Archive for September, 2011

Jordan Watkins picks Stanford over UGA (Photo courtesy of Woodward Academy's Marci Mitchell)

UGA’s 0-2 start and widespread speculation over Mark Richt’s future may have cost the Bulldogs the chance to land one of the nation’s most-heavily recruited college football prospects.

Woodward Academy defensive tackle Jordan Watkins committed to Stanford over UGA on Tuesday. The 6-foot-5, 268-pounder started off the recruiting process with 35 early scholarship offers before finally settling on Stanford.

“In my mind, Coach Richt deserves to stay, but the fact that everyone is talking about him leaving made me think of what will happen with [UGA defensive line coach Rodney Garner] if Coach Richt leaves,” Watkins told the AJC. “I’ve developed such a good relationship with them that it’d be tough to go to Georgia if they weren’t there.”

Watkins informed UGA of his decision in advance on Tuesday’s announcement. “They understood, and Coach Richt said that if anything …

Continue reading Surprise! DT Jordan Watkins commits to Stanford over UGA (UPDATED) »

Speedy WR AJ Liddell of Westlake HS

Wide receiver AJ Liddell, who is committed to Maryland, is on UGA’s recruiting radar.

The 6-foot-4, 195-pounder said he talked with UGA recruiting coordinator Rodney Garner after the Bulldogs recently lost a commitment at wide receiver, with Flowery Branch’s CJ Curry flipping from UGA to Oklahoma State.

“I was surprised to hear from Georgia; I thought they were done recruiting at wide receiver,” Liddell told the AJC. “Coach Garner said he likes the way I play wide receiver. He said I have the size and speed they are looking for, and that they like how I catch difficult balls. They didn’t offer me a scholarship or anything. He pretty much just wanted to let me know that they are paying attention to me.”

What if UGA offered? “I don’t know, I’m committed to Maryland. Georgia is a good school, I’d listen to what they had to say.”

Other schools are still actively recruiting Liddell, who runs the 40-yard dash in 4.48 …

Continue reading Maryland WR commit AJ Liddell transfers schools, on UGA’s recruiting radar »

UGA target Jordan Watkins, a DL from Woodward Academy, will announce between the Bulldogs and Stanford (Photo by Rusty Mansell/247Sports.com)

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Woodward Academy defensive tackle Jordan Watkins will announce between UGA and Stanford around 12:30 p.m. Tuesday.

UGA appears to be the school to beat for Watkins, but he declined to reveal any hints in advance of his decision.

The 6-foot-5, 268-pound Watkins started off the recruiting process with 35 early offers before finally setting on UGA and Stanford.

Watkins has a 3.72 GPA and wants to major in Broadcast Journalism or Communications.

Watkins has visited UGA’s campus numerous times, and made an unofficial visit to Stanford last July. Watkins said Georgia is recruiting him to play defensive end, although he could end up at defensive tackle.

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Continue reading Decision Day! UGA or Stanford for DT Jordan Watkins »

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• Breaking news: Miller Grove’s Brandon Morris commits to UGA over Auburn and Arkansas (read here)

How does UGA’s 0-2 start affect football recruiting?

The Bulldogs have 14 players committed to sign football scholarships with the team in February, along with four high school juniors pledged the sign with UGA the following year.

Many of Georgia’s commitments made unofficial visits to Georgia for Saturday’s 45-42 loss to South Carolina, including 5-star offensive lineman John Theus of Jacksonville and Thomson High School defensive tackle John John Atkins (UGA’s most recent commit). As far as junior prospects, Camden County QB Brice Ramsey, Newnan safety Tray Matthews, and Goose Creek (S.C) wide receiver Tramal Terry – both early commitments to UGA — were among …

Continue reading How does UGA’s 0-2 start affect football recruiting? »

Miller Grove SF Brandon Morris (AJC photo)

UGA added another homegrown talent from the state of Georgia on Monday.

Brandon Morris committed to UGA after making an official visit with the Bulldogs over the weekend. The 6-foot-7 small forward from Miller Grove High School also had Auburn and Arkansas as his finalists.

“I had a list of things that I wanted in college, and Georgia was a great fit,” Morris told the AJC. “I fit in perfect with the roster they’ve got, and I have a chance to compete for early playing time … This was a good decision for me.

“After my visit to Georgia, I didn’t see the need to take official visits to anywhere else. Why go far away to play college basketball when there’s a great program this close to home? I called Coach Fox to let him know, and he said I made his day. He was really happy about my commitment, as am I.”

UGA now had three commitments for its 2012 college basketball recruiting class and all three are from Georgia. The others are a pair of …

Continue reading Brandon Morris commits to UGA over Auburn and Arkansas »

Tony Parker (No. 32) and Brandon Morris are double trouble as college basketball prospects out of three-time state champion Miller Grove (AJC photo)

There were rumors that UGA could land its third homegrown basketball recruit from Georgia this weekend, but it didn’t happen.

