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AJC College Sports Recruiting

Georgia Tech OL commit Will Adams gets last-minute offer from UGA

11:50 pm January 26, 2012, by Michael Carvell

Will Adams is committed to Georgia Tech but will reportedly visit Auburn this weekend (Photo courtesy of Allyson Merrill)

Will Adams is committed to Georgia Tech but will reportedly visit Auburn this weekend (Photo courtesy of Allyson Merrill)

OL Will Adams, who admitted that he was a lifelong UGA fan before committing to Georgia Tech last summer, said that he was offered a last-minute scholarship by the Bulldogs on Thursday.

The 6-foot-6, 280-pound offensive lineman plays at Sandy Creek, the same high school as WR JaQuay Williams – who is a longtime Auburn commitment that UGA is trying to flip before next week’s signing day.

An entourage of UGA coaches, led by Mark Richt, showed up at Sandy Creek on Wednesday to visit with JaQuay. They also reportedly made a last-second offer to Adams.

“It’s true,” Adams said in the text message about the UGA offer.

There were rumors that Adams may talk to Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson about making a visit to another school this weekend — not UGA but Auburn.  Adams declined an interview request. “Not today. There’s a lot going with me as far as recruiting tonight.”

After confirming at Auburn had also offered him a last-minute scholarship on Thursday, we had one last question for Adams: Are you still committed to Georgia Tech?

And his answer was … “I’m still committed.”

Story developing: Check back for updates.

  • UPDATE (Friday 12:08 a.m.): JacketsOnline reported that Will Adams will visit Auburn this weekend but is still committed to Georgia Tech.
  • UPDATE (Friday 12:23 a.m.): Will Adams said in a text to the AJC “I don’t know if I’m visiting Auburn yet. But yes, I’m still a Ramblin Wreck.”

Flashback to last July: Here’s an excerpt on the AJC story on Will Adams when he committed to Georgia Tech last summer. You can click here to read the entire story.

Ironically, Adams will be playing for the archrival of his childhood favorite, UGA. Adams is a lifelong Georgia fan and said he always had dreams about playing for the Bulldogs. He had interest from UGA but was never offered. Adams took the pragmatic approach to switching sides.

“When scholarship offers start rolling in, as a recruit, you have to take the fan side completely out of the picture,” Adams explained. “The fan in me wanted to play for Georgia. But the rest of me wanted to go to a school and play football where I was wanted. I could say some things about Georgia, but they got who they needed on the offensive line. You know, that’s fine how everything worked out. I just realized maybe that Georgia was not the place for me. Once I had that thought in my head, I realized that it wasn’t the place for me. Then my decision for Georgia Tech got so much easier for me.”

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– By Michael Carvell, AJC Recruiting Blog

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468 comments Add your comment

George Stein

January 27th, 2012
9:57 am

Did y’all redshirt Ray Drew?

Taco Meat

January 27th, 2012
9:59 am

Jacket Man…. the Dawgs offer to Will Adams has nothing to do with JaQuay Williams and everything to do with Chester Brown. Just because these two guys are on the same team doesn’t mean they’re friends, let alone a package deal.

bucket

January 27th, 2012
10:00 am

And, no, offering Adams has nothing to do with Jaquay Williams. The offer of Adams was part of a progression, just like an NFL draft board. Adams is a good player, he just simply was not graded as high as other targets. I think he will have a solid career wherever he plays and if he stands by his commitment to GTech he should be applauded for that.

JB

January 27th, 2012
10:01 am

Gorilla….I believe Mark leads the SEC in awarding walk on’s…..And I’m of the opinion that’s the reason, in the fourth quarter, we have no quality subs for our gassed defense…..And we know why they are gassed. Bobo goes in the fetal position on offense in the second half and we’re 3 and out to much.

bucket

January 27th, 2012
10:02 am

Ray Drew was not redshirted. He was hurt in preseason and was playing behind Cornelius Washington who had a pretty good year, other than the suspension of course.

WnE

January 27th, 2012
10:03 am

Well that means that CPJ and MANY OTHER HCs are nothing since they almost always leave for new jobs when they have time remaining on their contracts.

