Archive for November, 2011

Allatoona RB Miles Jones has been waiting for his "dream offer" from Georgia Tech. Will he now get it?

One of the Atlanta area’s top running backs got some good news from Georgia Tech on late Monday night.

Allatoona High School’s Miles Jones said he talked over the phone with Georgia Tech assistant Brian Bohannon. The Yellow Jackets didn’t offer Jones but invited him to make an official visit in early December.

The 5-foot-11, 203-pound Jones sparked serious interest from Georgia Tech after Liberty County High School running back Shadrach Thornton committed to NC State last weekend.

“Coach Bohannon said they really liked me, mentioned that the other recruit committed to NC State, and said they wanted to get things rolling with me and do it the right way,” Jones told the AJC. “They want to get me over there on an official visit for the weekend to sit down with Paul Johnson and the other coaches so they can get to know me better.”

What was Jones’ reaction to the …

Continue reading Georgia Tech contacts Atlanta RB about official visit »

Tony Parker has Duke, Ohio State, UCLA and Memphis as his finalists (AJC)

Georgia’s top two basketball prospects need a little more time.

College basketball’s early signing period ends on Wednesday, and Miller Grove High School power forward Tony Parker told the AJC that he is “almost positive” that he will wait until at least the middle of the season to make his highly-anticipated decision between Duke, Ohio State, UCLA and Memphis. The late signing period begins in April.

Meanwhile, Southwest DeKalb power forward Shaq Goodwin committed to Memphis last week but will delay signing until April to “consider his options.” The 6-foot-8, 240-pound Goodwin also made an official visit to UCLA last month, and has UGA, Florida and Arizona in his top five. He will likely take at least two more recruiting trips, and even make an unofficial visit to Memphis again.

Parker, Goodwin and Shiloh power forward Robert Carter are all Georgia players ranked among the nation’s top 25 …

Continue reading Georgia’s top two basketball prospects are likely to sign late »

UGA signed 8 baseball players to scholarships, including Kyle Carter, who led Columbus to the 2006 Little League World Series. Here is more information (courtesy of the UGA sports information department):

• ZACHARY BOWERS: A 6-0, 190-pound catcher from Acworth, Ga., Zack is the son of Ingrid and Carl Bowers. A right-handed hitting catcher, he smashed eight home runs for the Harrison Hoyas and coach Mark Elkins in 2011. An Honor Roll student, he was a member of the state championship baseball team as a sophomore including picking up four wins on the mound.“Zack is the best high school catcher in the state with a huge upside,” said Perno. “He is capable of making an impact as a freshman, and we’re excited he is joining the program.”
• KYLE CARTER: A 6-0, 195-pound pitcher/outfielder from Columbus, Ga., Kyle is the son of Cindy and Richard Carter. A left-handed pitcher/hitter, Kyle attends Columbus High School where he plays for coach Bobby Howard. As a junior, …

Continue reading Little League World Series Championship star signs with UGA »

UGA-bound QB Faton Bauta (Photo courtesy of Rusty Mansell/247Sports)

A Florida quarterback who some call “the next Tim Tebow” committed to UGA on Monday.

Faton Bauta of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., picked the Bulldogs over offers from Louisville, Kentucky, Boston College, Maryland, West Virginia, Utah and Vanderbilt.

“Georgia is getting a football player; Faton is a QB who can run and throw the football and gets better every day,” Dwyer High School coach Jack Daniels told the AJC. “He was primarily used as a linebacker and fullback until last spring. He is very physical and will outwork everybody. He will make the Bulldogs very happy.”

The 6-foot-3, 220-pound Bauta, who made an official visit to UGA this weekend, is commitment  No. 15 for the Bulldogs.

“The first thing that stands out on film is his size – he’s 6-3 and 220 pounds legit,” said Rusty Mansell, National Recruiting Analyst for 247Sports.com. “He’s a big kid, very physical and plays …

Continue reading Florida QB some call “next Tim Tebow” commits to UGA »

• BREAKING NEWS: Florida QB who some call the “next Tim Tebow” commits to UGA (go here for story)

UGA is now a serious contender for AJC Super 11 DE Jordan Jenkins after his official visit with the Bulldogs this past weekend (AJC)

Jordan Jenkins, the 5-star defensive end from Harris County High School, liked his official visit to UGA so much that the Bulldogs may be sneaking up to join his longtime frontrunners, Alabama and Florida.

It was some surprising good news for UGA, which had been given up as all but dead in the fierce recruiting battle for the 6-foot-3, 250-pounder who is considered one of the nation’s top overall athletes. Jenkins nearly canceled his official visit to UGA on two separate occasions before finally making the recruiting trip this past weekend.

UGA’s chances for the AJC Super 11 selection who is ranked as the state’s No.1 prospect by at least one recruiting publication have dramatically improved.

