AJC College Sports Recruiting

Ask Georgia Tech commitment Barry “B.J.” Bostic to describe the small town of Louisville (pronounced Lewis-vill) from which he hails and you can feel the smile come through the telephone.

“Not too many big places around here,” Bostic said of Jefferson County’s seat, population 2,700. “There aren’t many towns that don’t have a Wal-Mart. Well, we don’t. We have a couple of grocery stores, a couple of dollar stores, that’s it. Lots of trees and woods.”

They also have their football. Thanks in part to Bostic, an AJC Super 11 selection, Louisville has a powerhouse of a program in the Jefferson County Warriors. The four-time Region 3 champions are 11-0 and ranked No. 4 in Class AA this season.

Bostic has had more than a little to do with that. Playing primarily quarterback but also running back and wide receiver, the 5-foot-10, 170-pound athlete has amassed 2,544 total yards and 32 touchdowns, including 1,054 yards rushing and 983 passing. His scores have come on 12 runs, 15 passes, …

Continue reading B.J. Bostic making Tech fans out of mid-Georgians »

Sorry but I got pulled off on the Uga VII story. But in case you didn’t see it, five-star power forward Tobias Harris signed with Tennessee over Georgia Tech and five other schools (Kentucky, Louisville, Maryland, Syracuse and West Virginia).

Following is an account from the Baltimore Sun:

Tobias Harris, the five-star forward from Dix Hills, N.Y., has made his decision.

“I’m going to be playing my college basketball at the University of Tennessee,” said Harris, who announced his decision live on ESPNU Thursday night.

Harris picked the Volunteers over Maryland, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Louisville, Syracuse and West Virginia.

“I really had a great relationship with Coach [Bruce] Pearl and Coach [Tony] Jones,” Harris said. “It’s just a family atmosphere down there. I got along with the players real well and it’s just a great opportunity and fit for me.”

Continue reading Tobias Harris chooses Vols over Georgia Tech »

Tobias Harris, the highly-touted forward from New York who is considering Georgia Tech among his finalists, will announce his college decision on live television today at 6 p.m.

Harris, a 6-foot-8, 220-pound high school senior, signed a scholarship with either Tech, Tennessee, Kentucky, Louisville, Maryland, Syracuse or West Virginia yesterday, the last day of the early signing period. But Harris will keep that a secret until this evening when he unveils it at the ESPN Zone in Manhattan’s Times Square.

Harris attends Half Hollow Hills West High in Glen Head, N.Y. Rivals.com rates him the No. 1 player at his position and the No. 5 prospect overall.

Continue reading Tech recruit Tobias Harris to reveal choice at 6 p.m. »

Bama all the way, says Gainesville's electrifying quarterback Blake Sims. (AJC photo)

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The answer to the question was delivered politely and succinctly.

I asked Gainesville quarterback Blake Sims – arguably the best overall player in the entire state — if there was any chance at all he could end up at Georgia.

“No, sir,” the longtime Alabama commitment stated flatly on Wednesday.

By itself that would not seem a stirring statement. He’s going to go where he said he said he was going to go. But placed in the context of the last few weeks it resonates powerfully.

Sims, as I have reported, grew up a Bulldogs’ fan. Living just 41 miles from Sanford Stadium, he attended their camps for four years and his parents have framed photos of Sims and coach Mark Richt on the walls of their Gainesville home.

But it was the Crimson Tide that was the first to offer this dynamic athlete last spring. And Sims accepted a day later. But the day before Sims practically begged …

Continue reading Blake Sims makes it clear: No go for UGA »

You’ve got to love basketball recruiting.

Tobias Harris, a 6-foot-8 power forward from New York and the No. 2-rated player at his position in America, signed a scholarship with somebody on Wednesday, the final day of the early signing period. And that somebody might have even been Georgia Tech, which welcomed him to Atlanta on his last official visit just Monday.

But we won’t know who Harris signed with until he makes his televised announcement on ESPNU Thursday at the ESPN Zone in New York City’s Times Square.

We know this: It will be either Tech, Tennessee, Maryland, Kentucky, Louisville, Syracuse or West Virginia. And don’t count out Bruce Pearl’s Vols.

In fact, in the latest version “As the Recruiting World Turns,” Harris was supposed to fly back to New York on Tuesday after his Tech visit. But instead he and his family reportedly drove home and stopped off in Knoxville for Tennessee’s game against UNC-Asheville.

Here’s where it gets real interesting. Speculation is that …

Continue reading Intrigue surrounds Tech hoops target Tobias Harris »

Union County’s Blake Gowder lives slap-dab in the middle of Georgia’s Chattahoochee National Forest. It’s a beautiful area surrounded by 4,000-foot mountain peaks and clear, swift-flowing streams. It’s known for its great hiking and camping and outdoor activities but not so much for football.

