The Ten at 10: CB Robey one of last wavering commits for UGA
THE TEN AT 10:
1. It appears the last possible defector for Georgia as a result of the defensive coaching changes could be cornerback Nickell Robey. The 5-foot-7, 165-pound speedster from Frostproof, Fla., is scheduled to take an official visit this weekend to West Virginia. He’s being recruited by former Georgia tight ends coach Dave Johnson. Robey will also take an official to Southern Cal next week. Remember, the Kiffins, Lane and Monte, had made some headway with Robey while they were at Tennessee. Robey, who is now listed as a “soft verbal” to Georgia on recruiting sites, is still considering the Vols.
2. Speaking of the Bulldogs, head coach Mark Richt, new defensive coordinator Todd Grantham and new secondary coach Scott Lakatos were in Newnan on Thursday to visit with commitments Alec and Xander Ogletree. In an interview on 680 The Fan Thursday morning Grantham said he would be in the homes of only a few strategic recruits this week. Expect Grantham to spend a lot of time with Warner Robins defensive tackle Jeff Whitaker on his official visit to Athens this weekend. Whitaker is the No. 4 player in the AJC Top 50 list.
3. As reported yesterday, the Kiffins — and Ed Orgeron in particular — have also convinced Stephenson defensive tackle Mike Thornton to come out to Los Angeles for a visit. Thornton will also be at USC on the weekend of Jan. 29. Based on recent developments he still has to narrow his choices between Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Penn State and USC. Understandable, he won’t make a final decision until national signing day (Feb. 3) — or after.
4. We’re still trying to get an audience with Henry County wide receiver Markeith Ambles, who has kind of gone underground since ditching his official visit to Tennessee and going instead to North Carolina last weekend. But Ambles’ father, Keith Ambles, told the Knoxville News Sentinel his son no longer intends to take an official vist to Tennessee. However, that does not mean he won’t eventually sign there. “He already knows about Tennessee,” Keith Ambles told the KNS. “He’s seen just about everything. He probably will [visit] somewhere else because he wants to check out other schools and see what they have to offer.”
5. In addition to UT and UNC, Ambles is considering Alabama, LSU and Southern Cal. He still has four visits left and may try to squeeze them all in. Meanwhile, Tennessee is still working hard on the 6-foot-2, 185-pound AJC Super 11 selection. Head coach Derek Dooley, recruiting coordinator Lance Thompson and new wide receivers coach Charlie Baggett were in the Amble’s home earlier this week.
6. Joe Person of The State newspaper in Columbia, S.C., alleges that South Carolina wasn’t too broken up about Eric Mack flipping to Auburn this week. Person writes that Mack apparently tipped the scales at more than 350 pounds on his official visit with the Gamecocks last weekend and some concerns had been voiced to Mack about his size. Guess their loss is Auburn’s gain.
7. Marcus Lattimore, the No. 1-rated tailback in America according to Rivals.com, has set his announcement for Tuesday, Feb. 2, at 9 p.m. at the Silver Hill United Methodist Church in Spartanburg, S.C. It will be open to the public so it should be quite a scene. He’ll choose between Auburn and South Carolina.
8. Florida commitment Demar Dorsey insists it’s no big deal that he canceled his official visit with the Gators this weekend in order to check out Southern Cal. He’s scheduled to visit Florida State next week, too. . . . Meanwhile, DT Leon Orr, one of a whopping 11 early enrollees at Florida, apparently was not eligible for early admission. Reportedly some of his credits did not transfer from high school. He has been in Gainesville for more than two weeks.
9. SI.com’s Andy Staples has a great piece on why recruits might not want to keep their Facebook pages open to the public. He reports three Mississippi State recruits — Jameon Lewis, Robert Johnson and Jay Hughes – posted that they went to “The Pony” while on a recent visit in Starkville. The Pony is, ahem, a gentlemen’s club. The school is reportedly looking into it.
10. The fact that seven of Clemson’s 21 commitments so far are from the state of Georgia is no coincidence. A story in the Spartanburg Herald this week reports that when receivers coach Jeff Scott became the Tigers’ recruiting coordinator last year he noted that they hadn’t been getting enough players from the Peach State. Should they sign on national signing day, the seven Georgia players this year will represent more than the last four years combined (six).
