Ten at 10: Like Lane Kiffin, Derek Dooley targets Georgia
THE TEN AT 10:
Derek Dooley was all smiles after his first Tennessee recruiting class was inked on Wednesday.
1. In case you didn’t get the point on national signing day, new Tennessee coach Derek Dooley reiterated in comments to reporters that, like his predecessor Lane Kiffin, the state of Georgia is going to be a primary recruiting target for the Vols. “One thing that is certain is that we have to do a good job in the state of Georgia, among other states,” Vince Dooley’s youngest son said. “There’s a lot of good football players in that state. In the past in all my years watching this program, when they’ve won, they’ve had some very good players come out of Georgia.” The Vols signed six players from Georgia on Wednesday, including the No. 1-rated prospect, Calhoun wide receiver Da’Rick Rogers.
2. New USC coach Lane Kiffin was being lauded Wednesday for landing the nation’s No. 1 prospect, 6-foot-8, 338-pound offensive lineman Seantrel Henderson of St. Paul, Minn. That vaulted the Trojans in the top 5 in national recruiting rankings. But the latest word on Thursday that Kiffin could still lose Henderson. The New York Times is reporting that Henderson did not sign his letter-of-intent to USC so he can wait to see what happens when the Trojans go before the NCAA committee on infractions Feb. 19-21. Sanctions may not be announced at that time but Henderson’s family believes it will have a better idea where the investigation is heading. Ohio State, Henderson said, is No. 2 on his list.
3. Speaking of USC, when JUCO All-America linebacker Glen Stanley signed with the Trojans on Wednesday, it was third time in a month he’d settled on a college. The Eastern Arizona Community College transfer intended to enroll at Central Florida in early January but was denied admission. Then he committed to Tennessee under Kiffin and remained a Vols’ pledge when Kiffin bolted for USC. Wednesday he signed with the Trojans.
4. One of the more shocking moves on national signing day was four-star safety Demar Dorsey of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., signing with Michigan over Florida State and Southern Cal. He was a longtime Florida commitment but the Gators allegedly pulled his offer. He was expected to announce for the Seminoles on Wednesday when he picked the Wolverines. Dorsey’s cousin, Denard Robinson, is freshman quarterback at Michigan.
5. Beaufort, S.C., linebacker Justin Parker, a Georgia Tech target, ended up choosing Clemson over South Carolina nand LSU. “I just love the family atmosphere that I feel when I visit the school and talk with the coaches,” Parker told the Beaufort Gazette. “I’ve always felt it and it really got me to feel at peace with my decision and playing at the next level.”
6. The Sporting News recruiting expert Brian McLaughlin designated the Bulldogs as the “Biggest Victim” of the 2010 recruiting class. Wrote McLaughlin: “Not all SEC schools had sunny days. Georgia was robbed of two of its best recruits in the 24 hours before national signing day—hurting its team ranking. WR Da’Rick Rogers and DB Nickell Robey were lured away by Tennessee and USC, respectively.
7. Not everybody was panning Georgia’s 2010 recruiting class. ESPN Southeast recruiting analyst JC Shurburtt called the late addition of Kenarious Gates “a strong pickup for Georgia on the offensive line.” He went on to say that along with the signings of Alpharetta wide receiver Michael Bennett and junior college safety Jakar Hamilton that “continued a trend of great evaluations for Mark Richt and company in this class.”
8. Florida coach Urban Meyer credited the Gators’ current players for helping him land the nation’s No. 1-ranked recruiting class. “You can walk in that locker room, and not everybody is going to be 100 percent happy,” Meyer said. “But I tell you what, these kids like going to school here. . . . They’re the best salesmen. I’ve been at places before and you kind of keep [recruits] away from the players because you’re dealing with some unhappy campers. Right now, we’ve got some guys who like to play here.”
9. In the end, Auburn’s pitches to No. 1-rated tailback Marcus Lattimore to come be the next Darren McFadden and run out of Guz Malzahn’s Wild Hog formation and the next ‘Cadillac’ Williams on The Plains backfired. As it turns out, Lattimore told The State newspaper was more interested in becoming “the first Marcus,” which he believes he can become at South Carolina.
10. The recruiting coup of the day Wednesday has to go to Cal, which managed to get top-ranked safety prospect Keenan Allen away from Alabama, where he was committed, and get him come to the West Coast from his home in Greensboro, N.C.