We want to hold an 18 y/o with a VERBAL commitment to a higher standard that we do to GROWN A$$ MEN that have written contracts (i.e Head Coaches).

When CPJ “poaches” recruits from Wofford & Elon isn’t he doing the same thing that Miami & UGA are doing to GT right now?

After all, don’t those Recruits have verbals to Wofford et al that he poaches at the last minute, when a Recruit is LEAVING GT CPJ plays “holier-than-thou” and waxes poetic about commitment, but when a Recruit is LEAVING Furman and COMING TO GT then that same behavior (lack of commitment by the Recruit) does mean ANYTHING and CPJ is happy to sign him to GT.

How can GT’s “boot-licking-toadies” not see the hypocrisy in all of this ?

George Stein

January 27th, 2012
10:03 am

Eh, I tend to stay away from making judgments about players that change their commitments. This is his last chance to think about himself, and he needs to do that. If it means he goes to UGA, then I’ll hold my nose and hope he has a happy, fun, productive four years there.

George Stein

January 27th, 2012
10:04 am

Thanks, bucket.

The two issues are completely separate, WnE.

JB

January 27th, 2012
10:05 am

2012 will be good for the Dawgs. 9 to 11 wins depending on injuries and ole lady luck. 2013 scares me with losing 10 starters on defense.

Phil

January 27th, 2012
10:07 am

You cannot fault a kid for sticking with the original school that first showed interest, even if your dream school comes sniffing around at the last minute. But this is just further proof of Tech only being able to get leftovers. I have never once heard a recruit say that tech was their dream school who also had offers from bigger, better programs. As usual, tech is nothing more than a fallback option.

George Stein

January 27th, 2012
10:07 am

Not a huge Grantham fan, JB, but as long as he’s there the defense will be fine. I think the failures on that side of the ball were more about the coach than the players.

TonyTop

January 27th, 2012
10:07 am

Mark Richt Loves Jesus. Will will do the right thing and follow a good man like Richt, rather than a scumbag like Paul Johnson.
Fact, Mark Richt doesn’t curse, Paul Johnson is Foul.
Fact, Mark Richt goes to church, Paul Johnson doesn’t.

George Stein

January 27th, 2012
10:09 am

Thanks for your contribution, Phil.

Seems Tech was Michael Summers’ dream school.
http://blogs.ajc.com/recruiting/2011/06/19/wr-micheal-summers-picks-georgia-tech-over-florida-pitt-duke-others/

frenks

January 27th, 2012
10:09 am

A cheat fan that isnt a Grantham fan? Shocking. Well I happen to be a HUGE Al Groh fan ;)

George Stein

January 27th, 2012
10:11 am

Keep trolling, frenks.

bucket

January 27th, 2012
10:12 am

@ George Stein – I know we all give eachother a hard time on here, but you bring up an interesting and mature point. The decision that these young men have to make on NSD locks them into a life path that they have to be prepared to stick with. Thankfully, sometimes we get a chance at a course correction, but not always. I’m sure this is difficult for a life-long Georgia fan like Adams to be offered at the last minute. I’m sure his pride makes him want to tell UGA to take a hike and his loyalty tells him to stick with GTech. We obviously need Olineman, but if he sticks with Tech, then I don’t think UGA fans and family should give him a hard time about that. I do hope that he stays away from Auburn, but will wish him well whatever he decides.

gtfanfrom1951

January 27th, 2012
10:15 am

UGA is after Will because they lost Brown. He will never start at UGA scout team thats only reason why they want him!

Phil

January 27th, 2012
10:15 am

“A longtime friendship between Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson and Summers’ family WAS a deciding factor in the decision.” And still no mention of “dream school” any where in there.

Thanks for the link though anyway and further making my point.

George Stein

January 27th, 2012
10:16 am

Well, I think we can all agree that going to Auburn would be a HUGE mistake! :)

I do think the kids need to shelve their fandom when making a college decision, but I also get that it’s very difficult to do. If he wants to major in history or English, then he must go to UGA. If he wants study math or science, then he needs to go to Tech.

