Archive for November, 2009

Michael Dyer, one of the top-ranked tailbacks in America, committed to Auburn on Friday.

Dyer (5-foot-8, 200), from Little Rock Christian in Little Rock, Ark., is considered the No. 1 running back in the country by ESPN, and No. 3 by Scout.com and Rivals.com. He chose the Tigers over Arkansas, Tennessee, Ole Miss, Florida and Alabama.

The big question is how Dyer’s commitment will affect the nation’s otehr top-rated backs. Marcus Lattimore of Duncan, S.C., and Lache Seastrunk of Temple, Texas, ranked 1 and 2 by the other services, were also considering Auburn.

The general thought was that two backs of that ilk wouldn’t go to the same school. But Dyer insists there is a possibility that Lattimore could also end up on the Plains.

“The last few weeks, me and Marcus Lattimore have had conversations and sent texts back and forth trying to figure out what’s going on and to see if he’s going to go to Auburn or not,” Dyer told ESPN’s JC Shurburtt. “I told him it would be great for …

Continue reading Auburn lands ESPN’s No. 1 back in America, Michael Dyer »

Jordan Akins plays quarterback, wide receiver, defensive back and kick returner at Union Grove High. Georgia offered him as a wide receiver Friday. (Photo by Jeff Hurndon/jhurndonphotography.com)

It’s official. Georgia has offered a scholarship to Union Grove athlete Jordan Akins.

Bulldogs wide receivers coach Tony Ball hand-delivered an offer letter to Akins late this morning at the Henry County high school. Akins, considered a pro prospect in baseball, also will be given the opportunity able to play baseball at Georgia, according to his coach.

“It’s a very big deal,” Union Grove coach Steven Collins said Friday. “I spoke with Coach Ball and he said they believe Jordan is a top-notch player, one of the best in the state. He’s a late-bloomer but I believe this is the first scholarship Georgia has offered since late this summer so that says a lot.”

The 6-foot-3, 190-pound senior plays wide receiver, quarterback, defensive back and kick returner for the 8-1 Wolverines. Georgia …

Continue reading Union Grove’s Akins receives scholarship offer from UGA »

Three members of Georgia Tech’s 2010 recruiting class were selected this week to play in the Offense-Defense All-America Bowl.

AJC Super 11 quarterback/athlete B.J. Bostic of Jefferson County, DT Shawn Green of Grayson and DT Denzel McCoy of Northview were invited to play in the high school all-star game Jan. 2 in Myrtle Beach, S.C. The game, in its third year of existence,  pits nationally-ranked high school all-stars from the East against others from the West. It competes with the UnderArmour (Jan. 2, Orlando) and U.S. Army (Jan. 9, San Antonio) All-America games.

Now for some other news and notes:

• Word is that Union Grove athlete Jordan Akins is about to land a scholarship offer from Georgia. Akins is a 6-foot-3, 190-pound multi-skilled athlete who plays quarterback, wide receiver, defensive back and kick returner for the Wolverines, depending on where they need him when. He received a scholarship offer from Georgia Tech last week and holds offers from Ole Miss, UConn, UCF …

Continue reading 3 Tech commitments invited to national All-Star game »

Eduardo Clements, one of Georgia’s few remaining running back targets for 2010, is now off the market.

The 5-foot-10, 185-pound tailback at Miami’s Booker T. Washington High committed to the Miami Hurricanes this week. His decision came just days after Loganville’s Storm Johnson decided to commit to “The U” this past weekend.

Clements is the fourth running back to decide to sign with the Hurricanes, joining Darion Hall of Naples, Fla., and maurice Hagens of Tampa. Hagens projects as a fullback.

“Every school has competition,” Clements told CaneSport.com. “Every school has top running backs. I am a guy who will come in and work hard. If that doesn’t get me on the field, it just means I have to work harder. The competition will make me a better player and more of a team player.”

Johnson could not be immediately reached for comment.

Continue reading More company for Johnson in Hurricanes’ backfield »

It seemed a simple-enough question.

I asked Da’Rick Rogers, whose name I had heard pronounced a half-dozen different ways and had said at least a few different ways myself, “what is the correct pronunciation of your first name?”

Da'Rick "Da Freak" Rogers poses outside Phil Reeve Stadium in Calhoun. The 5-star wide receiver says he's "rock solid" on his commitment to Georgia. (Photo by Jason Getz)

“I really don’t know if anybody says it right or not,” Rogers says with a laugh. “My mom (Deborah Rogers), she says it was supposed to be like  David and Rick together, so she says DAY-rick. But I really don’t know how to pronounce it I’ve heard it so many different ways. I just know it’s everything but Derrick. Anything else is fine.”

Well, I asked, what do you say when you answer the phone?

