Reuben Foster is committed to Alabama but still flirting with UGA

Reuben Foster (No. 2 jersey), who is ranked as the No. 2 college football prospect in the USA for 2013 and committed to Alabama, shares a laugh with his buddy Tray Matthews (No. 26), who is committed to UGA (AJC)

It’s the NCAA “dead period” until Monday but UGA has had one of its best recruiters working this week on Reuben Foster, the linebacker from Troup High School who is ranked as the No. 2 overall college football in the nation for 2013.

Foster, who is committed to Alabama but still flirting with UGA, is the star attraction for the 2011 AT&T Junior Bowl that will be played at 7 p.m. Friday at Grady High School. Nearly half of the 90 juniors in the all-star football game have early scholarship offers.

But none are like the 6-foot-2, 235-pound Foster, who has been so dominant in practices in front of his wide-eyed teammates this week that some players have dubbed his team, the West squad, as “Team Rueben.”

“Everything you’ve heard about Reuben Foster, it’s all true – he’s big, fast, strong, explosive and finishes off his tackles as good as any player I’ve ever seen in this business,” said Rusty Mansell, National Recruiting Analyst for 247Sports. “He’s the complete package at linebacker.” [Note: 247Sports ranked Foster as No. 2 in the USA]

What about UGA? Another top prospect on “Team Rueben” is Tray Matthews, the safety from Newnan High School who committed to UGA over Alabama — and is trying to convince Foster to do the same.

Foster and Matthew have been nearly inseparable this week during the all-star activities, even sneaking away together from the hotel for a late-night snack at The Varsity. They have always talked about playing for the same team in college, and suiting up for the same all-star team has sort of validated the idea.

LB Reuben Foster (Photo courtesy of Rusty Mansell/247Sports)

“I have never played with or against anybody like Reuben,” Matthews said. “It’s crazy. We have a mind alike. We both go out there and we’re ready to knock somebody’s head off. When he knocks somebody’s head off, that means I’ve got to knock somebody’s head off. The coaches had to tell us to calm down some and to stop going to the ground in practice. But that’s just us. Hitting is what we do.

“Man, I love playing with Reuben. Some people are saying that I’m going with Alabama with him, while others are saying he’s going to Georgia with me. I guess I will have to wait and see what he will do when it’s  time to sign … He told me that he’s really thinking about Georgia so we could play together.”

UGA has been trying desperately to win back the heart of Foster since summer when he committed to Alabama only two days after he attended “Dawg Night” prospect camp – and reportedly was close to pledging to the Bulldogs. “I was ready to get it over with, and who wouldn’t want to play for Nick Saban and Kirby Smart?” said Foster, who lived in Alabama until he was in the sixth grade. “Come on now. They both have NFL coaching experience. And with their style of defense, they can get you in the NFL. They’ve got the whole package there.”

However, Foster’s early commitment had the opposite effect on his recruiting. “It got crazier,” he said with a laugh. “First, it was Auburn recruiting me the hardest after that, then Florida, then Georgia. Right now, it’s definitely Georgia recruiting me the hardest.”

And what’s the salespitch from UGA? “They don’t tell me not to go to Alabama,” he said. “They tell me that I can wear whatever number I want, play whatever linebacker position I want, and I would start.

A couple of weeks ago, Foster ignited panic attacks among Alabama fans when he made a surprise visit to UGA. What made him do it? “I still find it somewhere in my mind that I want to play at Georgia,” he said. “It was a great visit, and they showed me mad respect. If I feel like they are a better fit for me, I might commit there. But right now, I love Alabama.”

Foster said he still  has a lot of things to figure out before 2013’s signing day but he is sure about one thing – he plans to take several official visits next year. “Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Georgia, probably USC and, of course, Alabama.”

A few other notes about Foster:

• He’s not in favor of the “Team Reuben” moniker: “I didn’t get offended by it, but I can’t say I like it. I’m a team player and I want people to see us a team. Football is a team sport. I put on my cleats the same way as everybody else.”
• On having celebrity status this week among other elite prospects: “It’s nice to have people look up to you because I can give them advice and everything. I look up to guys like Chris Burnette [former Troup player who is at UGA]. But yeah, with guys the same age, it’s kind of weird. I’m used to little kids around home looking up to me.”
• On insisting to be allowed to return to practice this week after injuring a finger during a tackle: “It’s good. I’m always going to play, regardless. I played with a broken hand so why not a finger?”
• On being ranked the No. 2 prospect in the nation: “I feel blessed. I was blown away. It was shocking. None of my family members played sports or went to college, so they are counting on me to do big things.”
• On why he decided to play in the all-star game: “I wanted to play against the best competition. No matter what I’m ranked or what the colleges say, I’m always looking for ways to improve and get better. That’s not going to change. I’m motivated by my daughter. I want to get her in a better situation. I want to make my little girl proud.”
• On what he learned this week: “I made a lot of new friends, learned new things from other coaches and competed against some good players. I learned a lot from the speakers and the [education seminars]. I learned more about Jesus and how he works in people’s lives. It has been a great week.”

