Archive for May, 2011

Joshua Parris (AJC photo by Michael Carvell)

Stephenson High School tight end Joshua Parris has backed off his commitment to South Florida from two weeks ago.

“There was a misunderstanding,” Parris told the AJC. “I committed to South Florida to play tight end, but they told me recently that they recruited me at fullback. I want to play tight end in college.”

The 6-foot-3, 230-pound Parris said he has Ole Miss, Boston College and Vanderbilt as his new leaders, while South Florida “is still in the mix.” He has visited Ole Miss, and will travel to the other schools and announce his college decision by the end of the summer.

Stephenson is a candidate to lead the nation with football prospects signing major-college football scholarships in 2012. The DeKalb County school has 6 players committed to FBS schools (formerly NCAA Div. I-A), with a total of 14-17 projected to sign D1.

RB Mike Davis (Florida)

DT Jafar Mann (Florida)

LB Darreon Herring (Vanderbilt)

DL Carlos Hood (South …

Continue reading Stephenson TE Josh Parris de-commits from South Florida »

Kevin Ware committed to Louisville but is technically a "free agent" until he attends his first day of college classes — expected to happen in a couple of weeks (Photo by adidas)

One of college basketball’s most dramatic recruiting journeys of the year likely ended on Monday.

Kevin Ware, who is ranked as the No. 56 player in the nation by Rivals, committed to Louisville coach Rick Pitino on Monday while on an official visit to the school. He was also considering UGA.

“It has been a long journey, with a few twists and turns, and now it’s all done,” Ware’s stepfather, Wesley Junior, told the AJC.

“Kevin is excited about the opportunity to learn the game of basketball from Coach Pitino, who has been successful on every level. Kevin couldn’t pass on that opportunity. Kevin’s excited, we’re excited and Coach Pitino is excited.”

The 6-foot-4 guard from Rockdale County High School committed to Tennessee as a sophomore and signed with the Volunteers last November. He was granted a …

Continue reading Georgia basketball star Kevin Ware commits to Louisville over UGA »

UGA's Mark Richt (left) said oversigning is "awful" while Georgia Tech's Paul Johnson said "I don't see how you can do that to kids" (AJC photo)

Georgia Tech football coach Paul Johnson is against the controversial recruiting practice of “oversigning” — which is when a college signs more football recruits that it has scholarships available.

“We just don’t do it,” Johnson told the AJC. “It makes it hard sometimes to hit your target number but it is what it is. I don’t see how you can do that to kids, weed out guys for whatever reasons. No matter what anybody says, if you’re oversigning, some of that has to happen on occasion.”

UGA coach Mark Richt has called oversigning “an awful thing to do” to kids. (Go here for full article)

The SEC, winner of five straight BCS championships, has developed a reputation for oversigning. SEC commissioner Mike Slive said the controversial issue will be addressed later this week at the conference’s spring meetings.

Johnson, who has coached at …

Continue reading Georgia Tech’s Paul Johnson on oversigning — ‘I don’t see how you can do that to kids’ »

Stephenson High School's No. 5 to the SEC (Photo by Sweat family)

Stephenson High School has seven players committed to major colleges, including five to SEC schools.

Wide receiver DeMarcus Sweat committed to Kentucky on Sunday night after attending camp earlier in the day. He said he picked the Wildcats over offers from Indiana, Purdue and Florida International.

Stephenson projects to have 14-17 players sign FBS (formerly Div. I-A) scholarships in February 2012.

The 6-foot-2, 185-pound Sweat pledged to Kentucky right after performing for the Wildcats coaching staff at camp on Sunday. But he didn’t make it “official” with Kentucky coach Joker Phillips until late Sunday night.

“I told Coach Phillips that I wanted to be a Wildcat,” explained Sweat. “I said I really wanted to talk to my parents first about it, but wanted to go ahead and commit because I didn’t want to lose that spot if another wide receiver committed. Coach Phillips was great about it. He said ‘I know what you’re …

Continue reading DeMarcus Sweat commits to Kentucky; Stephenson HS has 7 players committed to D1 schools »

Robert Nkemdiche: The boy who would be king (AJC photo)

Here are some random items on Grayson defensive end Robert Nkemdiche, who is a candidate to be the nation’s No. overall 1 college football prospect for 2013. We haven’t written that much about 2013 recruits yet, but Robert is something special. Very special. Here goes:

• UPDATE: UGA coach Mark Richt called on Thursday about Robert’s older brother, Grayson DB Denzel Nkemdiche, according to Denzel — who signed scholarship papers with Ole Miss on Thursday. “Coach Richt called my coach about me, and wanted to bring me up for a visit,” Denzel told the AJC. “My coach told him thanks for calling, but that I had already decided to go with Ole Miss. It was too late.” Denzel said he would’ve taken an official visit to UGA had the Bulldogs scheduled it for earlier, or within the last couple of weeks.  The last time Denzel spoke directly to UGA’s coaches, he said he was invited to take a recruiting trip on Tuesday, May 31 — which is …

Continue reading Robert Nkemdiche: The boy who would be king »

NC State basketball transfer Ryan Harrow committed to Kentucky over UGA, Louisville, and Texas on Wednesday night, via Twitter.

“I am a Kentucky Wildcat!” said Harrow, who played at Walton High School.

The 6-foot point guard will have to sit out next season and have three years of NCAA eligibility.

As a freshman at NC State last season, Harrow averaged 9.3 points and 3.3 assists. He decided to transfer after the coaching change. At Kentucky, John Calipari has an amazing run of recruiting elite point guards the last two years with John Wall and Brandon Knight.

RELATED

• One of Indiana’s top basketball prospects committed to Georgia State over ACC and Big Ten schools. What? Go here to read full story
• Football: Top Georgia DB names leaders, with Notre Dame and Alabama among them (go here to read full story)
• Football: See video of Creekside DB committing to SEC school (go here for full story)

– By Michael Carvell, AJC Recruiting Blog

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