Archive for September, 2011

Brookwood OL Jackson Buonamia, surrounded by his parents, committed to Air Force

Jackson Buonamia, a top offensive lineman from reigning state champion Brookwood High School, committed to Air Force on Tuesday night.

The 6-foot-3, 280-pounder picked the Air Force over offers from Georgia State, Arkansas State and Ball State. He also had interest from numerous other schools.

“I visited Air Force this summer, and I never had the same feeling about any other school than I did with Air Force,” Buonamia told the AJC. “I like what they have to offer me other than playing football. I’m fine with the military commitment after college. I feel like that offers me a future after playing football.”

Buonamia generated interest from Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech after camping at both schools last summer, but neither offered. “We kind of fiddled around with bigger schools but I’m 6-foot-5. I think they were looking someone a little taller.”

Buonamia has a 3.5 GPA and plans to study mechanical …

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Coach K made a personal appearance in the Atlanta area on Monday night to scout Miller Grove High School’s Tony Parker.

The 6-foot-9, 270-pound power forward is ranked among the nation’s top 25 college prospects. He made official visit to Ohio State last week, and will take recruiting trips to Duke and UCLA by the end of next month. Georgia Tech and UGA also haven’t given up on recruiting Parker.

Mike Krzyzewski wants Parker so bad that Tuesday’s visit was his second to Miller Grove within the last year.  “Coach K said Tony is a priority with them, and that they would really like to see him commit there,” Miller Grove coach Sharman White told the AJC.

“They think Tony can come to Duke and make something happen right away. They are expecting to lose a couple of their big guys after this upcoming season. And with the guys they will have left, Tony’s …

Continue reading Duke’s Coach K makes personal appearance in Atlanta to scout Tony Parker »

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Now boarding in Atlanta and the entire state of North Carolina – the Cam Newton bandwagon.

The former Westlake High School star has won rave reviews — even from his longtime critics — after posting Nintendo like-stats and breaking NFL rookie records in each of his first two starts. Newton passed for 432 yards and two touchdowns, along with three interceptions, in Sunday’s 30-23 loss to the reigning Super Bowl champions, the Green Bay Packers.

Newton’s high school coach expected big things for his prized pupil in the NFL. But maybe not like this, at least this soon.

“I think Cam is playing within his talents,” Marquis Slaton told the AJC. “The Carolina Panthers’ offensive coordinator [Rob Chudzinski] is doing an outstanding job of putting Cam in position to be successful with his play calling. He really seems to know how to utilize Cam’s talents and abilities.

“Cam …

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Georgia Tech offered a football scholarship to the offensive lineman who has been nicknamed “The Finisher” by college scouts.

It the first offer for Brandon Kublanow, the 6-foot-3, 290-pounder from Walton High School who is an early favorite to be the state’s No. 1 college prospect along the offensive line for 2013. Kublanow is a UGA fan and the Bulldogs could be the next to offer.

“The Finisher” earned his nickname after devastating and dominating blocking skills were caught on tape by Rivals and Scout at last month’s Corky Kell Classic at the Georgia Dome. Kublanow had 13 pancake blocks against Peachtree Ridge, including a couple where he fell on top of the defender as he was making the block and – to the amazement of scouts – stayed on top of the defender and shoved his helmet into the artificial turf, as if to make sure he got the …

Continue reading OL Brandon Kublanow gets Georgia Tech offer; UGA may be next »

This year’s crop of Georgia college basketball prospects is led by “The Big 3” – three power forwards from the Atlanta area that are all ranked among the nation’s top 25 overall players.

You know about Southwest DeKalb’s Shaq Goodwin, who lists UGA, Florida, Memphis, and Alabama as his leaders. UGA and Memphis are the rumored frontrunners.

You know about Miller Grove’s Tony Parker, who made an official visit to Ohio State last weekend, and has recruiting trips planned for Duke and UCLA.

The “mystery guy” of the Big 3 is Robert Carter, and that’s because he played at Thomasville High School before transferring to Gwinnett County’s Shiloh High School for his senior year.

Courtcred.com’s Corey Cooper had an interesting perspective on Carter:

Last weekend, I attended a personal workout with Carter and his trainer Kierre Jordan.  Some college coaches from a D1 program out west were in the building but not to see Robert Carter, and their first question to me was, “Who is this kid?  …

Continue reading Basketball: Robert Carter lists Kentucky, FSU, Georgia Tech, UGA among favorites »

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Will UGA be able to flip the commitment of Miami LB recruit Raphael Kirby?

The Bulldogs have a chance.

