Archive for August, 2010

Christian LeMay will not have a senior football season in high school. Instead he will complete high school graduation requirements "in a private setting" and enroll at UGA in January, according to his father.

NOTE: There will be no Ten@10 today. It will run tomorrow instead.

In the end, Christian LeMay and his family didn’t like any of their options. So they chose “none of the above.”

LeMay, a five-star quarterback from Butler High School in Matthews, N.C., who committed to the University of Georgia on April 30, has decided to forgo his senior year of high school to complete graduation requirements “in a private setting,” according to his father. He will not play football other than to prepare for his college career with private trainers.

Pastor Stacy LeMay told the AJC Monday night his son was unsuccessful in his appeal of a 30-day suspension from school for an undisclosed violation of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools code of conduct. The LeMays have never disclosed the …

Continue reading Christian LeMay to forgo senior season and prepare for Georgia »

C.J. Uzomah (10) and Scott Housch celebrate Uzomah's 46-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter of North Gwinnett's 28-15 win over Grayson in an exhibition game Saturday. (Photo by Brian Kamer/TheWinningShots.com)

A lot of people, including me, enjoyed watching C.J. Uzomah in action for the North Gwinnett Bulldogs in their regionally-televised exhibition game against Grayson this past Saturday. But nobody probably found it more than enjoyable than Auburn’s Gus Malzahn.

The Tigers’ mad scientist of an offensive coordinator spent a lot of time convincing Uzomah he should come to the Plains to play a multiple-position in their offense next year rather than just a plain ol’ quarterback. And Uzomah, a 6-foot-5, 235-pound athlete, concurred with his commitment over LSU and several others late last month.

Well, it just so happens that North Gwinnett coach Bob Sphire, a bit of an offensive guru himself, had similar plans for Uzomah this season. So rather than take every meaningful …

Continue reading Auburn commit C.J. Uzomah playing dual role for North Gwinnett »

It’s official. Georgia had to report a secondary NCAA violation to the Southeastern Conference because of a picture I took at the end of UGA’s “Dawg Night” prospect camp on July 16 in Athens.

I’ve come to call it “Picturegate.”

A permissible photo of Georgia commitments Zach DeBell (L) and Nathan Theus from 'Dawg Night.'

UGA’s paperwork was sent to the SEC office by Interim AD Frank Crumley on August 9, copies of which I obtained last week via a Freedom of Information request.

To be accurate, I should say “copy,” as in a single page. Not much to it really. Just a letter from Crumley to SEC Commissioner Mike Slive stating Georgia was reporting an “institutional violation” because “an assistant football coach posed for a picture with a prospective student-athlete (PSA)” at a camp and the picture ran on a newspaper’s website (wonder which one?). After that the letter essentially apologizes and says they’ll try not to let it happen again.

“We regret the violation occurred and will …

Continue reading ‘Picturegate:’ UGA reports NCAA violation after Dawg Night »

THE TEN AT (11):

James Wilder Jr. will choose between Florida, Florida State and Georgia next Wednesday. (Photo by Tim Casey/GatorCountry.com)

1. James Wilder Jr. has eliminated Georgia Tech and Alabama from consideration and is down to Florida, Florida State and Georgia as his finalists, according to a report this morning in the St. Petersburg Times. The five-star prospect from Tampa’s Plant High let reporters know that on Wednesday while attending the announcement news conference of two of his teammates, quarterback Philip Ely and offensive lineman Tony Posada. Wilder, a 6-foot-2, 220-pound two-way player who intends to play running back in college, said he still hasn’t made up his mind.

“I’ve slept on it a lot,” Wilder said. “Today I’ll have FSU in the lead, tomorrow I’ll have UF and in three days I’ll have Georgia. I just have to make sure I think a lot about it. I’ve still got a lot of thinking to do in the last seven days.”

Wilder plans to make his …

Continue reading Ten@10: James Wilder eliminates Tech, Bama; down to FSU, UF, UGA »

Here’s a good one: WSB wants me to help Zach Klein call high school football games this fall.

That’s right. Me. Calling games. Live. On TV.

Should be hilarious.

In all seriousness, it really is cool what WSB is doing. They are taking local high school sports coverage to a new level. Think ESPN’s College Game Day on a smaller local scale. You know, fans, bands, cheerleaders, reveling before kickoff. And great football.

For 15 weeks Zach and I and the talented staffs of WSB-TV and PlayON! Sports (the group that is actually producing the games) will be traveling around Metro Atlanta to bring you the best high school football contests live and on tape delay. The broadcasts can be seen live on Retro Television (RTV — Comcast Ch. 248, Charter 127) at 7:30 every Friday night. Then the games will be replayed in their entirety on WSB-TV Channel 2 at 1 a.m.