“Jordan told somebody that Alabama and Florida are …

Continue reading Surprise! UGA gains ground with 5-star DE Jordan Jenkins after visit — “too close to call” »

DeVondre Seymour, son of NFL All-Pro DT Richard Seymour (AJC photo by Michael Carvell)

UGA has offered a football scholarship to the son of one of its most famous football alumni.

DeVondre Seymour, the son of former UGA All-SEC and NFL All-Pro defensive tackle Richard Seymour, was offered by the Bulldogs on Saturday. The younger Seymour is a 6-foot-6, 300-pound offensive tackle at North Gwinnett High School. He is a junior and his father’s alma mater was the second school to offer, following Virginia on Friday.

“I got a call from Mark Richt this week and he said that they were kind of in the next level of evaluation with him and going to look at some more film,” North Gwinnett coach Bob Sphire said. “Coach Richt said if they liked the progress he was making, they were going to end up offering on Saturday. And Georgia ended up doing just that.”

The younger Seymour is relatively new to the sport of football. He is very raw and inexperienced but has a lot of potential. …

Continue reading UGA offers son of NFL All-Pro DT Richard Seymour »

Stephenson High School's Class of 2012 is a candidate to lead the nation for the number of seniors that will sign major-college football scholarships (AJC photo by Michael Carvell)

Stephenson, the high school which may have had most talent-loaded roster the state of Georgia has ever seen, was eliminated in the first round of the state playoffs.

Stephenson, which has 11 seniors committed to D1 schools and could add several more before February’s signing day, lost to Lowdnes 7-0 in the Class AAAAA playoffs on Saturday.

It was a heartbreaking end for Stephenson (9-2), which got a bad draw in the first round after losing to ML King 50-49 last week when UGA-bound WR Blake Tibbs returned a kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown with 16 seconds left in regulation. The loss knocked Stephenson down to a No. 2 playoff seed, where it had to face an underachieving but always dangerous Lowndes squad.

The state of Georgia may never see a star-studded roster like Stephenson, which was led by AJC …

Continue reading What will be legacy of Stephenson? Maybe best collection of D1 prospects that Georgia has ever seen »

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After one of Georgia’s top running backs, Liberty County High School’s Shadrach Thornton, made a surprising commitment to NC State over Georgia Tech, the next recruiting question is this:

Will Georgia Tech now offer a football scholarship to Allatoona running back Miles Jones?

There has been a lot of speculation that if Thornton committed elsewhere, then Georgia Tech would offer Jones. Thornton told the AJC that Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson explained that exact scenario to him during his official visit with the Yellow Jackets, while Jones said he had heard rumors about the same domino-effect situation involving him.

Thornton made the surprising commitment to NC State on late Friday night, but Jones had to hear about when he talked to a reporter over the phone while making an official visit to UGA for Saturday’s game against Auburn.

“Wow, I didn’t hear …

Continue reading Will Georgia Tech now offer another Georgia RB after Shadrach Thornton’s surprising commitment to NC State? »

UGA has entered the sweepstakes and offered a late scholarship to the state's No. 1 WR prospect, Sandy Creek's Jaquay Williams. He committed to Auburn last summer (AJC)

Is Auburn in danger of losing the commitment of WR Jaquay Williams to UGA?

UGA is making a late charge for Williams, and offered a football scholarship last week to the 6-foot-3, 200-pounder from Sandy Creek High School. Williams is considered the state’s No. 1 prospect at wide receiver.

Williams, who committed to Auburn over Ohio State last summer, told the AJC he will make an unofficial visit to Georgia on Saturday – his first trip to Athens in two years. Part of the reason will be to hear out the sincerity of UGA’s interest, and the other part will be to watch Auburn play in person.

“I’m going to go up there, look around and check things out,” Williams told the AJC on Thursday night. “But I’m really locked in on Auburn right now. Something crazy, and I mean real crazy, would have to happen …

Continue reading Is Auburn in danger of losing the commitment of WR Jaquay Williams to UGA? »

Robert Carter's signing caps off a stunning recruiting effort by Georgia Tech first-year coach Brian Gregory, who had very little name recognition and almost zero Georgia recruiting connections when he was first hired by the ACC school (AJC)

Georgia Tech landed one of the big fish, or “Big Three.”

Robert Carter, a 5-star power forward from Shiloh High School, committed to the Yellow Jackets over UGA and Florida on Thursday evening.

The 6-foot-9, 250-pound Carter is one of three Georgia basketall stars ranked among the nation’s top 25 overall college prospects, and is the star attraction for a Georgia Tech recruiting class that also includes North Gwinnett guard Chris Bolden and North Clayton swingman Marcus Hunt.

Carter’s Thursday announcement was originally scheduled to be televised nationally on ESPNU but it was pre-empted by Penn State coverage. However, Carter’s commitment was still big news for Georgia Tech fans.

He’s the most prolific recruit since Derrick …

Continue reading 5-star picks Georgia Tech over UGA (UPDATED) »