List of juniors in Friday’s 2011 AT&T Junior Bowl claiming verbal D1 football offers

WEST (blue jerseys)

• 1 Tyren Jones, RB, Walton, 5-8, 192 (Georgia Tech, UGA, Oklahoma State, Vanderbilt, and Duke)
• 2 Reuben Foster, LB, Troup, 6-2, 232 (Committed to Alabama)
• 3 Quinten James, RB, North Cobb, 6-2, 208 (Illinois, Purdue, Vanderbilt, Clemson and Kentucky)
• 6 Cameron Sutton, WR, Jonesboro, 5-11, 180 (NC State and Virginia Tech)
• 7 Anthony Jennings, QB, Marietta, 6-2, 205 (Ohio)
• 8 AJ Jackson, TE, Lovejoy, 6-6, 235 (Virginia, Michigan State, Purdue and Arkansas)
• 12 Parker McLeod, QB, Walton, 6-3, 195 (Louisville)
• 13 Tyshaun Clemmons, WR, Gordon Central, 6-1, 190, (East Carolina and Georgia Tech)
• 15 Chris Sanders-McCollum, WR, Creekside, 6-5, 190 (Cincinatti, Tulane, Pittsburgh)
• 16 Joe Sanders, DE, Troup, 6-5, 260 (Tennessee)
• 19 Mario Mathis, LB, Thomasville, 6-2, 230, SF (South Florida)
• 22 Shaq Wiggins, DB, Sandy Creek, 5-10, 160 (Tennessee, Ohio State, Michigan, Wake Forest, Cincinnati, and Ball State)
• 24 Brandon Facyson, DB, Northgate, 6-2, 175, (North Carolina and Virginia Tech)
• 26 Tray Matthews, S, Newnan, 6-2, 205 (Committed to UGA)
• 27 Travis Custis, RB, Lovejoy, 6-0, 203 (Boston College, South Florida and Mississippi State)
• 28 Kamani Thomas, RB, East Paulding, 5-9, 188 (Mississippi St., Southern Miss, Vanderbilt and Troy)
• 50 Maurice Swain, OT, Troup, 6-6, 305, (Ole Miss)
• 52 Montravious Adams, DT, Dooly County, 6-3, 278 (Clemson)
• 55 Jay Ellison, DT, Harris County, 6-2, 280 (Tennessee, Auburn, Georgia Tech, Mississippi, South Carolina)
• 71 Shamire Devine, OT, Tri-Cities, 6-7, 331 (UGA, Georgia  Tech, Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Kentucky)
• 73 Jeremi Hall, OG, Tri-Cities, 6-4, 335 (Kentucky, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, Vanderbilt and Tennessee)
• 79 Brandon Kublanow, OL, Walton, 6-3, 290 (UGA, Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt, and Duke)

EAST (gray jerseys)

• 2 Juwan Dickey, WR, Lassiter, 6-1, 197 (South Florida and Southern Miss)
• 4 Wayne Gallman, RB, Grayson, 6-1, 195 (Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt, Auburn and Clemson)
• 6 Alvin Kamara, RB, Norcross, 5-9, 195 (Syracuse)
• 7 Eddie Printz, QB, Lassiter, 6-4, 195 (SMU, Arkansas and UCLA)
• 13 Juwaan Williams, WR, Tucker, 6-1, 185 (Central Florida, NC State, Wake Forest, East Carolina, Kentucky and Vanderbilt)
• 14 Reginald Carter, LB, South Gwinnett, 6-1, 215 (South Carolina, North Carolina, Vanderbilt, Ole Miss, Alabama, Tennessee, Michigan, Mississippi State and Florida State)
• 15 Ryan Jenkins, DB, Milton, 5-10, 160 (Clemson)
• 22 Tyshon Dye, RB, Elbert County, 6-0, 200 (Clemson and UGA)
• 24 Donnie Miles, S, North Gwinnett, 5-11, 197 (Duke)
• 25 Juston Mincy, S, Southwest DeKalb, 6-1, 185 (Tennessee)
• 26 Darius Curry, DB, Flowery Branch, 6-1, 190 (Oklahoma State, Tennessee and NC State)
• 32 Nigel Bowden, Central Macon, 6-2, 230 (Vanderbilt)
• 37 Keyante Green, RB, ELCA, 5-9, 190 (TCU, Purdue, and Vanderbilt)
• 57 David Johnson, LB, Lithonia, 6-2, 225 (South Carolina, Louisville, Southern Miss)
• 58 Joshua Outlaw, OT, ML King, 6-4, 280 (Florida and South Carolina)
• 64 Delando Crooks, OT, Carver-Atl, 6-5, 255 (UGA, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, Marshall, Tennessee, UAB and Samford)
• 70 Julian Williams, OT, Duluth, 6-6, 302 (East Carolina and North Carolina)
• 78 Isaac Rochell, DE, ECLA, 6-5, 250 (UGA, Alabama, Clemson, Georgia Tech, etc.)
• 81 Carlos Burse, WR, Alpharetta, 6-3, 208 (NC State, Virginia Tech, Tennessee, Florida, Duke and Vanderbilt)
• 94 Kelsey Griffin, DT, Mill Creek, 6-3, 290 (Auburn, UGA, South Carolina, FSU and Georgia Tech)

Note: All offers are verbal, reported by the players to the AJC. Written offers will go out in the summer.

– By Michael Carvell, AJC Recruiting Blog

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