Archive for October, 2010

CHANNEL 2 SPORTS ZONE FRIDAY GAME OF THE WEEK: FAYETTE CO. AT SANDY CREEK

Alex Chisum (14) recently broke Calvin Johnson's record for career receiving yardage at Sandy Creek. (File photo)

Alex Chisum never made a big deal out of this whole recruiting thing. He never focused on who wasn’t pursuing him. He put all his time and energy in who was and what those that did had to offer.

Armed with that information, Sandy Creek’s 6-foot-2, 185-pound wide receiver committed to Cincinnati last April. And he hasn’t looked back

“They actually noticed me as a sophomore,” Chisum said of coach Butch Jones and his staff. “They invited me up there a couple of times and showed me a lot of love. Coach told me right away they needed me bad and wanted me to come in and play as a freshman. He told me where they wanted to play me and what they wanted to do with me. That was big.”

The Bearcats’ gain is the loss of everybody else, says Sandy Creek’s Chip Walker. The Fighting Patriots’ head coach …

Continue reading Cincinnati commit Alex Chisum of Sandy Creek attracts attention of Georgia, SEC »

THE TEN AT 10:

1. Washington High WR/DB Zack Witchett, who was dismissed from the team by head coach Stanley Pritchett for an attitude issue two weeks ago, was reinstated last week. In fact, the UGA commitment actually played in the Bulldogs’ 35-28, double-overtime win over Druid Hills this past Friday.

“Zack did all the things he had to do to get back on the team as far as apologizing and discipline and such,” Pritchett said. “He actually played in our game last Friday but got hurt. His shoulder popped out making a tackle from his safety position. Hopefully we’ll be able to get him back this week because we’re going to need him.”

The Bulldogs (6-2) play St. Pius (6-2) in a critical region game.

Witchett committed to Georgia way back in June. Pritchett, who has been in touch with UGA coaches, does not believe the indefinite suspension — which turned out to be one week — will affect Witchett’s scholarship offer from the Bulldogs.

“I don’t think so,” Pritchett said. “He’s a good …

Continue reading Ten@10: UGA commit Zack Witchett ‘back in good graces’ of his team »

It’s Georgia-Florida week so it seemed like a good to revisit the Peach State kids that signed with the Gators in their heralded Class of 2010.

To do that, I called Edward Aschoff, who covers football recruiting and covers the Gators for the Gainesville Sun. You can read his daily recruiting blog called “The Scout Leader” at GatorSports.com.

Of course, everybody knows that the Gators hauled in the No. 1-rated recruiting class in the country this past February. It featured an astounding number of five-star signees — six — with Chris Dunkley, Dominique Easley, Matt Elam, Sharrif Floyd, Chris Martin and Ronald Powell.

As the Gators enter the Georgia game at 4-3 overall and 2-3 in the SEC, suffice it to say that class hasn’t quite lived up to its billing.

“I’d definitely say the class is under-performing,” said Aschoff, who recently re-evaluated Florida’s entire 2010 class in one of his blogs. “Sharrif Floyd plays the most and, of course, Trey Burton has been a surprise to …

Continue reading ‘Georgia boys’ not making an impact at Florida — yet »

When you say Grady Grey Knights these days, the first name that probably comes to mind is Damian Swann, the AJC Super 11 defensive back who is attracting recruiting attention from all over.

But there is a new name emerging from the old Atlanta high school. Marcus Caffey, a 6-foot, 190-pound running back, leads the Grey Knights with 911 yards on 78 carries (11.7 ypc). He, too, is attracting recruiters to Grady by the dozens. And along with Swann, Caffey is a big reason Grady is 7-1 and ranked No. 9 in Class AAA.

It will probably come as no surprise that these two elite athletes are also close friends.

“I’ve known him since I was 4,” Caffey said of Swann. “He played on my first basketball team. We’ve been playing on the same teams ever since.”

Asked if he and Swann ever discussed attending the same college, Caffey said: “Damian told me if I go to Georgia, he’s going to Georgia.”

Swann, as has been well-documented for quite some time now, has been the subject of an intense …

Continue reading Damian Swann to Marcus Caffey: ‘I’ll go to Georgia if you do’ »

Georgia gets another shot at landing a Milton player when Dai-Jon Parker announce on Nov. 5. (AJC photo)

So South Atlanta basketball star Nick Jacobs committed to Alabama on Tuesday. That makes Georgia 0-for-2 so far on high-profile Atlanta kids in the Class of 2011.

The Bulldogs also missed out on another four-star power forward they went down to the wire for. Milton High School star Julian Royal (6-foot-9) chose Georgia Tech over UGA on Oct. 14. Two other major prospects snubbed UGA to go out of state: Milton point guard Shannon Scott (to Ohio State) and Great Atlanta Christian wing Malcolm Brogdown (Virginia).

Does this mean the Bulldogs have lost the recruiting momentum they gained last year under coach Mark Fox?

Hard to tell.