AJC Top 50 | Georgia commitments | Tech commitments
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355 comments Add your comment
JB
February 4th, 2010
11:05 am
Vol fans need to know that Having Dooley at the Helm will help them big time if Kiffen left some Garbage. His dad Vince was a honorable man with big time connections in the NCAA compliance offices. Having Derek in charge will help. Trust me.
Carl Davis
February 4th, 2010
11:06 am
Paul Johnson’s panic attack at the end of the UGA game was one of the worst displays of coaching that I’ve ever seen. He didn’t have a clue at the 1:46 mark in the 4th quarter. I bet he won’t get quite so much love after 2010.
Hawkeye1
February 4th, 2010
11:09 am
Iowa alums do actually migrate to Atlanta Yeah. right. Novel concept huh? And we do actually have the capacity to know pitiful when we see it on the field. 155 TOTAL yards in a BCS bowl does meet the criteria for pitiful does it not Yeah, right?
NCDAWG
February 4th, 2010
11:09 am
Yesterday on PTI, they said that Drew Breese was not a top recruit, but Peyton Manning was….so sometimes they get it right sometimes they don’t
#1 BAMA FAN
February 4th, 2010
11:11 am
BAMA (SABAN) refused Keenan Allen’s request to package his half brother who couldn’t have made the scout team. Nick did say that Keenan was a fine young man and had a nice family. Bama does not need to make “package deals” and has already signed six talented DB’s. BAMA signed the players need and will have a great 2011. RTR
Hawkeye1
February 4th, 2010
11:11 am
What’s not quite so novel is Iowa fans outnumbering Tech fans 10 to 1 in the biggest bowl GT has seen in 30 years. That’s called status quo. Pitiful is as pitiful does.
Denver Dog
February 4th, 2010
11:13 am
Good luck to all these kids and may all the dreams of stardom come true. On a lighter note, we always get the UGA/UT game on TV out here. Too bad they will be on probation and we won’t get to see them for the next few years.
Monvol
February 4th, 2010
11:14 am
Da’Rick was lost to the dawggies as soon as Mason was committed. Rogers was told by Richt that no QB would be signed this year, and then St. Mark of Athens turned around and took a commitment from Mason. Then, Rogers went looking.
BamaGradInGA
February 4th, 2010
11:14 am
10. Allen going to Cal: You failed to mention that the main reason he didn’t stick with Bama was that he wanted to play with his half-brother, QB Zach Maynard, who decided to transfer away from UBuffalo after Turner Gill took the Kansas job. Allen and Maynard were a package deal and Bama didn’t have room for Maynard (nor did they probably find him particularly attractive as a QB prospect). It was a very similar situation that UGa experienced with the Rogers/Nance package deal to UTn. Bottom line is Allen would have rolled with Bama had Turner Gill remained at UBuff. But no worries, Bama has a great DB class anyway. Roll Tide!
JRW7
February 4th, 2010
11:15 am
Yesterday was a good day, but not a great day, somethings wrong at UGA, when UF, AU and UT sign our 4**** and 5***** players. GO DOGS!!!!!
Y10
February 4th, 2010
11:17 am
OldDawg – You just can’t stop beating the ole dead horse, can ya? It’s unbelievable how much power you think Mike Nance has. Obviously, you don’t know him. I do. Seems like you’ve got some kind of axe to grind with him. You say he bought, signed sealed and delivered Da’Rick. What a bunch of crap! He is a father that wanted his son to go to the school of his choice and somehow gets accussed of “making” Da’Rick go there too. I’ll assure you it was Da’Rick’s choice to go to UT instead of UGA. He and Nash were blown away when they took their vist and wanted to committ while they were there. Mike Nance talked them out of it and suggested they go home and think about it like most normal fathers would suggest. Nash had several other visits he could have taken, like Louisville, Arkansas, etc., but told his dad he didn’t want to. The two boys then went back the following weekend for a basketball game to make sure UT was a good fit before signing day and the rest is history.