Ultimately, the thing that bothers me most is kids that make choices about who can get them to the League. Less than one tenth of one percent make it, so it seems silly decide on that, to say nothing of the fact that schools don’t get players to the NFL.

George Stein

January 27th, 2012
10:17 am

“Georgia Tech was the offer I was waiting on, and once I got it, I decided to commit,” Summers told the AJC.

Try again, Phil.

gtfanfrom1951

January 27th, 2012
10:18 am

TonyTop
UGA is thug “U” get real!

hahahaha!!!!

January 27th, 2012
10:18 am

Another kid wanting out of the hellhole known as GT!! Can we expect his scholly to be stripped as well???? Lololol!!!! Love it!!! Coach Moobs the hypocrite will be put to the test again with yet another recruit!!!

Cant wait to see him proven a gutless liar yet again just like his fan base!!!!! Lololol!!!!

Dawglasville

January 27th, 2012
10:19 am

Kid, if you want to be an engineer go to Tech. If you don’t, go to UGA or Auburn. It really is that simple.

5150 UOAD – I’m worried about you. I know that you dabble in the back and forth of good natured ribbing but you usually blog with rationale. Go back and look at your post last night. This is not the UOAD I am usually enlightened, humored, or sometimes irked with.

Crimson Crush – We get it. Your team is the king of the football factories. Since Notre Dame got out of football years ago, your school may over take them and become the greatest football program in the history of the universe. Go buy all that gear and hopefully people will look at and say, “Hey, that guy is the fan of the greatest college football program of all time. He’s a winner.” Or better than that, why don’t you put on your headstone,”Here lies a fan of the greatest college football program of all time.”

All of you Tech guys who mock the education at the University of Georgia. Do you know that some, like US News, consider Emory a better school than Tech. In fact, the disparity between Emory and Tech is very similar to the disparity between Tech and UGA. What’s worse, some of the trolls from other state universities try to ride that condescending mentality and talk smack about education. There was a Kentucky guy doing it yesterday. Unreal.

JB, George Stein, IL Jacket, Lake Dawg, and a few others… if it wasn’t for you guys keeping this thing sane I don’t think I would be on here.

Gorilla Biscuit

January 27th, 2012
10:22 am

JB, I can’t argue your point. I also can’t see the overall picture as Coach Richt does. Right now we have 16 commits with 2 of those early enrollees, counting against last year’s class. So, therefore, we have as many as 13 scholarships left to fill to meet the maximum allowed for this class. I don’t feel we should get desperate and offer kids a scholarship who we might have rated as a preferred walkon. If we have to, I’d rather see us save those schollys for next year when we’ll be able to sign 28 and count 3 of those toward this year. I think we already have two 2013 commitments who will enroll early.

Phil

January 27th, 2012
10:23 am

Because he has known Johnson since he was a “toddler.” Obviously he wanted to go with Johnson due to the weird family ties, not Tech.

Do you a real example or is that all you got??? Im willing to bet thats all you got. Thanks for trying though.

AU Man

January 27th, 2012
10:23 am

Is all Mark Richt do is go after everyones elses commits? Eliminate the 90 limit and let Richt have em all. What a “blood-sucker”. Got to be a fake and go to church with a kid to show a god image to get the kid, going to jail house to look for future dawgs. Talk about a class act–Richt and Georgia coaches are not !!!!

George Stein

January 27th, 2012
10:24 am

Or they could take the scholarship and reward a walk-on that has busted his tail for, say, three seasons with a scholarship for a year.

Dawglasville

January 27th, 2012
10:24 am

George Stein – “Less than one tenth of one percent make it…” Amen. To make matters worse, about 80% of them leave the NFL broke.

