Atlanta Weather

| Traffic

Search
AJC College Sports Recruiting

Surprise! UGA DE target picks NC State over Bulldogs and Clemson

11:26 pm January 18, 2012, by Michael Carvell

UGA LB target Kenderius Whitehead of M.L. King (pictured) is really liking Clemson because they will let him play DE (AJC)

Recruiting is always full of surprises. Onetime and longtime leader UGA finished third behind NC State and Clemson for DE Kenderius Whitehead (AJC)

One of UGA’s top remaining targets made the surprising decision to commit to NC State over the Bulldogs and Clemson on late Wednesday night.

Kenderius Whitehead, a defensive end from ML King High School, told the AJC that NC State “has been in my heart.”

“I was looking for the best school for me, as far as playing time and my education,” Whitehead said. “I want to do computer science and NC State is a great school for that degree.”

It was a shocker for Georgia, which had dispatched recruiting coordinator Rodney Garner to ML King earlier in the day on Wednesday for a face-to-face meeting with Whitehead.

“Rodney Garder met with Kenderius for a little bit, and Georgia definitely wanted him,” ML King coach Mike Carson said. “He was a priority for them and said there was no doubt about that. Kenderius was definitely in their plans and Coach Garner said that he hoped they would have the opportunity to continue recruiting him and to persuade him to be a Bulldog.”

UGA was Whitehead’s longtime leader after earning a scholarship offer at Dawg Night prospect camp last summer. However, UGA offered Whitehead at outside linebacker and he was more comfortable playing defensive end, where he was recruited by both NC State and Clemson. The Tigers finished as runner-up to NC State for Whitehead’s services.

“I think that factored into it,” Carson said. “He didn’t like the idea of playing outside linebacker and ‘in space.’ That was his concern with Georgia. In my opinion, he’s definitely a ‘hands-down guy’ [defensive end].”

What happened with UGA? “I grew up around Athens my whole life,” Whitehead said. “I thought about this decision a lot. I just want to see some different places and do different things.”

Did the commitment of Jordan Jenkins affect his consideration of UGA? “No, not at all. No sir. No way. There’s great competition at every school.”

Note: UGA was feeling confident about its chances for Whitehead. It will be very interesting to see who UGA now targets as the backup plan with Whitehead going elsewhere. Predictions? My guess is that UGA throws everything but the kitchen sink at Tucker defensive end Josh Dawson, who is committed to Vanderbilt but took an official visit to UGA last weekend. Dawson has an in-home visit with UGA’s Rodney Garner on Thursday night. Also, Garner made an in-home visit on Wednesday night with WR Blake Tibbs, the ML King WR who remains committed to UGA.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

– By Michael Carvell, AJC Recruiting Blog

Got an item? mcarvell@ajc.com

Got an item? mcarvell@ajc.com

  • So much is happening so fast. Have you missed anything over the last few days? Catch up with our feed by CLICKING HERE
  • BOOKMARK the NEW AJC Recruiting homepage here
  • Want to see a list of all the players in the state of Georgia who have either been offered by or are committed to D1 schools? It’s looong. Go here.

Note: Inappropriate BLOG comments and personal attacks will NOT be tolerated. We love the lively discussions but hate-filled, harassing and irresponsible comments are unacceptable.

Please Follow me on Twitter @RecruitingAJC + Please be my Facebook friend here

  • Print

328 comments Add your comment

DawginAby

January 19th, 2012
3:02 am

Good luck! Make your family, friends and state proud. We are cheering you on. NC State is a fine choice!

The Grinch

January 19th, 2012
3:03 am

5150 UOAD
January 19th, 2012
2:57 am

I don’t think a 5 year old would interpret it the way you did. You said he was a UGA “LOCK”. Your words, not mine.

You conveniently left out this part when you pulled from the article. “However, UGA offered Whitehead at outside linebacker and he was more comfortable playing defensive end, where he was recruited by both NC State and Clemson. The Tigers finished as runner-up to NC State for Whitehead’s services.”

He didn’t want to play the position UGA targeted for him. I don’t have a problem with that but you seem to. Be proud for the kid and do consider taking my earlier advise. Take some time away from these blogs. Your level of anger just cannot be good for you.

5150 UOAD

January 19th, 2012
3:15 am

I’m curious. What pisses you off about this UGA news:

“UGA researchers, scientists develop vaccine that attacks breast cancer in mice”.

