AJC ‘Super 11s’ standing out in GHSA playoffs
Greetings everybody. Sorry just getting a blog out to you this week but I’ve been out of the loop until now.
What a weekend it was, what with the Georgia high school playoffs deciding the 10 finalists that will play in the Georgia Dome this week, the SEC Championship Game deciding Alabama will play in the BCS title game and Georgia Tech beating Clemson in the ACC Championship to land a major bowl berth for the first time since 1967.
Meanwhile, on the recruiting front, the Bulldogs stepped up and offered Newnan linebacker Zander Ogletree. He accepted on the spot to become Georgia’s 19th verbal commitment and join twin brother Alec Ogletree in the Class of 2010.
Alec Ogletree was, of course, an AJC Super 11 selection heading into this season. And he certainly lived up to the billing. Primarily a free safety, the Cougars depended on him increasingly on the offensive side of the ball and he had eight catches for 125 yards in the semifinal loss to Northside-Warner Robins.
With the Cougars and Ogletree going down, that left four members of the AJC Super 11 still alive for the state championship round — two of them on the same team. Here’s an update:
- Blake Sims, QB, Gainesville: The Alabama commitment basically willed his team past Flowery Branch in one of the most dramatic games of the semfinals. After throwing three interceptions and falling behind 14-0 in the first half, Sims returned the second-half kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown and threw the game-winning touchdown pass to Tyson Smith with 18 seconds remaining in the 29-21 victory. He also had 123 yards rushing.
- Tai-ler Jones, WR, Gainesville: The Notre Dame commitment was double-covered all night by Flowery Branch but had a big first-down catch on the final scoring drive. He finished with 22 yards on three catches but has 1,240 yards receiving and 20 TDs heading into the championship game.
- Da’Rick Rogers, WR, Calhoun: The five-star prospect and UGA commitment continued what has been a dominating perforance in the playoffs. He had 10 receptions for 217 yards amd three touchdowns and blocked a punt as the Yellow Jackets knocked off Lovett. In my opinion it’s between Rogers and Sims for all-classification player of the year in the state.
- Kolton Houston, OL, Buford: This big Georgia commitment has been playing both ways for the Wolves on their run to the championship game. He and Du’Von Millsap (South Carolina) have proved a devastating blocking combination that Buford can count on to run behind. The Wolves converted on five fourth downs — including twice for touchdowns — in the 38-28 win over Fitzgerald.
Other standout performances from committed prospects included:
- Georgia Tech’s Isaiah Johnson: The Sandy Creek defensive back looked like the best player on a field crowded with prospects. He had two interceptions, one he returned 95 yards for a TD and another he returned 40 yards.
- South Carolina’s Connor Shaw: The Gamecocks appear to have a real winner in this quarterback from Flowery Branch. He he was 17-of-25 for 278 yards and a touchdown and rushed for two more in the Falcons semifinal loss to Gainesville.
- Auburn’s Jessel Curry: His future is probably as a linebacker on the next level but he has proven an unstoppable force near the goal line for Buford, collecting three more TDs this past Friday.
Like I said, getting a little bit of a late start this week so let me know what you want to read about going forward and I’ll do my best to track it down. C-ya.
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93 comments Add your comment
Buzz
December 7th, 2009
3:41 pm
first
Buzz
December 7th, 2009
3:41 pm
Second!!!
Buzz
December 7th, 2009
3:42 pm
Third!!!
Buzz
December 7th, 2009
3:43 pm
ACC Champions! Yellow Jackets!!!!!
Tim
December 7th, 2009
3:45 pm
Yay for Buzz! You just proved you officially have a no life! Congrats!
Buzz
December 7th, 2009
3:46 pm
Tim your a douche bag!!!!!
Go Dawgs
December 7th, 2009
3:47 pm
Any chance of Sims or Burns coming to UGA as a QB? And when will Mason commit? Also how is Logan handling the position change to WR?