Georgia has already done some really good work already. Earlier this year, the Bulldogs landed five-star wing Kentavious Caldwell (6-6, 185) of Greenville, Ga., who is generally considered the top prospect in the state. But after coming up short on …

Continue reading Is Georgia losing momentum in basketball recruiting? »

FROM AJC REPORTER MICHAEL CARVELL:

One of Georgia’s top uncommitted basketball prospects said on Tuesday that he will sign with Alabama over Georgia, among others.

South Atlanta High’s Nick Jacobs announced his college decision, with Alabama edging out Clemson. Georgia and Florida were the other finalists. It was tough news again for Georgia, which lost Milton High power forward Julian Royal in a head-to-head battle with Georgia Tech last week. Both Jacobs and Royal are ranked among the nation’s top 100 college basketball prospects.

“I liked all the schools, but picked Alabama because it was the best fit for me,” Jacobs said. “I had built a close relationship with Alabama’s coaches and players. I like Alabama because it’s a winning program and I know we have the talent to win an SEC championship.”

The 6-foot-8, 255-pounder admitted that he was leaning to Clemson before taking his four official visits. After the whirlwind tour of recruiting trips, his mind changed several times …

Continue reading South Atlanta PF Nick Jacobs picks Bama over UGA, Clemson, Florida »

THE TEN AT 10:

1. AJC Super 11 defensive end Ray Drew of Thomas County Central is “shutting it down.” The 6-foot-5, 250-pound prospect — who gets a five-star rating from ESPNU/Scouts Inc. — told me this week he is not going to grant any more media interviews, at least not for a short while. Drew said he simply has too much on his plate at the moment, what with playing football, attending high school, taking college courses at night and preaching on Sunday mornings. He said he simply needs to cut down the number of calls coming to his phone.

Of course, the recruiting process will continue. And, to date, that’s something Drew also has let get a little out of hand. Drew, who has fielded upward of 40 offers, still listed as many as 10 possible finalists as late as last week. He hopes to narrow his scope over the next few weeks as well.

Meanwhile, Drew told me he plans to attend the Georgia-Florida game on Saturday in Jacksonville and the Florida-FSU game on Nov. 27. “I’m going …

Continue reading Ten@10: DE Ray Drew ’shutting it down,’ heading to Georgia-Florida (updated) »

The best defensive end in the state you probably never heard of is Ufomba Kamalu.

Kamula (6-foot-5, 245 pounds) has been terrorizing opponents for Starr’s Mill all season. He had five sacks in a 35-24 vcvtory over Northgate just this past weekend.

But you won’t find this athletic senior on any recruiting lists. That’s because Kamula came to Starr’s Mill in the ninth grade from Nigeria. As a result, his academics aren’t quite in order to be considered by Football Bowl Subdivision schools.

Nevertheless, one opposing coach told Starr’s Mill coach Chad Phillips that Kamalu was by far the best defensive linemen he’d seen this season. And that, the coach said, includes the much-ballyhooed LaMichael Fanning of Harris County, who has committed to Alabama.

“He’s D-1, now; he’s D-I all the way,” Phillips told Georgia High School Football Daily. “You’ve got to see him. He looks like Adonis; real cut, no fat on him.”

College coaches are starting to take notice. They are often calling …

Continue reading DE Ufomba Kamula making name for himself at Starr’s Mill »

THE MONDAY MORNING REWIND:

Stone Mountain's Raymond Sanders had 171 all-purpose yards and a touchdown for Kentucky against Georgia on Saturday night in Lexington, Ky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

Looking back at the players, plays and games that caught our attention over the weekend. Let us know what you saw and heard.

If you’re a Kentucky fan, the one positive you could take out of Saturday’s loss to Georgia was the play of Raymond Sanders.

The freshman tailback from Stone Mountain’s Stephenson High School, playing in relief of injured starter Derrick Locke, was impressive against the Bulldogs. He finished the game with 171 all-purpose yards and one touchdown. Sanders had 79 yards rushing on 16 carries, seven catches for 77 yards receiving — including a nine-yard touchdown — and 15 yards on a kickoff return.

Sanders was about the only player coach Joker Phillips had anything good to say about afterward.

“You know, we’ve seen it all most of the year from Raymond,” …

Continue reading Rewind: Stone Mountain’s Raymond Sanders a bright spot for Kentucky »

CHANNEL 2 SPORTS ZONE FRIDAY GAME OF THE WEEK: ETOWAH AT WOODSTOCK

Christian Harris likes to be in the middle of things. Literally.

The Etowah High senior starred for the Eagles last season as an outside linebacker. But this season coach Bill Stewart moved him inside to “Mike” linebacker. The move has been dream for Harris and a nightmare for Etowah’s opponents.

“I like Mike a lot better,” said Harris, a University of Tennessee commitment. “I like being in the middle of the defense. Whether the play is to the weak or strong side I have a chance to make the tackle.”

And Harris has been making a lot of those. In fact, the 6-foot-3, 235-pound senior leads the Eagles with a gaudy 95 stops this season. He also has four tackles for loss, two sacks, two hurries, two fumble recoveries a caused fumble and an interception.

“We wanted to get him inside where teams can’t run away from him and he could be more involved every play,” said Stewart, the Eagles’ coach since 2006. “It’s more of …

Continue reading UT commitment Christian Harris likes being in middle of Etowah’s defense »