Archive for April, 2010

Georgia Tech received a commitment on Saturday from a player who might be its quarterback of the future.

Airyn Willis, a 6-foot-2, 175-pound athlete from High Point, N.C., confirmed that he committed while attending the T-Day spring game Saturday at Bobby Dodd Stadium. He had hinted this past week that Tech was his “clear leader” and he may be close to pulling the trigger.

“Oh yeah, I’ve always loved Georgia Tech since I was little,” Willis said. “I knew I was going to commit to them. I was going to wait and maybe go look some other places. But I didn’t think that would be fair to be going around when I knew Tech was where I wanted to be. My dad said, ‘Tech has everything you want. What are you waiting for?’ And he was right.”

The Yellow Jackets’ recruitment of Willis is particularly interesting considering they recruited him as a quarterback even though he isn’t one. He played running back, wide receiver and defensive back as a junior at Southwest Guilford last season. He …

Continue reading Yellow Jackets land QB-in-making in Airyn Willis »

The recruitment of Dwayne Polee continues.

The University of Georgia’s No. 1 basketball target for 2010 postponed a scheduled announcement tonight in order to take a closer look at Oregon, the Los Angeles Times is reporting.

The 6-foot-7 small forward from L.A.’s Westchester High had planned to go public with his final choice at halftime of the “Collision” high school all-star game Saturday night at El Camino College. But the Times’ report said Polee decided before the game to postpone that announcement so he could visit Oregon this week. Multiple media outlets were reporting that the Ducks have reached an agreement with Creighton’s Dana Altman to become their new head coach and Altman apparently has already become involved in Polee’s recruitment.

Earlier this weekend it was reported in New York that Polee, the City Player of the Year in L.A., had narrowed his choices to UGA and St. John’s. He is also considering UNLV and UTEP.

Georgia coach Mark Fox and his staff, who still …

Continue reading UGA target Dwayne Polee postpones announcement »

Christian LeMay threw for 3,296 yards and 44 TDs with only two interceptions to lead Butler High to the North Carolina state championship last season.

Christian LeMay, the No. 2 quarterback in America per Scout.com, will announce his “leader” to the college football world next Friday in Pineville, N.C., LeMay’s father said today.

Stacy LeMay, Christian’s father, said his son will make the announcement before friends, family and assembled media at the Champion Christian Center, where he is lead pastor, at 6:30 p.m. They will also name two other “finalists.” The University of Georgia, he said, has a very strong chance of being among them.

“As of right now Georgia is one of the teams he really likes,” Mr. LeMay said.

The 6-foot-2, 200-pound LeMay, who has more than 20 offers, has the Bulldogs in his top five along with Clemson, Auburn, Notre Dame and Texas A&M

So why announce a “leader” and not just commit somewhere? The Christian-values family does not want to mislead or …

Continue reading Dogs in hunt as QB Christian LeMay plans April 30 announcement »

Dwayne Polee, Georgia’s most coveted basketball recruit this year, is planning to make an announcement Saturday night, according to several published reports.

Polee, a 6-foot-7 wing player from Westchester High School in Los Angeles, is going to choose between Georgia, UNLV, Oregon and St. John’s. The L.A. City Player of the Year will make the his announcement at halftime of a high school all-star game at El Camino College Saturday night, according to the Los Angeles Times. The Las Vegas Sun is also reporting it.

Rivals.com is reporting it’s now between Georgia and St. Johns, but Polee would not confirm that in a telephone conversation with the AJC Friday afternoon. He would not offer a hint between the four.

“They’re all good basketball schools that are going to help you get to the next level,” Polee said.

Adam Zagoria, who covers the New York Knicks and Big East hoops for NBA.com, wrote in his blog that Polee told him in a text message it is between “St. John’s and UGA.”

The …

Continue reading UGA target Dwayne Polee to make choice Saturday (updated) »

A Q&A WITH DEVIN BOWMAN:

The Bulldogs not only won over Devin Bowman but his mother Tara as well. (Family photo)

Georgia is now up to six commitments for its football recruiting class of 2011. But easily the most refreshing surprise for the Bulldogs so far was the pledge of Rossville’s Devin Bowman. The dynamic two-way athlete from Ridgeland High committed to UGA after a visit to Athens last weekend. What makes Bowman’s decision surprising? UGA had much going against it. Bowman’s older brother Michael Bowman is a sophomore wide receiver at Alabama and Devin had expressed a desire to play with him in college. Also, Michael Bowman went Bama’s way in part because of an embarrassing situation that occurred in 2007 when his parents, Tara and Terrance Bowman, were on an official recruiting visit at UGA. Their oldest son, Adarius Bowman, was a star wide receiver for Oklahoma State and the Bowmans were decked out in Cowboys’ orange and black for the game. They were told by UGA …

Continue reading Q&A: Bulldogs beat odds to land Ridgeland’s Devin Bowman »

THE TEN AT 10:

1. If you base it on player rankings, neither Georgia nor Georgia Tech are exactly tearing up in-state basketball recruiting. There are seven players from Georgia on the Rivals 150 list of the nation’s top recruits. Between them the two in-state majors have signed a grand total of — ZERO. And that won’t change if one or the other wins the battle for Marcus Thornton because he’s not among the 150. Who is? By ranking they are: Wheeler’s Jelan Kendrick (No. 8, Memphis); Walton’s Ryan Harrow (24, N.C. State); Liberty County’s Jordan McRae (42, Tennessee); McEachern’s Trae Golden (55, Tennessee); Liberty County’s Rion Brown (61, Miami); Norcross’ Jeremy Lamb (68, Connecticut); and Columbia’s Jershon Cobb (90, Northwestern).

