Archive for July, 2011

Justin King committed to Tennessee but said " I'm always going to be representing the state of Georgia." (AJC photo by Michael Carvell)

Justin King was won over by Tennessee after an unofficial visit to the SEC school.

The 6-foot-2, 218-pound linebacker from Dunwoody High School committed to Tennessee over Virginia, UCF and Cincinnati among his 14 offers.

“We kind of fell in love with it from an academic to athletic standpoint,” King told the AJC. “Everything is there for me for football and my education. My parents felt like this was the best place for me. It’s an easy drive from Atlanta and an easy ride to my brother who plays football at Tennessee Tech.”

King was particularly impressed with Derek Dooley, Tennessee’s coach. He and parents peppered Dooley with questions, and they liked the answers.

“He was honest about everything,” King said. “You can tell he’s not the kind of guy to sugarcoat things to make it sound good. My Dad asked him how he felt about losing. Coach …

Continue reading LB Justin King commits to Tennessee Volunteers over Virginia, UCF and Cincinnati »

It’s hard to get too excited about the commitments of football players who have yet to begin their junior year of high school.

With that said, the college decision of Reuben Foster is worth getting excited about it. As are a from others from the last few days.

The 2013 linebacker out of LaGrange’s Troup High School committed to Alabama over UGA on Monday. Foster attended Georgia’s “Dawg Night” football prospect camp on Friday and told reporters the two schools were “even.”

Alabama's Nick Saban has landed Georgia's top junior LB and appears to be the school to beat for the state's No. 1 overall prospect for 2013 (AP Photo)

The 6-foot-2, 220-pounder is considered one of the nation’s top juniors at the linebacker position. Alabama also appears to be the frontrunner for another elite Georgia prospect, Grayson High School defensive end Robert Nkemdiche, who is a candidate to be the USA’s No. 1 college football prospect for 2013. (click on story link)

“I know playing for a coach …

Continue reading LB Reuben Foster commits to Alabama over UGA »

Henry County High running back Jonathan Jean-Bart committed to Georgia State on Monday after making his second visit to the school last week.

“He likes their offense, he likes where they’re headed,” said Henry County offensive coordinator Rex Robertson.

Jean-Bart, a rising senior, has also received scholarship offers from Ball State and Gardner-Webb, Robertson said. His goal for Jean-Bart for the season is 1,000 rushing yards and 50 catches. He said Jean-Bart has considerably improved his pass-catching skills.

“He’s been the starter for a few years; he’s just been under the radar,” Robertson said.

– Ken Sugiura, AJC

RELATED FOOTBALL RECRUITING STORIES

• UGA’s Mark Richt gives a “group hug” after 4 commit together at Dawg Night (click on story link)
• Georgia Tech is going after another top prospect at the HS that delivered NFL Pro Bowler Calvin Johnson (click on story link)
• What do Georgia Tech’s 2012 football recruits think of the NCAA ruling? (click on story link)
• UGA is ranked …

Continue reading RB Jonathan Jean-Bart of Henry County commits to Georgia State »

Georgia Tech has had a lot of success recruiting out of Sandy Creek High School over the years, reeling in talents such as NFL Pro Bowl WR Calvin Johnson, Cincinnati Bengals offensive lineman Andrew Gardner and current Tech safety Isaiah Johnson.

The Yellow Jackets are targeting another Sandy Creek product for its 2012 college football recruiting class.

Sandy Creek OL Will Adams was offered at Georgia Tech's football camp

Will Adams, a 6-foot-6, 280-pound offensive lineman, was offered a scholarship at Georgia Tech’s
prospect camp over the weekend. The Yellow Jackets didn’t land any commitments from the camp, but handed out several new offers.

“There’s always been a good connection between Georgia Tech and Sandy Creek since our coaching staff has been here,” said Chip Walker, who has coached the Fayette County high school to back-to-back state football championships.

“We’ve had some guys who played for us at Sandy Creek and have gone on to Georgia Tech to do some pretty good …

Continue reading OL Will Adams offered by Georgia Tech; Sandy Creek pipleline again? »

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Mark Richt has seen a lot in his 10 seasons as UGA’s football coach.

He’s never had a recruiting moment like Friday night.

Four players committed at the same time at UGA’s “Dawg Night” prospect camp (This was a “package deal” unlike any other … four players from four different high schools, from three different states).

John Theus, a 5-star offensive lineman from Jacksonville, and a trio of 2013 recruits — Camden County QB Brice Ramsey, WR-DB Tramel Terry of Goose Creek, S.C., and RB Derrick Henry of Yulee, Fla. — all huddled around Richt and pledged at the same time (and a fifth one committed later in the night).

Four? Maybe four on the same day. Maybe. But four at the same time? What?