I guess it pisses me off that Rodney Garner & Todd Grantham are bigger than mice so it will not work on their swelling breast that are possibly Cancerous.

The Grinch

January 19th, 2012
3:20 am

5150 UOAD
January 19th, 2012
3:15 am

Still staying classy, I see. I guess this is another of your “U read it how you want and I will read it how I want” mentality. Here we have UGA researchers working on a potential cure for breast cancer and you’re pissed because you think RG and TG have swelling breasts.

Classy, 5150 TOAD, classy.

The Grinch

January 19th, 2012
3:23 am

Signing off. Have a great morning/day, everyone.

5150 UOAD

January 19th, 2012
3:33 am

yes Grinch you F wad because your CLASSY Dwag fans call CPJ ManBoobs. Truth is you have coaches with manboobs and I thought that was what the UGa researchers were trying to cure.

Michael

January 19th, 2012
4:31 am

Thanks to all of the reasonable UGA fans on here, some of you are really classy. As for the disrespectful ones, grow up and stop acting like a spoiled brat. NC State does not have the Football history that Georgia does, but we do have an extremely passionate fanbase and we get over 55,000 in Carter Finley on Saturdays. I live in Raleigh and it hurts when I watch 2 Five Star RB’s leave NC for Georgia. We play in the ACC and we don’t get top 25 recruiting classes every year(or rankings), but i’m damn sure not giving up my season tickets any time soon. NC State has some of the best tailgating in the world.
BTW our first Bowl game win came against Georgia in the Liberty Bowl.
Good luck to Kenderius and GO Wolfpack!

Stinger2

January 19th, 2012
4:41 am

When UGA loses a recruit, it deflates the egos of some fans who think UGA should get every player they want.
Stated another way, it strikes a nerve because it hurts their pride.

seve

January 19th, 2012
6:08 am

Does he realize that as soon as a couple of guys get suspended that he’ll be able to play for the Dogs? He’ll do great at NC State!

bulldog steve

January 19th, 2012
6:08 am

Sometimes I wish UGA would lie to these kids like the other schools do and tell them they can play whatever position that want just to sign him. Nah, on second though I am proud of the way UGA recruits players and are honest with them from the start. Good luck to the kid and go Dawgs!

We Run the East

January 19th, 2012
6:30 am

How much food must you have on hand for a Rodney Garner in home visit? Roast beef, whole turkeys, casseroles, potatos, big pots of green beans and at least 3 pies or cake. These boys poor mamas are working so hard to feed the UGA recruiters

RedandBlackDawg

January 19th, 2012
6:57 am

5150UOAD,

How do you figure UGA lost this kid. He was offered a scholarship and he decided he wants to play a different position than UGA saw for him. At his present weight, he would not even be a viable candidate for DE in the SEC. He is simply not heavy enough to make it at that position at a lot of major colleges. You know it is bad, when CPJ doesn’t offer him. To play at DE he would need at least 40 more pounds to be a viable candidate and that is a lot of weight to put on, even if his frame will support it. He could put on 20 pounds and be a big OLB, but at his present weight, most fullbacks, much less tackles would simply run him over. Think before you post man. Your hatred for UGA. has gotten to the point where you don’t do that anymore.
This kid made the right move for both his education and the team he plays for. The team he choose, is much like Tenn. is right now as far as recruiting goes. They need bodies and they are thinking about the future picks that might develop, not ready made players as UGA and most of the big name colleges are. He might have added depth to the OLB position at UGA, but not at DE. How many 220 pound DE’s due you see in the SEC?

Skydawg

January 19th, 2012
7:05 am

Some kids want to compete at the highest level against the likes of SEC foes and some just want to skate by against competition like the ACC. I also think Jordan Jenkins commitment to UGA impacted his decision.

Kramer

January 19th, 2012
7:14 am

You can’t land them all. Best of luck to him at NC State. I think we will be OK at DE for sometime to come. Of course, the haters like Teddy Roosevelt will tell us the Dream team is done. That is because their hate cloudes their judgement.
GO DAWGS!!!

footballfan365

January 19th, 2012
7:15 am

in my opinion this choice makes no sense I respect the fact that he is comfortable playing with his hand on the ground but lets be honest to be a force at de in major div 1 football he atleast needs to tip the scales in the 265 -275 range he is listed at 220 so that means he is really between 205-210 thats alot of weight he will need to gain. But hey thats his choice and I hope he posts career numbers against tech.