Blake Gowder was a standout player on both sides of the ball for Union County, starring at wide receiver and linebacker. He accepted a scholarship offer from Vanderbilt this week. (Special photo)

Then Gowder came along. Union County’s star wide receiver and linebacker accepted a scholarship offer from Vanderbilt University this past Sunday night. Best anybody can tell, that makes him the first Union County citizen to accept a full ride from a Division I football program in more than 30 years.

“It was definitely harder [to get noticed] just because of where I’m located,” Gowder told me this week. “But it’s all worth it to me. I’m glad to be one of the few that went to a big school in this …

Continue reading Union County’s Blake Gowder accepts Vandy offer »

Baseball took center stage in the state on Tuesday as both Georgia and Georgia Tech received signed letters-of-intent from major prospects during the early signing period.

The Yellow Jackets won out in a battle over Tatnall Square Academy baseball and football star DeAndre Smelter. Smelter is a 6-2, 205-pound right-handed pitcher with a 90-plus-mile-and-hour fastball. Obviously he is expected to be high draft pick in next June’s Amateur Baseball Draft.

“No matter what happens (with the draft), I know I have a home at Georgia Tech,” Smelter told the Macon Telegraph. “You can do anything in life with a degree from Georgia Tech.”

Smelter, the Telegraph’s 2008 Male Athlete of the Year, gave up football this season to concentrate on baseball.

Georgia also got a football star to play baseball. Conor Welton has quarterbacked undefeated Wesleyan into second round of the GHSA Class A state football playoffs and a state championship last year. But he signed a baseball …

Continue reading Major baseball prospects sign on at Tech, Georgia »

Auburn and Georgia are in a tug-of-war over Warner Robins defensive tackle Jeffrey Whitaker (55). (AJC photo by Jason Getz)

His senior high school football season is over. But Warner Robins’ Jeff Whitaker is not hanging his head.

“I’m good. I’m fine,” the Demons’ 6-foot-3, 290-pound defensive tackle said. “I have no regrets. I played as hard as I could.”

The Demons finished 6-4, which meant a rare playoff miss for the four-time state champions. But Whitaker had a fantastic individual season.

“He’s a great player,” coach Bryan Way said. “And a good kid, too.”

Apparently college recruiters think so, too. Whitaker, a four-star prospect who shot up as high as 11th in the nation at his position in recruiting rankings, landed more than a dozen major college scholarship offers.

His season now officially over, this U.S. Army High School All-American has trimmed down his list to five schools:  Georgia, Auburn, California, North Carolina and South Carolina. Most recently Whitaker went …

Continue reading Whitaker talks Georgia-Auburn and recruitment timeline »

Hutson Mason is a star.

Forget that football stuff. The dude’s on television.

Mason, the Lassiter High quarterback who made headlines this past weekend for breaking the all-time Georgia record for passing yards in a single season (3,714), also plays a quarterback on TV. But he’s not acting.

These are the eight high school quarterbacks competing on the recruiting reality show 'The Ride.' That's Hutson Mason on the far left (I think).

Mason is one of eight high school quarterbacks from across the country that were selected to compete on “The Ride,” a sports reality show that is currently airing on Comcast Sports  and Fox Sports Net affiliates across the U.S. Episode Three of 10 aired last night on CSS. You’ll have to call your local cable provider or satellite company for the exact channel.

Loosely patterned after the CBS hit show “Survivor” and other reality shows of that ilk, the eight quarterbacks were selected by recruiting experts based on their distinction as …

Continue reading Lassiter’s Hutson Mason stars in reality TV show »

It was not long after lunch when I reached Deon Rogers on Monday and by then it had already been for him a very long day.

It began about 4 a.m. when he and Treasure Coast High School teammate Jeff Luc arose in an Athens hotel room for the ride to Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson Airport to make an 8 a.m. flight. By now he was back in Port St. Lucie, Fla. — just north of Miami on Florida’s east coast — driving to practice to begin preparations for a first-round playoff game Thursday night.

“Yeah, I’m pretty tired,” said Rogers, a 6-foot-2, 190-pound linebacker who committed to Georgia this past summer. “But it was a really good trip. I really enjoyed myself. It was kind of like this summer. I had fun with Coach [John] Jancek and Coach [Mark] Richt and the other players. I’m loving Georgia and I’m feeling real comfortable there.”

That’s good news for the Bulldogs. Next to Frostproof, Fla.’s, Nickell Robey, Rogers is probably considered the shakiest of their commitments for the 2010 …

Continue reading Luc, Rogers happily worn out after long trek to UGA »