“I say DAY-rick,” he told me. “But a lot of people want to say duh-REEK, because it rhymes with my nickname, ‘Da Freak.’ So I hear that a lot. It kind of depends on where somebody’s from. Country …

Continue reading No matter how you say it, there’s only one Da’Rick »

Georgia State basketball coach Rod Barnes landed another Atlanta-area player for 2010 recruiting class.

Javonte Maynor, a 6-foot, 170-pound shooting guard from South Gwinnett High in Snellville, committed to the Panthers earlier this month. Maynor is the third commitment and second Atlanta-area player for next season’s incoming class. He joins point guard DeVonta White of Roswell and 6-foot-6 swingman Harold Doby of Augusta.

“I actually made the decision a while ago,” said Maynor, who attended the Panthers’ exhibition game Tuesday night against Shorter. “I like the school and the other players and it’s close to home. And playing for Coach Barnes was a big attraction. He’s coached a lot of good players in his career and I think he can make me into the best player I can be.”

Maynor averaged 14 points a game playing the role of a combo-guard at South Gwinnett last year. Orginally from Jacksonville, Fla., before moving here in the ninth grade, Maynor continued his AAU career …

Continue reading S. Gwinnett’s Maynor third to commit to Georgia State »

Apparently Chad Simmons of Scout.com and I are on the same wave length.

The respected Southeast region recruiting analyst put up a report this morning on Calhoun wide receiver Da’Rick Rogers, a five-star prospect, AJC Super 11 selection and a University of Georgia commitment.

It just so happens that I am heading up to Calhoun this afternoon to talk to Rogers, quarterback Nash Nance (a Vanderbilt commitment) and coach Hal Lamb in a previously arranged meeting. My father lives in Calhoun — starred for the Yellow Jackets in the mid-1950s — so I’d planned for a while to get up there and meet in person this phenomenal football player.

Simmons didn’t really steal my thunder, though. Rogers told him what Coach Lamb told me last week, that he remains “solid to Georgia” despite continued intense overtures from Tennessee, Florida and Southern Cal. Hopefully I’ll be able to glean a few more insights from Da’Rick today.

If there are some specific questions you’d like me to ask Rogers, …

Continue reading Checking out Da’Rick Rogers, and other fun stuff »

You have to like Avery Walls’ proactive approach to recruiting.

A junior defensive back at Union Grove, he already has landed an offer from Oklahoma because he and his parents sent a “recruiting packet” they put together that included personal information, video highlights and academic information. They did the same thing for Stanford and it resulted in an official offer from the Cardinal Monday night.

“I talked to Coach [Jim] Harbaugh last night and he asked me if I’d received my official offer letter,” Walls said. “I said I hadn’t seen it. We talked for a while and he was telling me a lot about the school and the campus about the football program. It’s a very prestigious school. I feel great about it.”

Walls (5-10, 180) transferred to Union Grove from Sandy Creek last year. As a safety this season, the junior has four interceptions and leads the team 60 tackles, 10 pass breakups, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery for a touchdown.

Walls has been to at least two …

Continue reading Avery Walls adds Stanford to his list of official offers »

Former Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville, now a college football analyst for ESPN, said bad fortune has had more to do with Georgia's recent struggles than poor coaching or recruiting. (File photo)

Tommy Tuberville coached and recruited against Georgia for 10 years while at Auburn. He thinks bad luck has had more to do with the Bulldogs’ recent struggle than poor recruiting or coaching.

“A lot of times guys don’t pan out, guys that have four or five stars; that happens to everybody,” said Tuberville, who is a college football analyst for ESPN after resigning from Auburn last year. “And I’m not saying that’s what happened. But I know a lot of times you bring those guys in there that are supposed to be war daddies and they never materialize.”

Tuberville said losing Matthew Stafford, Knowshon Moreno and Asher Allen early to the NFL draft had more to do with the Bulldogs getting blown out by Florida last week than anything. Especially when Florida was able to get back Tim Tebow, …

Continue reading Tuberville: Recruiting, coaching not a problem at Georgia »

A third Buford football player is headed to the Southeastern Conference to play football.

Du’Von Millsap, a 6-foot-5, 330-pound offensive lineman, committed to South Carolina late last week, Wolves coach Jess Simpson confirmed. Millsap chose the Gamecocks over Ole Miss, Oklahoma State, Clemson and several others.

“Yeah, he’d been up there a couple times last spring and last summer and always liked them a lot,” Simpson said. “But he waited to make a decision. He’s been putting it off a while now and decided he just wanted to go ahead and get it over with.”

Millsap, who plays mainly offensive tackle and some defensive tackle for the Class AA Wolves, projects as a guard in college. Teammates Kolton Houston (Georgia), a offensive tackle, and Jessell Curry (Auburn), a linebacker who stars for Buford at running back, are also headed to SEC schools.

Houston and Millsap give Buford a mighty pair of bookend tackles, especially for a Class AA school.

“He’s just a big guy that bends well …

Continue reading Buford’s Du’Von Millsap commits to South Carolina »