Brandon Morris, one of Georgia’s top college basketball prospects, took an official visit to UGA. Morris is a 6-foot-7 small forward from Miller Grove, the three-time defending Class AAAA state champions.

“He liked Georgia, but no … Brandon didn’t commit,” Miller Grove basketball coach Sharman White told the AJC. “I think he wants to take some more visits and research everything before he makes his college decision.”

UGA coach  already has a pair of homegrown commitments for 2012 – Whitefield Academy’s Kenny Gaines and Milton’s Charles Mann. Fox hMark Foxas two more scholarships available, and is targeting Morris.

“Brandon enjoyed his visit and said he liked a lot of things about …

Continue reading Basketball: Miller Grove star returns from his official visit to UGA »

Dillon Lee, the AJC Super 11 linebacker who is committed to Alabama, created a buzz in the recruiting world this week when he set up an unofficial visit to UGA for Saturday.

Lee’s older brother plays football at UGA, and Dillon committed to Alabama over UGA and Florida State. (read more)

But, for UGA fans, it’s not exactly as it seems.

AJC Super 11 LB Dillon Lee is also a candidate to be Georgia's No. 1 overall college prospect, along with Harris County DE Jordan Jenkins and a couple of others (AJC photo)

“My commitment is solid to Alabama; I feel like it’s the right place for me,” Lee told the AJC. “I spent a lot of time and effort over the past year and half researching where I was going to go, where I fit in, and where I belong. I feel like Alabama is the place for me. No plans on switching that.”

This will be Lee’s second time attending a UGA game in as many weeks. The Buford High School football star was at the Georgia Dome for the season-opener to watch …

Continue reading Is Alabama in danger of losing AJC Super 11 LB Dillon Lee to UGA? »

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Buford High School tight end Kurt Freitag had originally planned to announce his college decision after Friday’s game on ESPNU.

Then he changed mind. He wants to make official visits this three finalists of Alabama, Florida and Florida State. He will commit after the trips.

The 6-foot-3, 245-pound Frietag is one of Georgia’s top college football prospects at tight end. He will make a recruiting trip to Florida State next week, Alabama on Sept. 24, and Florida on Oct. 1.

Buford TE Kurt Freitag will pick between Alabama, Florida, and FSU after his visits (Photo courtesy of Freitag family)

Buford plays Yulee (Fla.) High School at 8:30 p.m. Friday on ESPNU. Yulee is led by 2013 running back Derrick Henry, who committed early to UGA this past summer.

WE’VE MOVED!!! Visit the AJC’s NEW Recruiting page by clicking here or going to ajc.com/sports/recruiting

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Continue reading TE Kurt Freitag will take visits to FSU, Alabama and Florida before deciding »

The next few days are pretty big for Rico McWilliams, one of Georgia’s top college football prospects at defensive back:

• Tonight, McWilliams will lead Lovejoy High School against North Clayton in a 7:30 p.m. Thursday game that will be televised on WSB-TV digital channel 2.2 and at this link on www.wsbtv.com.
• On Saturday, the 6-foot-1, 170-pound McWilliams, who is committed to South Carolina, will watch his Gamecocks play against UGA, a team that didn’t give him much love during the recruiting process.

Rico McWilliams is one of 7 Georgia players committed to South Carolina

Neither UGA nor Georgia Tech were one of McWilliams’ 25 scholarship offers, which included Nebraska, Arkansas, Michigan State, Ole Miss and Vanderbilt.

“I’m at a Georgia high school, so it kind of bothered me at first that I didn’t get recruited by Georgia or Georgia Tech,” McWilliams told the AJC. “But I look at it like everything happens for a reason. Maybe I didn’t do enough last year …

Continue reading DB Rico McWilliams proud to be South Carolina Gamecock after being ignored by local schools »

2013 UGA QB recruit Brice Ramsey of Camden County HS

UGA’s QB of the future has led his team to a pair of wins in the first two starts of his high school career.

Brice Ramsey, the junior quarterback at Camden County High School who has committed to UGA, completed 3 of 6 passes for 18 yards in a 23-14 win over Ohio’s Glenville in Monday’s nationally televised game on ESPNU.

“Brice did a great job, managed the game really well and did what we asked him to do,” Camden County coach Jeff Herron told the AJC. “We went into that game with the idea of not putting too much pressure on him, and we didn’t want to get him in bad situations. We were going to let the defense and special teams take care of things, and that’s what happened.

“Certainly, as the season wears on, Brice is going to be a bigger part of our offense. But Monday wasn’t the day. We would’ve had a hard time pass-blocking those guys.”

In Camden County’s 66-0 win over Savannah High School in the …

Continue reading Brice Ramsey, UGA’s QB of the future, is 2-0 … Who is JJ Green?? »