AJC College Sports Recruiting

How do you feel about UGA’s 2013 recruiting class so far?

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The Bulldogs are off to a fast start with 17 commitments, including the last two at their biggest position of need – offensive line.

UGA could sign around 30 in February.

How would you grade this class so far? Which prospects do you like the most? Which are the ones that UGA needs to keep an eye on due to attention from competing colleges?

What are the biggest remaining needs for this class? Which positions? Which players?

Please post below.

UGA commits for 2013

1. RB Derrick Henry, 6-3, 241, Yulee, Fla.
2. QB Brice Ramsey, 6-3, 190, Camden County HS
3. S Tray Matthews, 6-2, 205, Newnan HS
4. DB Shaq Wiggins, 5-10, 160, Sandy Creek HS
5. DB Steven Nelson, 6-0, 185, College of Sequoias JC (Northside-WR HS)
6. DT Chris Mayes, 6-4, 295, Mississippi Gulf Coast JC (Spalding HS)
7. DT DeAndre “Moose” Johnson, 6-3, 311, Northgate HS

Continue reading How would you grade UGA’s 2013 recruiting class so far? »

Georgia Tech secured a "package deal" from Tri-Cities HS — offensive linemen No. 73 Jeremi Hall (6-5, 350) and No. 71 Shamire Devine (6-7, 331)

A package deal of offensive linemen to Georgia Tech is complete.

Jeremi Hall, a 6-foot-5, 350-pounder from Tri-Cities High School, committed to Georgia Tech on Saturday. Hall followed in the footsteps of his Tri-Cities teammate, Shamire DeVine, who committed to Georgia Tech last week.

“Georgia Tech recruited me the hardest, to this point,” Hall told the AJC.

Hall is a 4-star who is ranked as the nation’s No. 6 offensive guard by Rivals.com.

Hall, who has a 3.3 GPA and may study Computer Science or Architecture, has early football scholarship offers from Virginia Tech, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Purdue and Kentucky, among others. He nearly committed to the Yellow Jackets during a February visit.

Georgia Tech now has five commitments for its 2013 football recruiting class – with two being running backs. The Yellow Jackets project to sign …

Continue reading Commit! Georgia Tech completes package deal of O-linemen »

TE AJ Jackson (AJC)

Posted 3:44 p.m. Saturday

AJ Jackson, one of the state’s top prospects at tight end, committed to Auburn on Saturday.

The 6-foot-6, 245-pounder from Lovejoy High School picked Auburn over South Carolina, Missouri and Virginia among 21 football scholarship offers. He is ranked as a 4-star tight end by Rivals.

“I came up to Auburn for the ‘Big Cat’ weekend with my family, and it just felt like the perfect fit,” Jackson told the AJC. “Auburn has everything I’m looking for in a school, with academics and athletics. And it was perfect timing to commit with my family here and everything.”

Last year as a junior, Jackson was one of the star players for a Lovejoy team that reached the Class AAAA state championship, losing to Tucker. Jackson started both ways at tight end and defensive end.

“I’m happy for AJ; I’ve had four other players from here go to Auburn and I’m very familiar with Auburn,” Lovejoy coach Al Hughes said.

“He’s an outstanding football player, and …

Continue reading AJ Jackson: Auburn gets commitment from 4-star tight end »

Did UGA hire one of Robert Nkemdiche’s former high school coaches to get an advantage for the No. 1 college football prospect in the nation?

It’s a JFK conspiracy theory that has been debated here and here and other places all over the Internet.

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For the record, UGA recently hired Daryl Jones as its Director of On-Campus Recruiting – which is the most critical behind-the-scenes job in the recruiting department.

Jones was an assistant (in charge of defensive backs) at Grayson High School for 2009 season, when a talented freshman named “Big Rob” split time between the freshmen team and varsity roster. Soon after, Jones took another job running Under Armour camps before he was hired by UGA.

Nkemdiche and Jones are friends. So now the popular question for Internet message boards – Did UGA hire Nkemdiche’s former coach to get an advantage?

Grayson coach Mickey Conn chuckled when …

Continue reading Robert Nkemdiche: Did UGA hire coach to get No. 1 prospect? »

Who is the state's best QB prospect? Atlanta Elite 11 QB MVP Anthony Jennings is part of unusually deep and talented 2013 class in Georgia (AJC)

One of the Southeast’s top quarterbacks has released a list of his 10 finalists.

Anthony Jennings, a 6-foot-1, 205-pounder from Marietta High School, was named MVP of the Alanta Elite 11 QB camp last month.

“He wanted to narrow it down to make it more manageable,” Marietta coach Scott Burton told the AJC. “He ended up with around 35 scholarship offers. He wanted to get it down to 10 to take a harder look at those schools, and then let the other ones move on with other quarterbacks they are recruiting.”

