Harvey-Clemons signs with UGA on the day after »