AJC Top 50 | Georgia commitments | Tech commitments
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202 comments Add your comment
BigDawg
January 22nd, 2010
10:56 am
UGA is only recruiting the mini footballer because of Special Teams. No way Richt plays someone under 5′9 at corner in the current day with offenses leaning toward tall receivers. Can you honestly see a little midget running cover against 6′3″ to 6′5″ receivers. That’s a huge mismatch for offenses to concentrate on. He is simply a threat for Special teams.
common sense
January 22nd, 2010
10:57 am
why wouldnt any kid wanna come play for an ex-nfl coach? grantham knows what it takes to get to the next level! i wish i had my high school playing days back!
Rambo fan
January 22nd, 2010
10:59 am
You got to love a guy like him who goes all out to stop a TD. I mean the guy will knock his own self out to stop you….
Latko, Rambo’s the real deal, keep him on the field.
toph
January 22nd, 2010
10:59 am
The question then becomes BigDawg is why come to UGA and be confined to special teams? How many NFL teams draft to fill that hole? I hope he sticks with his commitment, I’m just sayin’.
GA Tech Insider
January 22nd, 2010
10:59 am
Chip, I think you need to re-check with your sources again; I believe Mike Thornton is visiting Kentucky this weekend, not Southern Cal. I might be mistaken, though.
Baba O'Riley
January 22nd, 2010
10:59 am
Rambo had 2 picks, but 5 or less pass breakups the whole year. If his name was John Smith and he didn’t knock himself out on the field, we wouldn’t know who he was.
Murray County Indian
January 22nd, 2010
11:01 am
Da’rick Rodgers is telling classmates he’s going to TN, but he has a new “favorite/story” every week, so who knows?
GatorChamps73
January 22nd, 2010
11:03 am
Goldwreck is right. 5ft 7inches is small. He may be a speedster but unless he’s purely athletic, that won’t help him much covering taller faster WRs. The taller WRs will be eating peanuts off his head.
78 DAWG
January 22nd, 2010
11:04 am
We didn’t really want Robey anyway, we were trying to do him a favor! If you don’t love the DAWGS, GO TO MIDDLE TENNESSE AND FORGET EVER BEING ON TV!
Reality Check
January 22nd, 2010
11:06 am
78 DAWG, you are right about being on tv! It took a while but I found the Shrevport weed whacker bowl on channel 69, sweeeeeeet!
Blue
January 22nd, 2010
11:06 am
78 Dawg; I was waiting to see how long it would take for the predictable “we didn’t want him anyway”. One more time, slowly for you…if they didn’t want him, they wouldn’t recruit or offer him. I know that is tricky for you.
Cuttysark
January 22nd, 2010
11:09 am
Thanks for your recruiting coverage Chip! With all of these kids changing their minds and flipping all over the place, it must be like being on a roller coaster every day. Were all of Auburn’s early enrollees JUCO’s?
For more Georgia Tech football articles go to http://isportsweb.com. Go Jackets!
Les W. Moore
January 22nd, 2010
11:11 am
NSD will be interesting for Georgia high school WRs Ambles and Rogers. I have a hunch that Ambles is waffling with UT because Rogers is now interested.
toph
January 22nd, 2010
11:12 am
Whitaker and Garrison Smith are both visiting UGA this weekend. That’s good news for Dawg fans. They roomed together at the Army All-American game and became good friends.
buzz is wiser
January 22nd, 2010
11:17 am
All you georgia fans need to calm down about the guys height, one name for you Greg Reid. Would you not want that guy on your team?
The Real Texas Dawg
January 22nd, 2010
11:17 am
Another 5-7 corner…………..NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! We just got rid of #23! We don’t need another. I don’t care if he has 3.9 speed. Not another P Milla!
AtlantaNative62
January 22nd, 2010
11:18 am
Efforting? You must be a UGAly journalism school (sic) grad.
UGA 2010
January 22nd, 2010
11:18 am
WTF is goin on at Auburn…How in the hell(if it goes the way i think it does)is a school goin to get not 2 but possibly “3″ #1 rated running backs????????
William
January 22nd, 2010
11:18 am
Only the former defensive coaching team would recruit a 5′ 7″ player to cover 6′ 6″ receivers.