Chip Towers
December 7th, 2009
3:49 pm
Go Dawgs: Pretty much no chance of Sims or Burns coming to Georgia now. . . . Hutson may commit very soon but you and I probably won’t know until he announces at U.S. Army All-America Game on Jan. 9. At least that’s what he’s thinking about right now.
G8R H8R
December 7th, 2009
3:50 pm
Buzz, it’s “you’re” not “your.” And Buzz, you’re a dork…
Tim
December 7th, 2009
3:56 pm
Now now Buzz, no need for that language. If your (*notice how I used it properly here*) mom finds out, she’s going to cancel your trip to magic camp over the winter break. And you know how upset you were last summer when she cancelled your dungeons and dragons tournament after you couldn’t control your language.
HS Fan
December 7th, 2009
4:06 pm
Da’Rick Rogers will win Player of the Decade… Century…
I’m not necessarly a Calhoun fan but I have seen a lot of players through the years and this one is the best!
Old Gator
December 7th, 2009
4:26 pm
The Ogletree brothers look very good against Grayson in their playoff game. The Bulldogs are getting some great prospects.
txdawg
December 7th, 2009
4:26 pm
Hey Buzz, tickle pile in the quad! better hurry! – On a serious blog note now, with rogers coming in, green, wooten, king and troupe there, how do see them sifting out for PT next year? also, whats up with marlon brown? what did he do to get in the doghouse?
Larry
December 7th, 2009
4:26 pm
Chip – What’s the news with Deon Rogers to UGA? Have you heard anything about him backing out of his UGA commitment for FSU now that Jeff Luc committed (as well as two or three underclassmen/juniors from Port St. Lucie?) I wouldn’t be surprised if he decommitted since FSU is closer, his teammates are there, and it is a program that looks fresher now that Bowden is retiring.
llf
December 7th, 2009
4:29 pm
Congrat’s again to GT on their JV conferance championship.
BlackSmoke
December 7th, 2009
4:30 pm
Da’Rick is an absolute beast! Can’t wait to see him in red & black!
Tim
December 7th, 2009
4:33 pm
Obviously not Chip, but thought I’d chime in with what I’ve heard…
txdawg – From all I’ve heard, Marlon has the potential to be great, just is very raw right now. He dominated in HS because of the competition level. Once he gets more experience under his belt and learns the ropes better, he will be a force.
Larry – Wouldn’t be surprised to see Deon go to FSU. Nothing solid, but I’ve considered him a “soft” commit from day one. I almost wonder if that’s why the staff pulled the trigger on offering Zander Ogletree, maybe they knew a spot was going to be free. It’s a shame too, he is a great prospect. In fact, wouldn’t be surprised to see him as good as or better than Luc in college. Unless we hit a homerun with our DC hire, I would think he’ll end up at FSU. Him and Luc are good friends, and playing at home is always a big lure to a lot of recruits.
UGA Recruits
December 7th, 2009
4:52 pm
Will Richt recruit any of these players if they lack an arrest record? Seems to me if any well behaved football players end up at Georgia they might screw up the works. Stay classy UGA. Only two arrests last week.
TKM
December 7th, 2009
4:52 pm
Buzz…Tim is right. I am a ‘96 GA Tech grad and supporter. And I am just as excited as the next person who supports GT football, but your display of comments clearly shows that you probably don’t have much going on in you life at the moment. Relax and say this three times…It’s only a game. It’s only a game. It’s only a game. Peace.
UGA 2010
December 7th, 2009
5:01 pm
Luc goin to FSU???? Whats that about? i could of swore it would come down to UGA or Flo.
mrowe
December 7th, 2009
5:06 pm
don’t you mean you can’t wait to see darick in black and white or is it orange that prisioners wear now.
Bank Walker, Texas Ranger
December 7th, 2009
5:18 pm
Sims at QB anywhere? No way. Threw into double coverage all night against a team that gave up about 30 points a game. Probably a DB or a role similar to Harvin at Florida.
Tbone
December 7th, 2009
5:22 pm
What’s Paul Johnson doing in South Bend?…..
