I give you the ‘Tentative Top 10′ for Georgia’s Class of 2011
I’m in the process of formulating my “Very Early Top 50″ for the state of Georgia’s Class of 2011.
I’ve still got a long way to go for the whole list but I think I’m about ready with the Top 10. I’ll reveal it here and let y’all take some cracks at it and take your criticisms and suggestions under consideration before unveiling the whole 50 within the next couple of weeks.
Let me know what you think and I’ll answer your questions throughout the day:
- RB Isaiah Crowell, Carver-Columbus
- LB James Vaughters, Tucker
- QB Nick Marshall, Wilcox County
- TE Jay Rome, Valdosta
- DT Gabriel Wright, Carver-Columbus
- DE Xzavier Dickson, Griffin
- WR Chris Conley, North Paulding
- LB A.J. Johnson, Gainesville
- OT Watts Dantzler, Dalton
- DE Ray Drew, Thomas County Central
Here’s some video from YouTube on Crowell, our No. 1 guy (for now):
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177 comments Add your comment
dawgsfaninin
February 19th, 2010
10:07 am
FIRST!!!!
GAHSFOOTBALL
February 19th, 2010
10:08 am
What about the RB and QB from Hab. Central? i watched them play last year and they have skills, especially the RB
dawgsfaninin
February 19th, 2010
10:08 am
YES….FIRST EVER POST AND I GOT IN FIRST!!!!
Kenny Powers
February 19th, 2010
10:08 am
3rd
GA DAWG
February 19th, 2010
10:09 am
You guys are forgetten some players in the City of Atlanta @ Therrell High they have one of the best kept secert in Kanrious Benson #17 he had 49 rec. 845 yards and 7INT,65 TLKS AND 7 TD`S. He also was 1st-team all APS,Grady High School as Damian Swann 1st -team All–State DB
BlackSmoke
February 19th, 2010
10:10 am
Watch for Watts Dantzler to keep climbing that list…
ga gator
February 19th, 2010
10:13 am
GAHSFOOTBALL, I watch Flowery Branch play at home and I heard a rumor that the Habersham Central QB is transfering to Fl Branch. Any truth to that?
BigDawg
February 19th, 2010
10:13 am
Dantzler is questionable at this spot. His team generally under performs and he does not play against top notch defensive personnel making it very difficult to gauge just how good he is. He is likely better around number 15 – 20 rather than in the 9 spot. But of course UGA has offered him so he must be really, really good – Right? The QB at North Gwinnett should probably be a top 10 candidate.
ATLdawg, ya dig?
February 19th, 2010
10:13 am
Our decision to pull that Carver-Columbs QB’s offer just makes more and more sense in the rear view mirror. Great job Guys!
alabamadawg, who's never gonna eat at the Outback Restaurant again !!
February 19th, 2010
10:18 am
How many of these guys grew up dawg fans ?? and do the dawgs have a legit shot at Danzler and Vaughters?? and THANKS for the piece Chip !!
alabamadawg, who's never gonna eat at the Outback Restaurant again !!
February 19th, 2010
10:20 am
That was Dantzler not Danzler, sorry about that.
Mark "where's my hair club for men" membership?
February 19th, 2010
10:21 am
You can’t have a to 10 list till you know the ones that committ to Georgia, that’s your top 10 and your to 25 list. 3 facts if we sign em, they’re the best, if they want to go some where other than Georgia, we didn’t want em, so they’re not the best & We get whoever we want!
THBWGD
Just Sayin
February 19th, 2010
10:22 am
alabamadawg, who’s never gonna eat at the Outback Restaurant again !!
Probably not many. Georgia is one of the states in the south where there is something to do other than talk alabama or auburn football 365 days a year. Face it dude, other than college football your state only has one other thing to do other than chew tobacco and thats at Talldaga.
JakeYork
February 19th, 2010
10:25 am
It is true that Austin Brown is going to transfer from Hab Central to Flowery Branch….he is transferring in April before spring practice.
dagrapevine
February 19th, 2010
10:26 am
db/wr malcolm mitchel of valdosta.urban myer says this kid is a shut down d1 safety thats he’s after.this kid is 6′1″ about 185/190 and can flat out fly.his vertical leap is impresive and myer says this kid can smother 6′5′ wr’s with no problem.another valdosta player you should look into is lb jermaine holmes.they call this kid da freak in the weight room.he also has d1 offers coming in and this kid inflicts pain when he hits.he dominates the inside at lb and maybe the sleeper in this class.
showtime
February 19th, 2010
10:26 am
CHIP what about STEPHENSON players like WILLIE DAVIS AND REGIS BALL these guys are going to be big this year . the only reason they arent household names yet is because coach GARTRELL does everything by class so theese guys wasnt allowed to shine because he wanted his seniors to get a look so they could get to school. Watch what i tell you chip these two kids are going to blow some teams away this year.willie davis[rb] regis ball[LB] watch what i tell you.