2. Of course, that doesn’t mean they’re flailing around in recruiting. Tech’s one signee so far, guard Jason Morris, is a Georgia native attending the Hotchkiss School in Connecticut and is ranked No. 84 by Rivals. And one of Georgia’s three …

Continue reading Ten at 10: Tech, UGA look to improve on in-state recruiting (updated) »

Georgia State is loading up on junior college basketball talent.

The Panthers signed yet another two-year player on Tuesday in Josh Micheaux, a 6-foot-6, 220-pound swingman from Lee College in Baytown, Texas. Micheaux averaged 11.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.6 steals in 2009-10 and was named all-conference in each of his two seasons at Lee.

“Josh is a big wing who is long and athletic,” head coach Rod Barnes said on the school’s website. “He’s a great defender, he can handle the ball, he can score and he rebounds well for his position. He will give us a lot of versatility.”

Micheaux will have two seasons of eligibility at Georgia State,. He hails from Missouri City, Texas, where he graduated from Elkins High. Micheaux’s father, Larry Micheaux, played on the “Phi Slamma Jamma” teams at the University of Houston in the early 1980s.

In case you haven’t noticed, the Panthers — who graduated six seniors — have brought in a bunch of players for 2010-11 season. Micheaux …

Continue reading Georgia State adds another junior college signee »

North Paulding's Christian Conley poses for a picture after committing to the University of Georgia last Friday. (Special photo)

It’s a fieldhouse not unlike any other fieldhouse, the one at North Paulding High. It’s basically just a big wide room with lockers around the edges and double-doors leading out to the football field.

Last Friday, this was Christian Conley’s auditorium. This was his stage. Only there were no lights or TV cameras or microphones present. Just 50 or 60 familiar faces in a room smiling toward him.

In the age of the 24-7 news cycle and the choose-one-of-three-hats commitment shtick, Conley went in another direction. He chose to go intimate and private with his college announcement.

The 6-foot-3, 185-pound wide receiver committed to the University of Georgia on Friday in a short, unpublicized “non-ceremony.” The only people present were Conley’s immediate family, his coaches, his preacher, his principal, some of his teachers and members of the North …

Continue reading WR Christian Conley takes a different route on commitment »

THE TEN AT 10:

1. Georgia and Georgia Tech both made the cut to the final five  for James Wilder Jr., according to JacketsOnline.com. The Bulldogs and Yellow Jackets will be battling Alabama, Florida and Florida State for this elite athlete from Tampa, who has said he won’t make a decision until national signing day. All but Florida have offered Wilder as a running back, his stated position of preference in college. The Gators want him to play linebacker. The Orlando Sentinel lists him as the top defensive end in the state of Florida. The Yellow Jackets see him in the mold of Jonathan Dwyer and really like the idea of the 6-foot-2, 220-pound Wilder playing their B-back position. Wilder said he likes the way Tech “runs the ball like crazy.”  Check the video below of one run he had at Tampa Plant last season.

2. Speaking of Florida, Jeff Driskell, the No 12 quarterback prospect in the nation per Scout.com, committed to the Gators on Monday. The 6-foot-4, 220-pound athlete …

Continue reading Ten at 10: Tech, Georgia make Top 5 cut for James Wilder Jr. (updated) »

Tucker LB James Vaughters has narrowed his final choices to eight.

Something tells me the recruitment of Norman Hayes is about to pick up steam.

The Tucker quarterback this past weekend received a scholarship offer from Stanford while in Palo Alto to attend the Cardinal’s spring game on a recruiting visit. But while the 5-foot-10, 170-pound Hayes is a good player and a talented athlete in his own right, it was probably no coincidence that Hayes had his best buddy with him on the trip.

That would be James Vaughters, the state’s top linebacker.

Vaughters has long held a scholarship offer from Stanford, along with about 25 or 30 others. The 6-foot-3, 232-pounder linebacker is one of the most sought-after prospects in the South.

And he was delighted that his best friend landed an offer from the prestigious West Coast school. Hayes did not have any previous major college offers.

Tucker QB Norman Hayes landed an offer from Stanford. (AJC photo)

“Stanford offered Norman as an …

Continue reading Package deal? Stanford offers James Vaughters’ best buddy »