Here’s the 10 in alphabetical order:

• Alabama
• Arkansas
• LSU
• Mississippi State
• Missouri
• Nebraska
• Ole Miss
• Oregon
• South Florida
• Wisconsin

Jennings grew up a fan of UGA, where his father played college football. However, the Bulldogs already have a commitment at the QB position with Brice Ramsey of Camden County.

What’s next for Anthony? …

Continue reading Anthony Jennings: QB releases his 10 finalists »

How is all the talk about Florida State and the Big 12 affecting ACC recruiting? It’s a dominating topic in world of college football, but are any recruits listening just yet? And if something was to happen with FSU, how would that affect Georgia Tech?

Here’s my opinion. What’s yours? Please post below.

Continue reading How are FSU-Big 12 rumors affecting ACC recruiting? »

DT Darius Commissiong (Photo courtesy of 247sports.com)

One of Maryland’s top college prospects committed to Georgia Tech on Wednesday.

Darius Commissiong, a 6-foot-2, 295-pound defensive tackle from Forestville, Md., picked Georgia Tech over North Carolina and Maryland, among his 20 offers.

Commissiong, a 3-star who is ranked as the nation’s No. 38 defensive tackle by 247sports.com, was convinced after meeting with Georgia Tech defensive coordinator Al Groh last week and talking to him again over the telephone on Wednesday.

“He told me everything I need to hear to make me want to go there – it’s a good school academically and I fit in well with the defensive scheme there,” Commissiong told the AJC.

“I also talked with Coach [Paul Johnson]. You could tell he was really excited and somewhat surprised when I committed. It was his tone of voice. He had a lot of pep in it. He kind of shouted when I told him the news.”

Commissiong has a 3.0 and will likely study Business or …

Continue reading Maryland DT commits to Georgia Tech »

The offensive lineman nicknamed “The Finisher” committed to UGA on Wednesday.

Brandon Kublanow, a 6-foot-3, 290-pounder from Walton High School, picked UGA over Vanderbilt, North Carolina and Clemson, among his 20 offers. Kublanow earned his nickname because of his punishing style of play.

"The Finisher" will sign with UGA (AJC photo by Michael Carvell)

“Georgia is the best fit for me,” Kublanow told the AJC. “They have a great combination of academics and football. The program is headed in the right direction.

Why commit now? “I’ve just been thinking about it. I talked to my family about it. I was up there on Saturday. I took a little secret visit to Georgia, and it just felt right.”

Kublanow is commitment No. 17 for UGA’s 2013 recruiting class – and the third for the offensive line.  He will play offensive guard or center for the Bulldogs, which may sign around 30 recruits next February.

“Coach Richt was really fired up when I told him I was coming to Georgia,” Kublanow …

Continue reading Brandon Kublanow: UGA lands OL for commitment No. 17 »

UGA’s top football recruit is being courted by Alabama.

And he’s listening.

The marquee recruit is Derrick Henry, the 5-star running back from Yulee, Fla., who committed to UGA last summer. He is ranked as one of the top three players out of Florida.

Alabama dispatched assistant Burton Burns to Henry’s high school on Monday. It went so well that Henry sent a tweet out later that day that ignited a frenzy in the Bulldog nation:

Had a good time with Coach Burns today from Alabama. Really liked him . Excited to get over there June 8th #Tide

If that didn’t cause widespread panic among UGA fans, Henry had this to say the next day to Scout.com’s Andrew Bone (click here to read full article):

“I started talking to my coach. We had a serious talk. We talked about the positives of Alabama. We feel like Alabama is the place to go … I am not saying my coaches are swaying me to go to Alabama. They are not doing that at all. We are just laying out everything. The fact Alabama has coach …

Continue reading Derrick Henry: Will Alabama flip UGA’s top recruit? »

The younger brother of UGA quarterback Christian LeMay has set a date for his college decision.

WR Uriah LeMay (Photo courtesy of 247sports.com)

Uriah LeMay, a 4-star wide receiver from Matthews, N.C., will announce on June 1. Due to the family connection, UGA is considered one of the schools to beat for LeMay, who has been poker-faced about his leaders and the recruiting process. On Tuesday, his father sent out this text message to the media:

Uriah LeMay has been nominated to 4 All American games thus far as he approaches his senior season. He has over 30 D1 offers and is now at a point where he is ready to announce his college school of choice. This announcement will take place at Champion Christian Center on June 1st @ 6pm.

The 6-foot-1, 200-pound LeMay attended last month’s G-Day game to watch his brother, Christian, who is a red-shirt freshman.

“Obviously with his brother at Georgia, they have as good of a shot as anybody,” said Rusty Mansell, National Recruiting …

Continue reading Uriah LeMay: UGA QB’s younger brother ready to commit »