So, you need to just let it go, let it go and stop persecuting people you don’t know.
sogadog
February 4th, 2010
11:18 am
I dont want to name “Sanford Stadium” “Dooley Stadium” anymore since the Dooleys are going to be sitting in their luxury box rooting for the Tenn. Vols when they play Georgia. Dooley Stadium doesnt sound right with D. Dooley coaching one of our SEC east conference rivals, especially given the fact he has targeted Ga. for recruiting, and went through with that bogus deal with the Nances to land DaRick. I am hoping for “Richt Stadium” someday.
What??
February 4th, 2010
11:19 am
JRW7
Amen brother!!
Now if the rest of the Dawg fans on here would just take a step back and really look at the programs decline the past 2 years, they too will realize that something is going on in Athens and it sure is not good!
sogadog
February 4th, 2010
11:22 am
So much for naming “Sanford Stadium” “Dooley Stadium”. It wouldnt be right with the Dooleys sitting in their luxury box pulling for the Tenn Vols when they play Georgia while “Da Reck” Dooley is coaching the Vols and targeting Georgia recruits. I am hoping for “Richt Stadium” someday.
Chris
February 4th, 2010
11:22 am
For all the bashing of UT for offering a scholarship to Nance to get Rogers, it was a brilliant move. In retrospect, I suspect CMR and team would probably have gladly given Nance a scholarship if it let them keep Rogers. It’s not like the Dawgs didn’t end up with plenty of scholarships to give–might as well have gotten some use out of them. And it’s not like Nance was a bad kid. He got into Vandy, so he could certainly handle the academics at Georgia.
sogadog
February 4th, 2010
11:23 am
Sorry didnt think the first one went through.
DirtyDawg
February 4th, 2010
11:25 am
As much as I appreciate the ‘Dooley contribution’ to UGA, I’m gonna have to work up a ‘hate’ for young Derek. And from waht I’ve seen – we’re not gonna have a very hard time giving him a reason for that ‘deer in the headlights’ look that he seems to constantly have. Game on Derek…yo momma’s gonna have a hard time at Georgia-Tennessee games. Her baby’s gonna need some comforting afterward.
GHOST OF ERK RUSSELL
February 4th, 2010
11:29 am
UGA did not waste a scholly on Zander I have seen him play 3 times and he is as lethal as a hitter as his brother.If he was 3 inches taller we would be talking about him with the same respect.Zander is a ball hawk and gets off blocks very well and I bet UGA has him on kickoff return team next year or very soon.To the Tennesee fans Derek Dooleys law degree will come in very handy indeed.Welcome to probation.
Dawgtired
February 4th, 2010
11:29 am
Guys,
I’m a huge dawg fan, but disappointed at the bashing of Rogers and UT. They didn’t do anyting wrong. We have signed plenty of 2 star kids, some of which turned out to be star players. We loved Rogers until he flipped on us, and now we bash him and UT? C’mon…we’re better than that. Our play on the field has slipped, and we had a bad recruiting year. Let’s not spin it…let’s just fix it. Go dawgs.
apples and oranges
February 4th, 2010
11:34 am
To compare the package deal of Rogers/Nance to the Ogletree brothers is asinine. Zander Ogletree has a very good chance of playing in the 3-4, has the fire that CTG wants from his players, and will actually contribute to the team. The Nance kid will never be more than a backup at UT and everyone knows it but they’re going to give him a scholarship anyway??
carty
February 4th, 2010
11:34 am
UT-UGA “Property of the University of Florida”
Dawgtired
February 4th, 2010
11:36 am
That’s what I’m talking about Apples…drop it already..what’s done is done. We’re not playing or recruiting at a championship level…I’m tired of making excuses, over-hyping what’s not there, and trying to figure out how to spin it to make it look better. Let’s GET IT FIXED. Go Dawgs
80 Dawg
February 4th, 2010
11:37 am
Losing DaLick going to Tenn. no big deal.probably .wont make the grades and a major bad attitude, we dont need him The biggest lost for Ga. was the kid from Warner Robins, Wittacker{sp} What does Auburn have to offer all these players??? why now??? Hmmmmmmm
The Dawgs dont recruit well outside of the state , look at Ala. almost half the players are out of state.The only way we kept the alec kid was to offer his brother or he would of jumped ship too.
