Archive for February, 2011

Georgia’s 2011 recruiting class is just about complete — at least for today.

The Bulldogs have receieved the signed letters-of-intent of five additional players over the last hour. They are OL Hunter Long of Eads, Tenn.; DB Chris Sanders of Tucker; TE Jay Rome of Valdosta; WR Justin Scott-Wesley of Mitchell County; and LB Ramik Wilson of Tampa.

That gives Georgia 24 signees so far. The Bulldogs are still waiting to hear on five-star running back Isaiah Crowell, who will announce at 1:30 p.m. in Columbus, and junior college nose guard John Jenkins, who won’t sign until Saturday in Meriden, Conn.

Rome is, of course, one of the crowned jewels of the 2011 class. He’s a five-star-rated recruit and No. 1-ranked at his position by two recruiting services. He committed to the Bulldogs on Jan. 20 after a vigorous recruiting battle with Alabama, Clemson and Tennessee. His teammate Malcolm Mitchell, a wide receiver, also signed with UGA on Wednesday.

Scott-Wesley, a fellow South …

Continue reading 5-star TE Jay Rome now in as UGA’s dream class comes into focus (UPDATED) »

D.J. Beard, a 6-foot, 174-pound defensive back, from Ola High in McDonough, signed with Navy.

Beard, a two-year starter, told the Annapolis Capital newspaper that he was a tough, physical corner.

Beard committed Jan. 9 and has a 3.3 GPA and chose Navy over William & Mary, Elon and Army.

Continue reading Navy gets Ola cornerback Beard »

Georgia State was unable to get through its second national signing day without a couple of disappoints as two of the Panthers’ commitments ended up signing with other schools.

Quarterback Imonni Carswell (6-2, 180) of Plantation, Fla., signed with Tennessee State and defensive lineman Jakari Kinnie (6-2, 320) of Gadsden, Ala., signed with Jacksonville State.

However, the Panthers did get the LOIs of DE Roderick Thompson (6-4, 230) and offensive lineman David Huey (6-3, 265). And the one for DB DEmazio Skelton of Georgia Military is reportedly on its way.

Continue reading Georgia State adds two, loses two in 2011 class »

Georgia State has now added David Huey to its recruiting class. Huey, a 6-2, 285-pound offensive lineman from Pearl-Cohn High in Nashville, Tenn.,  is the sixth signee for the Panthers so far.

Huey was an all-city selection by the Metro Coaches Association and helped Pearl Cohn reach the quarterfinals of the 2010 state playoffs. He also plays basketball and baseball in high school.

Continue reading OL David Huey becomes sixth signee for Georgia State »

Woodward Academy will have a signing party at 3:45 p.m. Wednesday at the school for five signings.

Andrew Adams signed with Connecticut (football), Brian Lawler with Washington and Lee (football), Connie Organ with Central Florida (soccer), Hugh Pringle with Syracuse (soccer) and Alex Lowman with Pittsburgh (soccer).

Continue reading Five from Woodward sign; UConn gets Adams »

Kristopher Curtis, a 6-foot-4, 290-pound offensive lineman from Fayette County High, signed with Syracuse.

He was a three-year starter. He is also a forward/center starter for the basketball team.

Fayette County coach Tommy Webb said: “Kris has been the anchor on our offensive line for the last two years. Kris has worked extremely hard to get better each year and prepare himself for the next level. [We] look forward to seeing him excel at Syracuse!”

Continue reading Fayette’s Curtis signs with Syracuse »

The Georgia Bulldogs pulled off their first coup of the 2011 recruiting season when they received the scholarship papers of Kent Turene late Wednesday morning.

Turene, a 6-foot-2, 225-pound linebacker from Lauderdale Lakes, Fla., was a longtime Southern Cal commitment who decided late in the process to visit UGA. He loved his Jan. 21-22 visit and, after visiting Texas Tech this past weekend, decommitted to the Trojans. He also considered Nebraska before inking with the Bulldogs.

ESPN rates Turene as a four-star prospect. He had more than 40 scholarship offers.

Continue reading Georgia gets former USC commit Kent Turene »

Georgia State has now added kicker Christian Benvenuto to its recruiting class.

Benvenuto (6-0, 185), who is also a punter,  connected on five of eight field goal attempts and 25 of 26 extra-point tries at Matanzas High in Palm Coast, Fla., this past season. He also averaged 38.8 yards per punt with a long of 59. He was first-team all-area selection by the Daytona Beach News Journal.

Continue reading Georgia State inks place-kicker Christian Benvenuto »

Even Mark Richt could not hide his excitement about this one.

In the middle of addressing the crowd of fans gathered at Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall Wednesday, he got a text. He immediately held up his phone and exclaimed: “Malcolm Mitchell is a Dog!”

Much barking ensued.

Mitchell is indeed one of the stars in Georgia’s 2011 class. And an unexpected one. Most projected that he’d sign with Alabama, which led his recruitment for most of the last few months. But he committed to the Bulldogs on Jan. 20 in Valdosta, a couple of hours after his teammate Jay Rome did the same.

Mitchell is arguably the best pure athlete in the state this year. He ranks No. 6 in the AJC Fab 50. He was expected to play cornerback in college but more likely will play offense now after catching 77 passes for 1,419 yards at Valdosta this past season.

Continue reading Valdosta WR Malcolm Mitchell signs on with UGA »

Georgia Tech has now inked all of the commitments it had coming into national signing day. Now we get to sit back and see if the Yellow Jackets have any surprises to offer.

Domonique Noble, a 6-2, 187-pound defensive back from Mount Ulla, N.C., is the last signee to be reported. The three-star prospect, who chose the Yellow Jackets over North Carolina, N.C. State, Notre Dame and Virginia, among others, is also an exceptional student. He said the main reason he chose Tech was for its engineering programs.

The Yellow Jackets have room to sign at least two more players but won’t necessarily do so.

Continue reading DB Domonique Noble completes Tech’s recruiting class — for now »