William
January 22nd, 2010
11:20 am
buzz is wiser
January 22nd, 2010
11:17 am
The last few games I saw the QB threw the ball really high and the 6′6″ receiver jumped above the 5′7″ defender and caught the ball for a TD. You never saw this in college football?
toph
January 22nd, 2010
11:22 am
AJ Green did it last year to the db from LSU for a touchdown in the endzone.
ACC Football
January 22nd, 2010
11:24 am
Good god guys, enough is enough. Georgia can sign every single top recruit in the nation , and they are still gonna let you down. Its the history of the puppies……We all know it
Dr. Kenneth Noisewater
January 22nd, 2010
11:26 am
would like to get whitaker
Otto
January 22nd, 2010
11:26 am
Malzahn is known to be among the leaders in rushing, thats how they get top RBs. It doesn’t hurt Auburn has a recent history of turning out great backs with 2 great RBs on the field at the same time.
buzz is wiser
January 22nd, 2010
11:27 am
William, I’ve saw it several times. Have you ever saw a 6′6″ corner? What about 6′5 or 6′4 or 6′3 or 6′2 or 6′1 that was any good and didn’t have to be moved to safety because he couldn’t cover. If you’re 6′6″ you have a natural advantage no matter who is covering you on fade routes in the end zone. But if you’re strong enough and talented enough to jam him on the line you’ve thrown the timing off on a timing route. But what about Greg Reid, you wouldn’t want him in Athens. I know I’d love to have him on the flats.
Dap01
January 22nd, 2010
11:27 am
Whitaker would do well in the new defensive scheme at UGA.
big g dawg
January 22nd, 2010
11:28 am
we need another big hitter like Thomas Davis or Greg Blue that strikes fear in a reciever, maybe not the best cover guys but the recievers need to know that they are at risk when they come across the middle, nothing better than watching a reciever alligator arm a pass knowing he is about to be separated from his soul!
Gator Nation
January 22nd, 2010
11:30 am
Demar Dorsey is just taking his free trip to Cali. That last visit to FSU is of a concern since the Noles have snagged a recruit from the Gators for the last few years. I’m just glad they haven’t snagged any wins. It’s Demars choice: Gator or Gator Bait. Leon Orr status is still to be resolved. He IS qualified, it is an administrative issue. Sounds like that’s resolveable…
GeoffDawg
January 22nd, 2010
11:31 am
Baba O’Riley – you’re obviously a tech fan so no, no one expects you to know the name of the backup safety in another program. In any case though, Rambo is very good and demonstrated as much every time he stepped on the field.
VolinSuwanee
January 22nd, 2010
11:32 am
this is the most entertaining part of college football. All these kids flipping “commitments” and us fans hanging all over rumors. Let the coaches sign who they can and then coach them up. We will then start it all up in the fall talking smack about “this and that”. A wise man told me years ago to never forget these players are teenagers.
Chip Towers
January 22nd, 2010
11:33 am
AtlantaNative62: I was using “efforting” as a colloquialism. I’ll change it if it offends your sensibilities. Geez. . . .
Cuttysark: No, three of Auburn’s early enrollees are junior college transfers, including 5-star quarterback Cameron Newton of Atlanta.
Without-a-clue
January 22nd, 2010
11:35 am
big g dawg; AMEN!!
78 DAWG
January 22nd, 2010
11:35 am
WE DON’T WANT HIM, WE WILL NOT HAVE ENOUGH SCHOLARSHIPS FOR HIM, 4 & 5 STARS A WAITING IN LINE THERE IS NO PLACE FOR HIM. he can play at one of the little schools like the vowels or yech or the gayturds, but he cant cut the competition a GEORGIA!
big g dawg
January 22nd, 2010
11:35 am
ACC Football
Are you serious? Let down, 90 wins in 9 years. Oh, I get it, you clowns don’t expect to win so how could you be let down? nevermind.
Chip Towers
January 22nd, 2010
11:39 am
GA Tech Insider: Well, my source is Mike Thornton. And unless your sources have talked to him more recently than last night, I think I’m going to go with what Mike says. Four teammates are going to Kentucky this weekend and Joker Phillips has been trying hard to get him to come with them (and not just for the weekend). Mike has respectfully declined. Check out my blog from yesterday if you want to know more about Thornton.