The 6-foot, 210-pound linebacker from Stephenson High School will make an unofficial visit to UGA for Saturday’s game against Coastal Carolina.

Kirby made the decision to take the last-minute recruiting trip after talking with UGA recruiting coordinator Rodney Garner on Thursday night.

“We had a long conversation and Coach Garner said he wanted me to come up for a visit soon; I told him that I’m not really doing anything this weekend, so I’m going on Saturday,” Kirby told the AJC.

“Georgia is one of the schools recruiting me the hardest. They let it be known that they are excited that I am coming to visit. And I’m excited to go on the visit and have a good time watching college football.”

It is a surprising turn of events in the relationship between UGA and Kirby. When the star linebacker …

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So much, so fast. After moving from England, Francis Kallon has learned the sport of football at a rapid pace. The 6-foot-6, 240-pound DE is committed to Georgia Tech (AJC photo by Michael Carvell)

Tennessee is making a hard push to sway Georgia Tech’s top football commitment.

The Volunteers stopped by Central Gwinnett High School on Friday to offer a football scholarship to defensive end Francis Kallon, who committed to Georgia Tech earlier this summer.

The 6-foot-6, 240-pound Kallon is in his first year of playing football after moving from London, England.

However, Sir Francis has had a dominating start to senior season at Central Gwinnett, which plays in the state’s largest classification. Through two games, Kallon has 19 total tackles, 6 tackles for losses, 2 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries and a blocked punt.

Central Gwinnett plays South Gwinnett at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Georgia Dome.

Alabama, UGA, Auburn, South Carolina are among the numerous other schools that have shown …

Continue reading Francis Kallon, Georgia’s Tech No. 1 recruit, offered by Tennessee Volunteers »

2013 LB Chase Alford with his older brother, Georgia Tech LB Corey Alford

Heritage linebacker Chase Alford is on track to maintain his family’s amazing legacy in both athletics and academics.

Alford, the youngest of three siblings, is one of the state’s top college football prospects for 2013 and will be featured in Heritage’s game against Rockdale County at 7:30 p.m. Thursday. The game will be televised live on WSB-TV’s digital channel 2.2 and on wsbtv.com, while the replay will be shown on regular WSB-TV Channel 2 at 1:08 a.m. on Friday night. (Here’s the direct website link)

Back to the Alford family:

• Corey Alford, 20, plays for Georgia Tech’s football team on special teams and at linebacker.
• Callie Alford, 18, signed a softball scholarship with Georgia State. She just started her freshman year after earning All-State honors in softball the past four years at Heritage High School.

Perhaps the most impressive feat is that both Corey and Callie graduated from Heritage with …

Continue reading Chase Alford, younger brother of Georgia Tech LB, carries on family tradition (UPDATED) »

Collin Barber, who is committed to UGA on a football scholarship, said he wants to apologize to Georgia fans for his arrest last month. The punter from Cartersville High School was charged with four counts of destruction of mailboxes.

“I messed up with what I did; it was really dumb,” Barber told the AJC. “I feel like I let a lot of Bulldog fans down. Actually, I feel like I let a lot of people down – my family, my friends, my coaches and my teammates. I feel like a lot of people that looked up to me are now going to look down on me because of that.

“I’ve apologized to [UGA coach Mark Richt]. I also want to apologize to the Bulldog fans. Hopefully, everybody can move forward from this.”

Cartersville HS punter Collin Barber

After the incident, Barber was suspended for Cartersville’s season-opener and had to do extra running at practice for a week.

What about his football scholarship to UGA? Barber feels like it is secure after talking to Georgia’s coaches over the phone and in …

Continue reading UGA football recruit apologizes to Bulldog fans for arrest »

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Georgia Tech and UGA haven’t given up on basketball star Tony Parker, who doesn’t have an official visit planned to either local school.

Both UGA coach Mark Fox and Georgia Tech assistant Chad Dollar showed up at Miller Grove High School this week to check on the 6-foot-9, 270-pound power forward who is ranked among the nation’s top 25 overall college basketball prospects.

Parker’s original top five was Duke, Ohio State, UCLA, Memphis and Georgetown but now it appears to be a three-horse race for his services.

After making an official visit to Ohio State last week, Parker rated it a “10” and is scheduled to welcome Buckeyes coach Thad Matta on Wednesday to the DeKalb County school. Parker said he has also set up recruiting trips to UCLA on Sept. 30 and Duke for Oct. 28. Memphis and Georgetown apparently have been eliminated.

“I think it’s smart that …

Continue reading Tony Parker: Georgia Tech and UGA haven’t given up on Atlanta basketball star »