Ramsey explained how it went down:

He said Theus was one of the first people he saw after reporting to UGA on Friday. ”Theus talked …

Continue reading UGA’s Mark Richt gives ‘group hug’ after 4 commit together at Dawg Night (UPDATED) »

(Related: It’s “Dawg Night” at UGA — Who will be next to commit? Click here)

At least one Georgia Tech football recruit says he may be looking elsewhere after the ACC school was handed NCAA probation on Thursday.

QB Dennis Andrews Jr., who committed to Georgia Tech last month, said his uncle had a "bad experience" with NCAA probation while playing at Alabama

Georgia Tech’s “quarterback of the future”  – Dennis Andrews Jr. of Tallahassee, Fla. — told the AJC that the NCAA ruling “will probably open up things a little bit” with his recruiting.

Andrews is the son of former Florida State fullback Dennis Andrews, and said his uncle Carlos Andrews played safety for Alabama when it was under NCAA probation. The younger Andrew committed to Georgia Tech after attending camp last month.

“It may affect my commitment; I’m going to talk to my dad about it and then we’ll see what we want to do,” Andrews told the AJC. “I know my dad isn’t a fan of NCAA probation at all. They had a bad …

Continue reading Georgia Tech QB commit Dennis Andrews may re-open his recruiting after NCAA probation »

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UGA will have its biggest recruiting event of the summer with the “Dawg Night” prospect camp on Friday.

Some of the top college football prospects from the state and the Southeast region are scheduled to participate or attend the camp.

UGA, which already has 10 commitments for its 2012 class, will be trying to add a couple of more over the weekend. Last year’s “Dawg Night” produced commitments from two offensive line prospects from Florida, Zach DeBell and Nathan Theus. At this year’s event, the most celebrated guest will be Theus’ older brother, John Theus, a 5-star OL recruit from Jacksonville, Fla. The younger Theus recently named Florida, UGA, and Texas as his finalists.

One of the top homegrown products expected to attend will be Harris County defensive end Jordan Jenkins. The 6-foot-4, 250-pound Jenkins has been clocked at …

Continue reading It’s time for ‘Dawg Night 2011′ — Who will be UGA’s next football commitment? »

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Georgia Tech is looking for a few good men along the offensive and defensive line when it has summer camp on Friday and Saturday.

Yellow Jackets coach Paul Johnson has seven commitments for Georgia Tech’s 2012 recruiting class, and he wants more.

Some of the top college football prospects expected to attend this weekend’s camp are Sandy Creek OL Will Adams, DE Alex McCalister of West Forsyth, N.C., and LB Abner Logan of Dexter, Mass. Johnson will also get an early look at a pair of 2013 prospects with LB Gerald Turner of Goose Creek, S.C., and Demarcus Walker of Sandalwood, Fla.

Here are four questions …

Continue reading Georgia Tech looking for offensive and defensive linemen at weekend prospect camp »

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This should make for an interesting message board discussion …

According to Rivals.com, which college has done the best job with football recruiting over the last 10 years?

That would be Southern Cal.

However, UGA is No. 2

According to the recruiting service, the Bulldogs have done the second-best job in the nation for the 2002-2011 cycle, with all 10 of those years under the direction of current UGA coach Mark Richt.

• Interesting: While UGA has never won a mythical national championship in the Rivals.com rankings, the Bulldogs are the only school to finish with a top 10-ranked class in each of the last 10 years.

What about the “Dream Team?” That wasn’t even Georgia’s best recruiting class, according to Rivals. The real “Dream Team” was 2002, when UGA finished No. 3 overall in the nation. In case you are wondering, …

Continue reading UGA ranks No. 2 in football recruiting for last 10 years by Rivals.com »

How is this for school pride? Hillgrove RB Kenyan Drake with the "A" for Alabama

How strong is the commitment of one of Georgia’s top running backs to Alabama?

So strong that he’s wearing proof of it on his head.

Hillgrove High School’s Kenyan Drake recently had the Crimson Tide’s “A” logo shaved into the side of his head.

Is that loyalty or what?

“I went to the barber and gave him my Alabama hat,” Drake explained to the AJC. “He looked at it, and used it as the inspiration to draw it on my head. It really turned out great.”

Drake had his new hairdo in time for “The Opening” — Nike’s new summer training competition this past weekend which featured some of the nation’s top college football prospects.

Drake was like a walking billboard for Alabama recruiting. “If someone didn’t know my name, they would say ‘Hey, Alabama’ to get my attention.”

The 6-foot-1, 200-pound Drake surprised many by committing so early, picking Alabama last February among his six offers, including both …

Continue reading Kenyan Drake shaves ‘A’ in head for Alabama (UPDATED) »