BCS Bowl Games
January 22nd, 2010
11:40 am
ACC Football- when you say they are still going to let you down, do you mean like the way ACC teams continually let us down in their performance in our games… year after year after year?
buzz is wiser
January 22nd, 2010
11:40 am
78 dawg, I’ll give it to you, you have earned the right to call us Tech people a “little” school. But UF, they have destroyed you for the last 20 years. If UF’s a little school then you should want to be a little school as well.
Call it Like It Is
January 22nd, 2010
11:44 am
Also, buzz is wiser,
Let’s ask all of the GA morons when was the last time that they won a NC?
Most of their fan base trash-talks without substance.
Bank on it, Gators win the East again in 2010.
Enough Said!
Dr. Kenneth Noisewater
January 22nd, 2010
11:45 am
I find that the UF fans since 2005 are the best!!! way to hop on that bandwagon at the right time!!!
BigTimeTECHFan
January 22nd, 2010
11:52 am
Oh – Chip, your the man, good job on the recuiting trail and keep us informed. I’m Tech fan and understand if there is no news there is no news. Hate when people make up news just to make folks happy.
How are the ACC ranking panning out, my guess is the rankings are currenly:
1. FSU
2. Clemson
3. UNC
4. Va Tech tie
4. Ga Tech tie
big g dawg
January 22nd, 2010
11:53 am
Call it Like It Is,
this moron recalls the year being 1980 and we went solo, meaning we won it outright, didn’t have to share it with anyone. If this moron is not mistaken Tech shared it with Colorado in 1990. In order to get that share you beat a #22 ranked Nebraska in your bowl game, you should be proud, quite an accomplishment, now, you and buzz the wiser get back to your sword fight.
Blue
January 22nd, 2010
11:54 am
Buzz is wiser; yeah, that 78 dawg is really hard to go up against in a battle of wits, huh? “or the gayturds, but he cant cut the competition a GEORGIA!” Can’t cut the competition at GA, but can at Florida, who has won more NC’s in the last 4 years than GA has in the last 30 and has beaten GA in 16 of last 18 (or something like that)? He has us reeling with his logic.
Chip Towers
January 22nd, 2010
11:55 am
Wesleywhatwhat: You’re entitled to whatever opinion you have about Mike Thornton or Lane Kiffin but I’m going to have to step in when you start to question this kid’s intelligence. The fact is, Mike is a very intelligent young man, probably too intelligent for his own good. He has been very deliberate with his recruiting process. Every school he is considering he has thoroughly researched. He is comparing the minutest of details. Some of that is his problem deciding what school to go with. . . .
When you get beyond fan bias all these schools have a tremendous amount to offer and that can be pretty confusing when you have your choice of any of them. Let’s back off on the criticism of this young man, OK?
Dawg26
January 22nd, 2010
11:58 am
Again, GT Insider- WRONG. Not much of an insider when you consistently get things wrong huh?
Murray County Indian- He hadn’t told me that as of last night, still insists he loves UGA.
Chip Towers
January 22nd, 2010
12:01 pm
Oops. I put that last response to “Wesleywhatwhat” on the wrong blog. If you care to partake in the discussion about Mike Thornton, the No. 3 player in the AJC’s Top 50, click RIGHT HERE check out that blog from yesterday.
buzz is wiser
January 22nd, 2010
12:02 pm
big g dawg, I come here in peace. Don’t get me wrong I hate Georgia and because of that I like UF. Us here on North Ave. may not light up the board with top 10 recruiting classes but logic is logic. All the top 10 classes you guys have had since 2000 ‘01 whenever Richt got there what can you show for it? A couple SEC championships (and not even an invite to the NC) what other SEC school can say that?
buzz is wiser
January 22nd, 2010
12:06 pm
Chip, any more news on the rumor circuit about T.J. Stripling jumping ship and staying in the metro area for school?
BMDPD
January 22nd, 2010
12:06 pm
Chip 11:55 is a class post.
Chipped Tires
January 22nd, 2010
12:06 pm
Why has UGA all of the sudden dropped from 3 to 8 & 9 in recruiting ? CMR really needs to get his butt in gear or its the hot seat !
Chipped Tires
January 22nd, 2010
12:13 pm
I guess when all these recruits see that CMR is loyal to seniors and juniors rather than putting the best players on the field is no wonder recruits waffle. Its a known fact that CMR has wasted talent.