If we want to keep the players and Ga. and to pick up players from out of state We must beat Fla. Tenn. Ala. Lsu , on a regular basis
Hatfieldgeoff
February 4th, 2010
11:37 am
Hey, UGA needed linebackers and Zander is a great athlete and a good football player he is just smaller. But with the success Rennie Curren had they feel Zander can do the same. And again Alec signed first and said it didn’t matter if his brother got a scholarship from UGA. But I’m sure Richt knew it wasn’t going to hurt. Dooley gave a Division 3 quarterback a scholarship to get his talented friend. Nothing illegal about that. If you have the scholarship to waste go for it. I just hope it was a good choice for Rogers because he was “used” as leverage by his friends father to get his son a scholarship.
Vol
February 4th, 2010
11:38 am
Apples…are you telling me that Richt has never given a scholly to a kid that probably didn’t deserve one solely based on his ability? Cause it happens all the time…coaches award scholarships to junior and seniors sometimes out of the goodness of their hearts…don’t be a hypocrit.
GOGATOR
February 4th, 2010
11:41 am
76rd
Vol
February 4th, 2010
11:43 am
80 Dawg…you might have just summed up in one sentence what I have been trying to put into words for a long time “What does Auburn have to offer all these players??? why now??? Hmmmmmmm” It’s like if a player chooses another school over UGA, then something must be wrong…something dirty must be happening. Believe it or not, some kids may just like another school more. That may be hard to take, but it doesn’t change the truth. Unbelieveable
Otto
February 4th, 2010
11:44 am
UGA has plenty of WRs and QBs. Why burn a scholly to get another WR that may or may not pan out. I’ll take the pickup UGA had on OL. If UGA picked up another play big recuit I wish they would have gone after a RB. UGA had 1 good RB and 1 mediocre RB at the end of the season with another RB signed this season. Maybe Jackson will come off the bench and produce or is he a lost cause? Very little coverage on him.
RalphfromBenHill
February 4th, 2010
11:45 am
Why do these kids always have the weird names? What were their parents smoking when they made-up these names?
Seantrel, Markeith, Nickell, Da’Rick, Sharrif, Quin-ton, Trovon, Jalson, Dequan, NyQuill, Tyrann, Raijion, Lache, Latwan, Tavadis just to name a few.
Otto
February 4th, 2010
11:45 am
To clarify on the post above why burn a scholly on Nance to get Da’Rick?
VolNation
February 4th, 2010
11:45 am
The way you people talk about these 18 year old kids is disgraceful. You are horrible people. Seriously, you should be freaking ashamed of yourself.
Rot in Hell.
apples and oranges
February 4th, 2010
11:46 am
yeah but they normally don’t come in “packages” you nimwit. I was responding to an earlier Vol post. Usually those given scholarships without ability have some other intangible to add that makes it worth keeping them around. What do you think Nance is going to bring to UT? Or do you see him as your starter in a few years?
Vol
February 4th, 2010
11:49 am
LOL…have you seen our quarterback play in the last couple of years. I’ll take as many possibilities as I can get…And, at least we know he is smart, because he was going to Vandy…reminds me a lot of Cutler…was a 2 star that Vandy signed…he turned out ok…You have no proof that Dooley threw one away…but you guys have said it so much that I actually think you think it is a fact. Give it a rest.
matt
February 4th, 2010
11:49 am
Hey Vol in bethlehem,
At least we will be in a bowl. So…how is your season looking? Great recruiting class, but remember, you can probably put down one loss for each freshman that starts. Have a great season rednecks!
turd fan
February 4th, 2010
11:49 am
The truth is that vince has never gotten over Dereck playing hide the weinny with buck years ago. So now tenn has a gay coach!
Bud
February 4th, 2010
11:49 am
test
option smoption
February 4th, 2010
11:50 am
apples and oranges….I dove the dawgs but get real. Zander has about as much chance of playing as Mettenburger or Hutson Mason have at starting at QB. Close to none. And if any of them do play, it’s gonna be a LONG season. Just like this year when I said it was gonna be a long season if we kept the red headed step child at QB all year. Which we did and we had.
Do you seriously think we would have offered Zander without his brother?
Vol
February 4th, 2010
11:51 am
Matt…you are right…we probably will lost some games…but recent history indicates that it won’t be to UGA! ha ha ha ha ha ha
Otto
February 4th, 2010
11:51 am
What does Auburn have?