FLDAWG
December 7th, 2009
5:24 pm
UGA= ACC CHAMPS, SO BUZZ AND YELLOW JACKASS BUT WE OWN THE STATE AND YOUR SUCK A** CONF.
GT Fan
December 7th, 2009
5:25 pm
Another top 10 recruiting class for the dawgs and probably yet another 2nd or 3rd place finish in the east division of the SEC. Talk about GT all you want but we reached our goals this year. UGA was a good first year goal but has nothing to do with the long term plans of GT. The wins in that rivalry will come, but right now we have bigger goals. I guess now that we have a more recent conference championship and National Championship for that matter, UGA will have to keep telling us to wait until next year, look at their top 10 recruiting classes, and how they were preseason number 1 last year. I’m sure our recruiting class probably won’t even be in the top 25 but I can guarantee you GT will be ranked higher than UGA in the preseason next year.
charles freely
December 7th, 2009
5:28 pm
My son is in the sports dept. at Notre Dame and swears he saw Paul Johnson walking around with the AD and other key “personel” today. Is there anything to this story?……
Marietta Dawg
December 7th, 2009
5:47 pm
gt fan, You can not be serious. tech had to come from behind to beat a NONRATED Clemson team. Your conference sucks and your offense is a gimmick. Not only are tech fans, coaches, and players bad winners, but sore losers. I would not expect you or any of the other nerds to admit that tech was outcoached and outplayed by Georgia.
30 – 24 Enough said
Hakeem Rubenstein
December 7th, 2009
6:03 pm
What difference would it make if Sims or Burns or Walter Payton came to UGA ?. How many times do these readers want to have to go through this when we all know they’ll never sniff a nat champ at UGA. What is the point of these recruiting stories ? Just to tell some Bubba Sr from Valdosta that a friend saw his son Bubba Sr play in Lowndes County last week ?
tech fan
December 7th, 2009
6:03 pm
I WAS I WAS A GA DAWG– WE ARE A JOKE!! I AM TIRED OF THIS JV CRAP..
Clint
December 7th, 2009
6:11 pm
The people who post on the ajc are retarded. I wish the ajc would do away with the comments sections.
Wreckmaniac
December 7th, 2009
6:13 pm
PLEASE PLEASE don’t start down this road of telling us how many 4 and 5 stars are going to UGA this year when we know the outcome already. They’ll play for a mediocre team in an overrated conference. Changing coaches only allows good ole boy CMR to keep his job.This is such a wornout topic and the problem is that its repeated every year. How many stories about the sinking of the Titanic do we need to write ?
Wreckmaniac
December 7th, 2009
6:16 pm
Charles Freely : Its true. I was there today with PJ at ND. We had a great time. A little cold.
heeldawg
December 7th, 2009
6:24 pm
GT fan, your comments are exemplary of the unmitigated hubris of Tech fans who now suddenly see themselves as national title-worthy. Let’s see–Richt has averaged 10 wins a season for nine years, has been to three BCS bowls and has finished in the top 10 six times while winning two conference titles in the toughest conference in the country and beating Tech 8 times out of 9. Tech, under CPJ, has won 20 games in two seasons and won one conference title in what is arguably one of the weakest football conferences in the country, played in one BCS bowl (their first in 40 years) and gone 1-1 against Georgia. Who has the better record overall? I think the numbers speak for themselves.
To get down to brass tacks–yes, CPJ has done a good job at Tech. No argument there. But to assume that Tech has assumed the mantle as the dominant college football program in Georgia on the basis of this year’s results alone is to buy into a fantasy not rooted in fact. “Right now we have bigger goals,” you say. Like what? A national title? Tech would be 9-3 or 8-4 in the SEC. Florida and Alabama would obliterate them. No ACC team will play for all the marbles until the overall level of play is improved. So you can get off of your proverbial high horse and get ready to play in your well-deserved bowl game–but stop talking like the Georgia game doesn’t mean anything to Tech fans anymore. You had rings made last year to commemorate that victory, remember? Implying that Tech has some sort of national title aspirations that trump any silly old rivalry game just makes you look stupid. Anyone who has seen Tech play this season knows that they have no defense–and their best defensive player’s gone after this year. I don’t see that problem being rectified very soon. And no team, no matter how good their offense is, can win a national title without a solid defense. It was true with Spurrier’s teams in the 1990’s, with Georgia’s teams during the Martinez era (hence his firing) and it’s true with Tech right now.