JB

January 19th, 2012
7:25 am

Over 2000 D1 prospects in the Southeast every year….maybe 400 really good ones. We can sign 25 ( Bama gets 33 or so, go figure) So, good luck to the man.

Cdpridg

January 19th, 2012
7:27 am

Tech goobers such as gt bob and u5715 dont know Newberg because they have no reason to. In recruiting…tech does nt compete with the big boys..they are fighting Middle Tenn for recruits…Mewberg does not have time to waste with such sophmoric programs

move on

January 19th, 2012
7:32 am

no big deal–Ga’s loaded at this position. Plenty of talent to get elsewhere. Dawgs roll in 2012!!

News | MrSEC.com

January 19th, 2012
7:35 am

[...] lineman Kenderius Whitehead from ML King High School in Atlanta has committed to North Carolina State.Whitehead chose the Wolfpack over Georgia and Clemson.“I was looking for the best school for [...]

Joey

January 19th, 2012
7:39 am

lol. GTBob now worried about UGA’s recruiting ranking. Has there ever been a worse case of penis envy than GTBob’s?

D.E.

January 19th, 2012
7:43 am

You UGA fans that say he didn’t want to compete, depth chart scared him away things of that nature are about as stupid as a box of rocks. You guys post this crap and actually think anyone buys it? You all are a bunch of idiots….seriously a bunch of idiots….and I’m a UGA fan 100%, but you guys are stupid as hel&

Whitehead was a wanted man in Athens, and we thought he was ours for the longest of time. It isn’t a huge blow, but it hurts a bit not to get this kid. He will be a very good pass rusher in college.

Moobs Johnson

January 19th, 2012
7:53 am

Have fun in the A-She-She

Kerryb

January 19th, 2012
8:03 am

Why the heck does anyone want to play for NC State? Especially a kid that is suppose to be a top player. Why play for a mediocre team in a mediocre conference? Don’t get it.

dawgster

January 19th, 2012
8:04 am

I shouldn’t be surprised by this, but it saddens me that many so clalled dawg fans are bashing this young man for making thin his opinion the best decision for him…Yes I would love for him to be a dawg, but listne to what his coach and and he said,…He feels that DE is his best position and we should respect him for that…I can assure you that for the most part when a player gets to this level in football, they are not scared off by competition…To me anyone on here that says that is making an absurd statement. Good luck to the youn man…And Dawg fans lets be classy..Respect the young man for his decision and let it be….and who knows, things could still change before NSD…go dawgs

Kerryb

January 19th, 2012
8:04 am

D.E.

January 19th, 2012
7:43 am

You UGA fans that say he didn’t want to compete, depth chart scared him away things of that nature are about as stupid as a box of rocks. You guys post this crap and actually think anyone buys it? You all are a bunch of idiots….seriously a bunch of idiots….and I’m a UGA fan 100%, but you guys are stupid as hel&

Whitehead was a wanted man in Athens, and we thought he was ours for the longest of time. It isn’t a huge blow, but it hurts a bit not to get this kid. He will be a very good pass rusher in college.

_________________________________________________________

Chill out. I think those comments were for all the Tech fans that were saying that when Jenkins committed to UGA over Bama.

Kerryb

January 19th, 2012
8:06 am

dawgster , I could understand it if it was Clemson that has a lot of very good young players and looks like will be a contending team in the ACC for the next few years, but NC State? Why waste your talents there? Don’t get it.

fla dawg

January 19th, 2012
8:12 am

i just read the most common sense post that I have read on here in a long time. why can’t we as dawg fans accept the fact that EVERY recruit in the world doesn’t WANT to come to Athens. it’s like burger king, mcdonalds, and wendys. they are all good but for no logical reason, different people list them in different order of preference.
this kid is probably not stupid and he is probably not scared of competing. he just decided that he would rather be at NC St…. end of story.

ACC!

January 19th, 2012
8:12 am

he wanted nothing to do with the top competition in the SEC. In the lowly acc, he can dominate every week.

B. Beaver

January 19th, 2012
8:23 am

Smart boy.

RxDawg

January 19th, 2012
8:31 am

Bummer… indications were that he was going to be a Dawg. Oh well, it seems like we recruit a lot of OLB’s?