A very active recruiting team. A program that was in a regular contention for the SEC West. An OC that is usually leading or near the top in rush yards and total offense. A HC that had back to back perfect seasons at DC with 1 BCS title. On top of that the team started hot last year before depth ate the season up. Auburn was a dozen or so players below scholarship level last year.
So yes a recruit will take a serious look at the plains, play early on a team that took the national champ to the wire? That is not a hard sell.
GHOST OF ERK RUSSELL
February 4th, 2010
11:51 am
I have another point to make about the difference in the Ogletree twins recruitment and the two who went to UT.The Ogletrees did not say they had to sign Zander to get Alec he was already commited and never wavered Zander would have carved out his own success at another school.This QB’s father clearly used the wr as a pawn to get his kid into UT and anybody who believes different is totally wrong.My good friend AJ who knows these people told me this very thing.The father would have cut off the car and money to the wr if he went to UGA.Calhoun is a great town and it is a UGA town.This
was done by this one desperate man and not by the town of Calhoun.
Vol
February 4th, 2010
11:54 am
Ghost…so why did he allow them to commit to Vandy and UGA in the first place? Your theory falls flat there…give it a rest. It’s done.
Otto
February 4th, 2010
11:54 am
Another thing to think about Chizik even if he gets fired will be there long enough for this years recruits to likely finish under this staff. He will will have a 4 year honeymoon a win over Bama extends that. Can you say that about UGA?
apples and oranges
February 4th, 2010
11:55 am
No, not with Willie Martinez as DC, who if you’ll remember, was DC when we were recruting Alec. Willie didn’t want small LBs. With the addition of CTG, it makes a hell of a lot more sense to bring Zander aboard.
I am not saying UGA wasn’t trying to solidify their chances with Alec, but their other half of the package makes a lot more sense than UT.
fishook dawg
February 4th, 2010
11:56 am
I believe the Nance kid should have stuck with Vanderbilt, if he really wanted to play instead of sitting on the beanch or holding a clip board. Tennessee signed two other QB’s and had 2 more already there. I’ve heard Nance’s daddy gave Rogers a c-note every time he scored a touchdown in high school, so he’s following the money train to see how much he’ll get in college.
jaxdawg
February 4th, 2010
11:56 am
UGA signed Zander Ogletree as a fullback not a linebacker
Bud
February 4th, 2010
11:56 am
UGA needs to recruit defense. I’d be working so hard on our defensive program , I would’nt have time to worry about Da Rick. It’s “Da Defense”.
BigTimeTECHFan
February 4th, 2010
11:56 am
I really like Tech’s class, not one super elite play but well rounded.
Also we picked up transfer from Bama earlier in the year, will he be able to play next year or year after? He was good recruit when he signed with Bama. We traded Colin Peek for him.
Oh, Iowa was a very good team, top 10 in the country, would have been ranked higher if it did not lose it QB a few games. A loss to top 10 team is not being embarrassed. Not good, would rather win but to call it emberrasing if a little much.
Tech loss to: Iowa (7), UGA(unRank), Miami (19)
UGA loss to: Ok St (unRank), Kentucky (unRank), Fl (2), Tenn (unRank), LSU (17)
UGA lost to 3 unranked teams GT loss to 1, GT beat 2 ranked team, UGA beat 1.
So Tech was 2-2 verses Ranked. UGA 1-3 verse Ranked
Point is winning 1 or two games does not make season, yes loss to UGA hurt Tech, win verses Tech helped UGA.
I would say UGA had avg year, Tech had Good year, based on how teams played all year Tech better then UGA but not by a whole lot, also add in fact Tech had better SEC record then UGA.
Otto
February 4th, 2010
11:57 am
I don’t think Nance ever had a chance at anything better than Vandy before Dooley entered. The question is why would father give up a Vandy degree by sending his son to ride the bench in Knoxville.
Clint
February 4th, 2010
11:57 am
I’m laughing my tail off at the DA would said Robey was our second best commitment. What a f’n idiot. I was glad to see him leave. I had enough of watching 5′8 corners getting outplayed by 6′4 WRs this year with Prince Miller. And good riddence to Da’Prick. I can’t wait until Nash Nance throws him a duck that gets him demolished by one of our LBs or S
Frank Wren
February 4th, 2010
11:58 am
Everyone targets the state of Georgia. EVERYONE !!!
There are alot of great players in this state and UGA cant sign all of them
This isnt news.