At least be honest in what you post. Right now, your blind loyalty is showing, and it is unbecoming.
Dawg1970
December 7th, 2009
6:26 pm
Chip,
Thanks for a good article–full of info. I believe we offered Zander O
after Jeff Luc accepted at FSU, so we still are counting on Deon. If he
goes, we’ll get someone else.
Dan
December 7th, 2009
6:30 pm
Tech fans, we can’t talk about UGA this year. Our defense gave that right up. However, we can enjoy the fact that we won our conference and are going to Orange Bowl. SEC folks can minimize it but if the ACC sucked this year, then the SEC sucked last year. Also gotta say our offense is a lot of things but gimmicky isn’t one of them. It is, however, unstoppable.
To the UGA fan who said we had to come from behind to beat Climpsun – what does that even mean? If I try to follow your logic, then what does it say about the SEC that Bama steamrolled UF. Besides, I thought the final score was all that mattered. If not, then Tech would have beat UGA several times this decade. Unfortunately for us, the final score matters.
I don’t think we were outcoached by UGA. Outplayed? Yeah, probably. Fact is we could not stop the run. Nothing we can say about that. The conference isn’t exactly crappy though.
CBB1
December 7th, 2009
7:00 pm
GT Fan,
Pre-season rankings don’t mean squat if you don’t take care of business during the season-look at UGA last year. If I were a Tech fan, I wouldn’t be bragging about pre-season rankings for next year when the bowl games haven’t even started. You guys need to win the Orange Bowl first and hope that Dwyer and Thomas come back since they make up 90% of your offense. I would be worried about those two, big time!! They both have already come out and said they are gone to the NFL if they will be drafted in the first or second round, which I guarantee you they will. They are great players. All the juniors in college are taking into account what happened to Sam Bradford at Oklahoma this year. He will probably lose around $10M. NFL running backs only have about an 8-9 year window, so more than likely Dwyer is gone. Roddy Jones won’t and can’t fill those shoes. Dwyer is a hoss!! You guys will see what we went through this year losing our top 3 offensive players which accounted for 95% of UGA’s offense last year, and UGA has more depth than GA Tech.
Saint Simmons
December 7th, 2009
7:06 pm
You idiot rednecks with all your recruiting classes are going to Shreveport. What a bunch of losers.
Dan
December 7th, 2009
7:07 pm
CBB1, you’re right that preseason rankings don’t mean jack and that we need to win the Orange Bowl. I don’t recall either Dwyer or Bay Bay saying they’ll leave if they are 1st or 2nd round picks (they’ve only said that they will investigate). It really would only make sense for them to go if they are top 15 or 20 picks because the signing bonus drops off significantly after that. The biggest variable is the potential rookie wage scale w/ the next collective bargaining agreement. My guess is that Dwyer and Derrick Morgan are gone and truthfully, as much as I wish they’d come back, they need to go and get their money. No one can hold that against them because we’d all probably do the same thing.
I think UGA’s biggest issue all year was on their offensive and defensive line. If they played with the same intensity against everyone as they did against us, y’all probably would have won 10 games again. We both know there’s no lack of talent in Athens.
collegeballfan
December 7th, 2009
7:14 pm
If UGA is getting top 10 recruiting classes every year, and GT is getting top 38 to 40 recruiting classes every year, why is it so hard to beat GT? Why? Lousy coaching, lousy players? There has to be a reason. Why? Anybody! Why?
Could it be that GT & UGA are not in the same conference? Could it be that the UGA players know that winning the conference is the goal of every team in a conference? Beating GT is nice, but winning the SEC Championship is the TEAM goal. I suspect that this is the reason.
