Archive for November, 2009

It was hardly the senior season Mack Brown envisioned. In fact, it was about a third of the season Brown envisioned.

M.L. King tailback Mack Brown, here stretching before the season opener against Southwest DeKlab, was already dealing with hamstring issues at that point. (Photo by Chip Towers)

The AJC Super 11 tailback and one-time top-rated prospect in Georgia said at the outset his goal was to rush for 3,000 yards and win the state championship his final year at Martin Luther King High. It ended with him getting barely 1,000 yards and standing on the sidelines as the Lions fell to Newnan in the second round of the playoffs.

Hamstring issues that arose in the preseason finally got the best of Brown. He had eight yards on three carries in his last game and finished with 1,054 yards and 11 touchdowns for the season.

“It was frustrating,” said Brown, a five-star prospect who committed to Florida over Georgia in late July. “We had a good season but I wished we could have played a …

Continue reading Mack Brown reflects on ‘frustrating’ senior season »

Depending on which side of the rivalry one sits, there has been a lot of horn-tooting and rationalizing going on since the Georgia-Georgia Tech ended Saturday night. That’s only natural after a rivalry game nicknamed “Clean Old Fashioned Hate.” But the perspective is decidedly different for prospects being recruited by both schools.

Tucker linebacker James Vaughters and Kell safety Brian Randolph fall into that category. Both are high school juniors and coveted recruits for the class of 2011 and both have Tech and Georgia atop their lists.

Randolph, who attended Saturday’s game at Bobby Dodd Stadium as an unofficial visitor, insists he is giving the Bulldogs due consideration even though his brother Justin Randolph is a freshman A-back for the Yellow Jackets. Vaughters has been to both Tech and Georgia many times this season but stayed at home and watched the game on television since he had family in town for Thanksgiving.

Unlike the rabid fans that lived and died with every …

Continue reading Tech-Georgia recruits react to Dogs’ victory »

We’re comparing everything else between Georgia and Georgia Tech this week so we might as well compare recruiting, as hard as that can be.

As everyone knows, these two schools — and especially their fans — are bitter rivals. But while they go head-to-head every year on the gridiron, they don’t go head-to-head on a ton of prospects.

Part of that has to do with the schools’ academic curricula and part of it has to do with Tech coach Paul Johnson’s spread option offense. The run-oriented Yellow Jackets’ scheme is just so different from Georgia’s pro-style setup that they don’t recruit a lot of the same players on that side of the ball. More and more, however, they appear to be going after the same defensive prospects.

Of the 12 recruits committed to Georgia Tech’s 2010 class — all of them from the state of Georgia, by the way — the Bulldogs offered five of them. Of those all but one is expected to play defense: DB Ryan Ayers, DB B.J. Bostic, DB Jake Skole, DB Isaiah Johnson and …

Continue reading Tech-Georgia outcome not pivotal to recruiting »

There is good news and bad news for Georgia coming out of Kissimmee, Fla., where the Bulldogs have two commitments playing football at Osceola High School.

The good news is “athlete” Marc Deas has been fantastic for the Kowboys, playing both quarterback on offense and linebacker and defensive back on defense. The 6-foot, 185-pound senior, who projects as a DB at UGA, was credited with marshaling his team to a first-round playoff victory. He had a pivotal 42-yard interception return for a touchdown and also inspired the team and the student body with a heartfelt speech delivered at a pregame pep rally Friday afternoon.

The bad news is the school needed inspiration after a series of unfortunate events, one involving UGA’s other commitment from Osceola. Details are sketchy but B.J. Butler, a 6-3, 253-pound linebacker who plans to sign with the Bulldogs in February, was suspended for last week’s game and for this week’s game for some sort of “team disciplinary issue.” Reporters …

Continue reading Georgia commitment suspended for playoff game »

With 4,244 yards passing and 54 touchdowns, Lassiter's Hutson Mason is finally starting to generate recruiting interest from ACC and SEC schools. (Photo by Brant Sanderlin)

When you start to knock down state records like so many plastic ducks in a carnival booth and you’re doing it in the playoffs it tends to bring you a little attention.

Such is the case with Lassiter quarterback Hutson Mason, who had at least one ACC coach and one SEC coach in the stands last week when he passed for 530 yards and eight touchdowns in a 70-49 second-round win over South Gwinnett this past Friday.

The following night, Mason got a call from Bob Price, longtime recruiting coordinator and assistant coach at Virginia and an eye witness to the record-setting feat.

“When I picked up the phone he just started laugh,” Mason said Monday, laughing himself at the recollection. “He said, ‘really, man, 550 yards? Really?’ He said, ‘I’ve never seen such a thing in high school.’ He goes, ‘there’s absolutely …

Continue reading ACC, SEC interest in Hutson Mason cranks up »

You may or may not have noticed that the SEC Defensive Player of the Week named on Monday was Kentucky linebacker Sam Maxwell. It should be further noted that the Wildcats’ senior is from Hartwell.

Kentucky's Sam Maxwell, here hauling down Georgia's Washaun Ealey (24), hails from Hartwell and is one of 16 players from Georgia playing for the Wildcats. He was named SEC defensive player of the week with 11 tackles and an interception. (Photo by Brant Sanderlin)

Maxwell had the game of his career against Georgia. The senior finished with 11 tackles, a tackle for loss and an interception as the Wildcats knocked off the Bulldogs in Athens for the first time in 32 years.

It wasn’t just that Maxwell was making plays but when he was making them. His interception came with the game hanging in the balance with 1:45 to go. His tackle-for-loss came on a third-and-one for Georgia. His last recorded tackle of the contest when he stopped Branden Smith inside their 1. The Bulldogs’ fumbled …

Continue reading Kentucky’s upset fueled by Maxwell, other Georgia players »

It’s going to be a busy, compressed week, what with the Thanksgiving holiday coming, Georgia Tech and Georgia getting ready to tee off and the quarterfinals of the state high school playoffs upon us.

To get us started for the week I’m just going to give you a quick rundown of what’s out there regarding Tech and Georgia recruiting:

• Believe it or not there were some positives to come out of the Georgia-Kentucky game for the Bulldogs. According to Scout.com’s Chad Simmons, Valdosta tight end Jay Rome came to the game and said “the visit helped Georgia a lot. A whole lot.” The 6-foot-6, 240-pound Rome may be the top tight end in the South next year. He also likes Clemson and Florida.
• Both Scout and Rivals.com wrote stories over the weekend about Georgia being back in it for Washington wide receiver Antonio Goodwin. The 6-foot-2, 175-pound Goodwin, who was also in Athens for the Kentucky game, is a four-star receiver in the Class of 2010 and committed to Auburn this past summer. …

Continue reading Some positives for UGA from Kentucky game »

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. »