Tidal Wave

January 19th, 2012
8:38 am

Congratulations to the young man. The Raleigh area is not a bad place to live for 4 years and NC State is a good public school. Unlike UGA, NC State will actually be able to compete for the conference championship. I was real impressed with the NC State coaching staff they looked horrible early in the year and by the end of the season really had improved. NC State probably will be better than UGAG this year anyway.

Troof

January 19th, 2012
8:38 am

Jordan Jenkins = scared of Bama depth chart.

RxDawg

January 19th, 2012
8:40 am

Actually, I don’t see that many UGA fans talking trash on here.

Big Brain

January 19th, 2012
8:49 am

Many ignorant folks, not to mention biased ones, who post here. I recruited CS and engineering majors for a giant computer design and software institution. We always went to NC State, as well as to GaTech to recruit. We never, never went to UGa.

dawgster

January 19th, 2012
8:54 am

@Kerryb…I don’t think any of us can answer the question about NC State, however, it is a fine university and I’m sure the young man made a connection there with the players and developed a relationship with the coaches to the point that he felt comfortable committing there.. As I said, things could change for many of these recruits before NSD…I wish him well and would still welcome him if he decided to go with the dawgs….go dawgs

bjohnDawg

January 19th, 2012
8:57 am

Good luck Kenderius. NC State is a good school. It is always best to go where you heart tells you.
I dont think competition played into it. He said he wants to play line, and UGA wanted him at outside LB.
Best of Luck from a Dawg!

PR

January 19th, 2012
8:57 am

Would have loved to have this kid in Athens, but he should do well in Raleigh. Good luck to this kid at NC State.

Big Crimson 75

January 19th, 2012
9:00 am

Go ahead Dawg fans,
I’m sure this is Coach Saben’s fault some kind of way.
Now do what y’all do best : WHINE

King GT

January 19th, 2012
9:02 am

All this talent in Georgia and we’re going 13,451 miles away to look for kids? smh

annapolisdawg

January 19th, 2012
9:08 am

Best of luck to the young man and I wish him the best. I would have liked to see him in the red and black but if he doesn’t like the switch at position this could present a problem later. He is going to be great for NC State and a nice pick-up for the Wolfpack.

THE Dixie Redcoat Band

January 19th, 2012
9:14 am

Word on the street…UGA was backing down on this kid anyway.

Big Brain

January 19th, 2012
9:18 am

Dixie Rc Band, you are the most disingenuous poster of the day.

G-Dawg

January 19th, 2012
9:18 am

He wanted to stick with his prototypical position in the 4-3. Then NCst was a good pick for him. He would have been a beast at OLB. But oh well, time to move onto other recruits.

bucket

January 19th, 2012
9:18 am

Don’t expect to be taken seriously on a recruiting blog in Georgia when you don’t know who Jaime Newberg is. Jaime in fact predicted on 680 the fan yesterday afternoon that UGA would not be getting Whitehead because the young man wanted to play with his hand on the ground. Good luck to the young man and kudos to our coaching staff for being honest with the young man and not telling him what he wanted to hear just to secure a commitment. Whitehead was a target for UGA because Coach Grantham saw this kid as a dominating OLB in college and beyond. Whitehead disagreed, as is his perogative, and so therefore he wasn’t a target for UGA at DE.

Beast from the East

January 19th, 2012
9:24 am

Clemson is the big loser. They need him bad.

West Virginia just scored AGAIN!!!!!

Posideon

January 19th, 2012
9:24 am

NC State is pretty well plugged into the top technology research center in the Eastern US (Research Triangle) located between Chapel Hill, Durham and Raleigh. If you knock CS at NCState, you are more than ignorant.

Blackoutanyone?

January 19th, 2012
9:26 am

the Grinch reminding another to stay classy? LOL Funny stuff

Kerryb…”Why waste your talents there? Don’t get it.” Not everyone has what it takes to play big boy football. Not everyone wants to be a champion. At Alabama we call these people Georgia Bulldogs.

Carpet Baggger

January 19th, 2012
9:27 am

Which QB will go higher in draft, Murray or kid at NC State?

Carpet Baggger

January 19th, 2012
9:29 am

Blackout, at UGa they call Bama students retards.

bucket

January 19th, 2012
9:30 am

Blackoutanyone? Mocking anyone else for not being classy. LOL. Funny stuff.

« Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Next » Show All