And they’ve got a great lineup planned for you. We come flying out of the gate on Aug. 27 — that’s two weeks from this Friday — …

Continue reading WSB-TV broadcasting high school games live every Friday »

Salisbury (N.C.) running back Romar Morris is tailor-made for Georgia Tech's A-Back position. (Photo by Don Callahan/InsideCarolina.com)

One of the most lethal weapons in Georgia Tech’s spread-option attack is the A-back position.

The B-back, lined up directly behind the quarterback, generally carries the load offensively and is the marquee position in coach Paul Johnson’s offense. But it’s often the fleet-footed A-backs, positioned in slots on the flanks of the backfield and set in motion every which way before and after the snap of the ball, that hits opposing defenses with devastating kill-shot runs (see 2008 Georgia game).

With that in mind, the Yellow Jackets believe they have identified an ideal prospect for playing just that role. Romar Morris is a 5-foot-10, 185-pound speedster out of Salisbury, N.C., and he might be the best back around you haven’t heard of.

“That’s what he’s good at, taking it the distance,” said Salibury High coach Joe Pinyan. “He’s had a lot of …

Continue reading Georgia Tech target Romar Morris an ideal fit at A-Back »

THE TEN AT 10:

1. I like Derek Dooley. Known him since he was a student at Clarke Central High. One of the smartest guys I’ve met. I think he’s a good coach and I think he’ll do a good job at Tennessee. But am I the only one surprised at the way he handled the whole bar brawl incident up on Rocky Top? Especially given the proclamations made early on about “changing the culture,” “representing with class” and “making Volunteers everywhere proud” of the way their players conduct themselves.

Yet the end result of “at least nine or 10 football players” being involved in a 1:50 a.m. fight that left an off-duty cop hospitalized is one player — Atlanta’s Darren Myles — was dismissed from the team (Myles had been in trouble with the law just a short time before). Two others were indefinitely suspended, but from what is unclear since both were reinstated before the first day of preseason practice. Meanwhile, there have been no obvious repercussions for true freshman wide receiver …

Continue reading Ten@10: WR Da’Rick Rogers, others in clear with Vols »

Mega prospect James Wilder Jr., who has Tech and UGA among his finalists, will make his decision known on Aug. 18, his coach confirmed Monday. (Photo by Chris Hays/Orlando Sentinel)

I finally ran down Tampa-Plant coach Robert Weiner to verify what I’d been hearing all afternoon on Monday. That is that mega-prospect James Wilder Jr. plans to make public his college football decision on August 18.

The exact time and place has not been determined, according to Weiner. However there are reports that the announcement will be at 5 p.m. at a Tampa TV station and will be broadcast live on one of the ESPN networks. Again, Weiner couldn’t confirm that. He stated via text message, “will solidify tomorrow (Tuesday) with a press release.”

Coincidentally — or not — highly-touted four-star cornerback prospect Nick Waisome of Groveland, Fla., is also supposed to make his announcement on the 18th. In fact, the Orlando Sentinel is reporting that Waisome and Wilder are going to make their …

Continue reading James Wilder Jr., Nick Waisome to annouce decisions on Aug. 18 »

I’m back!

Sorry for the absence. I was out the last week or so dealing with some family health matters. I am happy to report that everybody is better now and slowly-but-surely getting back to 100 percent. I am sincerely thankful for the time off to deal with that and especially for the many kind comments, well wishes and prayers that were left for me here and sent via email and social media. It’s really appreciated.

I do feel the need to apologize. Not, of course, for leaving work to attend to my family’s needs. Any of you would do the same. But I do feel like I kind of abandoned the blog and left many to wonder what in the world was going on. Several people wrote in wondering where was their “Ten@10″ last Tuesday and Thursday and what happened to “The Mailbag,” etc. Clearly I could have done a better job of informing everybody what was going on. My sincerest apology.

However, my esteemed colleague Michael Carvell kept an eye on all things recruiting for us over at the “Prep …

Continue reading What are the biggest recruiting stories in August? »

The AJC has gotten several calls and emails regarding the weekly Mailbag and Ten @ 10 features. Rest assured they will return as scheduled next week.

Chip Towers is on vacation this week. And while he normally gives you a heads-up, he had some pressing family issues to deal with last week.

Also, his esteemed colleague, High Schools reporter Michael Carvell, is still posting major breaking news in recruiting while Chip’s away.

Thanks a lot for being loyal readers. All of us here at the AJC appreciate it! Check back for more updates and feel free to leave well-wishes for Chip and his family.

Continue reading Where are Mailbag and ‘Ten @ 10′? »