But I really do not know, I am just asking.
Sam
December 7th, 2009
7:14 pm
Look not you tech fans, if you want to talk about our fine players getting carried off to jail for mostly riding a scooter without a permit, and try to make that stuff big time…….Try two tech students being robbed with a pistol pointed at their heads and wondering if the thing may go off and their brains splattered all over the sidewalk. This happening what a block from the Varsity? Have at it bud.
Dan
December 7th, 2009
7:18 pm
Sam, what does that have to do w/ our PLAYERS?
TNGADAWG
December 7th, 2009
7:25 pm
The AJC and its Super 11 picks are about as inspiring as its rankings and predictions for the AAAAA finals. Both were a total disaster ! Are they really going to tell us that the two finalists for the 5A title, Northside and Camden, had no qualified athletes yet they got this far? Pathetic !
Taco
December 7th, 2009
7:38 pm
The gimmick has won 11 games this year. The “class” of UGA lost to freaking Kentucky. Spin it any way you wish but the facts speak for themselves, UGA coaches down players. Based on the number of 4-5 star athletes signed UGA should be top 5 every year. Instead they are the poster boys for underachievment. You beat Tech……yeah yeah we all know. Tech beat you last year with the gimmick offense, Moreno and Stafford included. Tech beat the “Dollar General PreSeason National Champs” in Athens! It felt like a battery acid enema I imagine. Tech ain’t going away so be ready. Not only will you lose to the Gators every year….you risk losing the state every year as well. Sucks to a second tier Dawg fan I imagine.
Tim
December 7th, 2009
7:54 pm
Nice try Taco. You guys had a great year this, and I’m happy for you. Really. Trust me, I wish we were even remotely close to contending this season for a championship.
However, it’s about time you get off your high horse there. You beat us 1 time. 1 time. And by 3 points. All of a sudden we’re a second rate team. Last time I checked, this was your first time going to a BCS bowl. We’ve been to 3. We’ve won 8 of 9.
As far as the 4-5 Star comment, let’s face it, not everyone pans out. And I’ll be the first to admit that we don’t always get the most out of our talent (ie bad coaching). But no one finishes top 5 every year. Everyone has down years. Especially when you play in the SEC. And yes, the SEC is a much much better conference than the ACC. As was evidenced by all 8,000 fans in the stadium for you championship.
By the way, I’m glad ya’ll aren’t going away, maybe you’ll actually make this series competitive again. But we’ll see…
Canton Dawg
December 7th, 2009
7:59 pm
We don’t want Sims from Gainesville. He can go to ‘Bama.
pollywannacracka
December 7th, 2009
8:00 pm
Hey, I resent that comment all UGA alum & fans aren’t rednecks but that is pretty funny though
Canton Dawg
December 7th, 2009
8:01 pm
Taco – you are a typical tech Moron. You have one 1 game against UGA this decade. Change that stat then talk. Otherwise, you need to focus on Cincinnati. Your defense sucks and they have a serious offense. If your defense could not stop us then I don’t know if you can stop them. As you can see when they have the ball last, they have always won this year. You have not. 30 – 24 ha ha ha – 8-1 ha ha ha ha….
pollywannacracka
December 7th, 2009
8:03 pm
Good luck to both teams with their perspective bowls, I remember the times when I laughed & scoffed at Tech playing on the blue fields of Boise in November (that’s how bad Tech’s Bowls are) & look at them now. Ahhhhhh look at little buddy all growing up on us. We’ll be back sooner than you think to get our respect back nationally. Believe it
Paddy
December 7th, 2009
8:05 pm
Paul Johnson was not at Notre Dame! He was at U Cincinnati all day long. I say him with coach Kely at Skyline Chili. Word is that it is either UC or Case Western Reserve for CPJ. BOOK IT! Outside chance he takes the Heidleberg Student Princes job if they come up with a car and a library card.
ducky
December 7th, 2009
8:10 pm
if you can do anything 9 out of 10 time it must be easy .