Coach Johnsons Paul
February 19th, 2010
10:27 am
Dantzler’s father played at UGA. Sadly passed away a little a year ago from complications w/ Lou Gehrig’s Disease (btw-heard him speak in the midst of his battle…he was a very courageous in the face of this horrible disease and his faith spoke volumes). Don’t know if the connection helps UGA or not.
German Shepherd Dawg
February 19th, 2010
10:29 am
THBWGD?
Enough consonant abuse. Enough with the gibberish. We have vowels in the language for a reason.
German Shepherd Dawg
February 19th, 2010
10:30 am
All the truth compels me to admit, I probably don’t really care what you have to say.
German Shepherd Dawg
February 19th, 2010
10:31 am
And “committ” only has one “t”.
ATTENTION, POSTERS. The red underline means you misspelled something.
General Mills
February 19th, 2010
10:31 am
Not one player from southeast -south Georgia on the list.Plenty of talent down here.Unfortunately AJC doesnt realize that real football is played there.Until they start giving those players thier props they will be going elsewhere.Look at the 80’s championship roster and see how many players were from this area and how they contributed.Georgia is not just Atlanta and surrounding counties.Sad really.
German Shepherd Dawg
February 19th, 2010
10:32 am
BTW – Good list.
Sorry, I couldn’t help myself.
hiveredtech
February 19th, 2010
10:37 am
Hard to leave Sterling Bailey, Quan Bray, Justin Scott, Thomas O’Reilly, and Terance Smith off that list.
BamaDawg
February 19th, 2010
10:39 am
The Devin Burns recruiting fiasco is the gift that keeps on giving. Probably led to UGA losing PrettyBoy Rogers this year and hurts our chances with the 2 highly regarded Carver-Columbus kids in 2011.
Chip Towers
February 19th, 2010
10:39 am
General Mills: Oh, no, I know there’s definitely a lot of good football players in Southeast Georgia, and Southwest Georgia and Middle Georgia and Northeast Georgia. You’re right, with 5.5 million in Greater Atlanta, we probably don’t hear about them quite as much. So, respectfully, quit your whining and let me know who from down there belongs on the list and I’ll check them out.
Joco Trojan
February 19th, 2010
10:40 am
I think the list is farily adequate for a top 10. There are realistically about 15-25 kids that could fill in and replace the bottom 5-10 players on this list. I think you could probably make a case just off of what I’ve seen via film and in person for the following kids:
Quan Bray, CJ Uzomah, Sterling Bailey, Zach Walker(Sleeper from Johnson County), Justin Scott, Damian Swann, Shannon Brown, Justin Bennett, Corey Moore, Stephen Tuitt, and Zach Witchett just to name a few.
You’ll be hearing a lot from those kids over the next few months. I think there is no doubt that Vaughters, Wright, Crowell, Drew, and Rome are on every recruiter’s wishlist. Great piece Chip.
Bobby
February 19th, 2010
10:41 am
Chip, you could always ban General Mills for his opinion. LOL!! Just kidding
UGA 2010
February 19th, 2010
10:42 am
General Mills….WTF do you call the SOUTHEAST….. hell, Carver-Columbus….
Frank
February 19th, 2010
10:44 am
Chip, is Jay Rome related to old time player Stan Rome of Valdosta, Clem’s son fame?
Chip Towers
February 19th, 2010
10:46 am
showtime: I’m vaguely familar with the Stephenson guys you mentioned but don’t know enough about them to include them here. Obviously this far out it’s going to be mainly national bluechips that catch our attention. As always gems will be uncovered in camps and during the season.
jb's house
February 19th, 2010
10:46 am
Chip-
What about Quan Bray RB, Sterling Bailey DE, Stephon Tuitt DE, Avery Walls DB?
Wojoe
February 19th, 2010
10:48 am
I’ve had the pleasure of watching Griffin’s Xzavier Dixon play against a good Mt. Zion team and a very good North Clayton team and he is a beast. Would love to see him play for the DAWGS!
vrwildcatsmom
February 19th, 2010
10:49 am
We had several high school football players from GA to participate in the Under Armour Combine in Jacksonville, FL this past weekend and they all performed well. You should check them out in the Jacksonville, FL combine results. These young men represented GA well.
TommyP
February 19th, 2010
10:52 am
Chip: Great read and you do a great job, especially your “Ten at Ten” feature. That’s a must read.
Do you get to attend Junior Days or any other camps like that? 7 on 7 tournaments.
Thanks for a great job.
Chip Towers
February 19th, 2010
10:52 am
dagrapevine: I like both Malcolm Mitchell and Damian Swann of Grady but I just don’t know enough about them right now. I also like safeties Corey Moore, Chris Sanders and Avery Walls. DBs are just so hard to judge at this stage, especially until you see them go against top-flight passers and receivers. But who can argue with Urban Meyer, right?
DirtyDawg
February 19th, 2010
10:53 am
That’s some interesting footage on the RB from Columbus…a few more longer runs and he’d look just like Caleb King…
Sic Em
February 19th, 2010
10:56 am
Tell em like it is, Chip. Just wondering, how do you go about finding these guys? Do other people pass on the info or do you specifically go out and look for these recruits?
Chip Towers
February 19th, 2010
10:56 am
JakeYork: Haven’t heard that about Austin Brown but will look into it. He’s an impressive quarterback.
vrwildcatsmom
February 19th, 2010
10:59 am
A few of the GA players who participated in the J’ville UA Combine from this area are Alexander Morgan from Villa Rica High Wildcats, Brandon McCoy from Villa Rica High Wildcats, Curtis Mason from Villa Rica High Wildcats and Detorrius McDonald from Tri Cities Bulldogs. Curtis Mason has a highlight tape on YouTube check it out!
Bryan G.
February 19th, 2010
11:00 am
Um, General Mills…Wilcox County is in South Georgia.
jb's house
February 19th, 2010
11:00 am
Chip-
You can probably find some “diamonds” others have overlooked by looking at some of the best 5AAAAA powerhouse schools like Camden, Lowndes, Northside, Colquit, N. Gwinett, Valdosta, Stephenson, McEachern, Roswell, Lassiter, Northside.
Might be some guys that have big stats, on powerhouse teams, that have been overlooked.
Debose
February 19th, 2010
11:02 am
by Adam Gorney
“Brian Randolph doesn’t say much but when the Marietta (Ga.) Kell safety said he has a favorite school then people in these parts should listen up closely – because Florida stands out more to him than any other program at this point.”
More top prospects expected to leave the state in 2011
http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/multimedia/photo_gallery/0808/cfb.si.preview.covers/images/georgia-bulldogs.jpg
http://imgsrv.wcbs880.com/image/DbGraphic/200901/1145908.jpg?1245799748
jb's house
February 19th, 2010
11:07 am
Chip-
Check out LaMichael Fanning DE, he HAS to be on the top 10 list. MASSIVE.
Dawg Fan
February 19th, 2010
11:07 am
I have not seen most play and I am not a talent evaluator so it would not matter anyway. However, from what I have read Swann should definitely be on the list and could be a top 5 guy. Moore should probably be on it as well. I think dantzler and Johnson may be more like 12-18 guys. Again, just going off a number of others opinions.
Dawg Fan
February 19th, 2010
11:08 am
jb’s house
Fanning now lives in Alabama.
JB
February 19th, 2010
11:09 am
Chip. do you have any inside info about how UGA ’sizes’ up a player to go after? I know we miss some as all schools do, Byan Evans comes to mind. i feel his HS coach knew Richt as asked a Favor. I can’t believe we scouted him an signed him.
jb
February 19th, 2010
11:10 am
check out Jeffrey Dyson from Thomasville. Take a look @ him in the playoffs against Markeith Gamble. He is a special kid.
alabamadawg, who's never gonna eat at the Outback Restaurant again !!
February 19th, 2010
11:13 am
Just sayin- I’m not from Alabama, so it’s not exactly my state…my job keeps me here…although it is a beautiful state with wonderful people( although somewhat misguided…lol ).
Chip Towers
February 19th, 2010
11:16 am
Sic Em: It’s mostly based on the interest these kids are getting until we get into their senior seasons. Then there’s a major reshuffle based on what they do on the field. . . . Of course, I talk to college recruiters at the state schools. I have printouts of the Rivals250, the ESPNU’s 150 Watch list (more than 300 kids) and Scout’s top 100. I highlight the kids from Georgia and look at their video and read everything I can about them. . . . But let me be clear: I am NOT a recruiting analyst.
Chip Towers
February 19th, 2010
11:18 am
TommyP: Thanks for the kinds words. I like the “Ten at 10,” too. It’s getting harder and harder to come up this time of year but I will continue to provide it at least a couple of times a week.