Techster

January 27th, 2012
10:24 am

It should be an easy call for Adams. If he believes that he is not a sure bet for the NFL, his education, a decided advantage for Tech, should be of paramount importance. Plus, he would be an everyday player at Tech – maybe even a star – but what happens to him next year when UGA woos its next 5-star OL?

cmmay

January 27th, 2012
10:24 am

Is UF even a better program than GT right now any way?? Worst season last year in like 40 years.

headley lamar

January 27th, 2012
10:25 am

Is all Mark Richt do is go after everyones elses commits? Eliminate the 90 limit and let Richt have em all. What a “blood-sucker”. Got to be a fake and go to church with a kid to show a god image to get the kid, going to jail house to look for future dawgs. Talk about a class act–Richt and Georgia coaches are not !!!!

Im not sure if that even qualifies as English

George Stein

January 27th, 2012
10:25 am

Why do you make judgments on relationships, Phil? What the hell is wrong with you?

bucket

January 27th, 2012
10:25 am

Georgia still has a chance to get some of the highest ranked players in Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina (already on campus), Florida, and JUCO! Our class won’t be as highly ranked in terms of overall strength as Alabama or Florida, but a stellar class nonetheless. Let’s Go Dawgs and finish strong!

George Stein

January 27th, 2012
10:26 am

Indeed, Dawglasville. And that’s why it’s so critical that he make this decision based on what he wants to do rather than on some antiquated notion of commitment or fandom.

AU Man

January 27th, 2012
10:26 am

If Richt is such a “christian”, then why approach a kid thats commited elsewhere—he’s really just like Judas, didnt anybody know he was the traitor.

headley lamar

January 27th, 2012
10:27 am

Is UF even a better program than GT right now any way??

Yes because even though the record was lousy it was a record accumulated in the SEC not the All Cupcake Conference.

George Stein

January 27th, 2012
10:28 am

Yes. Florida has a better football program than we do, cmmay. Not certain they have the right coach, but I’ll wait another year or two to make a call on that.

Emily

January 27th, 2012
10:28 am

Techster

Decided advantage? Hardly. UGA is an excellent university as well you know and offers plenty more options than engineering. But you already knew all this and just wanted to make a snide and childish comment.

George Stein

January 27th, 2012
10:29 am

They got drilled by the only school they played from the ACC, headley.

George Stein

January 27th, 2012
10:30 am

Tech does more than just engineering, too, Emily.

Phil

January 27th, 2012
10:30 am

Like I said, Im sure thats all you had. Thanks again though anyway.

IL Jacket

January 27th, 2012
10:31 am

Dawglasville, I was inquiring the other day of your nephew (or was it son, I’m sorry I forgot) that was being posted to Afghanistan. Has he left? He goes with our prayers and best wishes. Hopefully, this will be the last year.

cmmay

January 27th, 2012
10:32 am

UF’s program is better than GT’s?

bucket

January 27th, 2012
10:32 am

AU Man – really? If the recruits didn’t want to talk all they have to say is, “I am not interested and don’t want to talk to you.” Jaquay chose to take a visit to Athens after given the chance. No one kidnapped him from Sandy Creek. I am sure Coach Chizik has never called or visited a recruit that has given a “verbal” commitment to a school. Nothing is official until NSD and the recruit signs the national letter-of-intent. And as for attacking Coach Richt’s faith, that is below the belt. My kids go to school with CMR’s kids and I can assure you that his faith is genuine and is not a show for football or recruiting.

George Stein

January 27th, 2012
10:33 am

C’mon, cmmay. They have won three crystal footballs the past 15 years.

hello?

January 27th, 2012
10:33 am

Why no talk of Johnson yanking away his scholarship on here????

cmmay

January 27th, 2012
10:35 am

But doesnt Tech have more national titles overall? Isnt that why you argue Tech is better than UGA, even you cannot beat them head to head??

DawgByte

January 27th, 2012
10:35 am

This offer to Adams is in response to the loss of Chester Brown.

hahahaha!!!!

January 27th, 2012
10:37 am

@ hello

Because cheat fans do not want to acknowledge the liar/hypocrite that is their head coach!!!! Lololololol!!!!!!!

George Stein

January 27th, 2012
10:37 am

He hasn’t gone anywhere, hello?, and by all accounts he’s been completely open about this situation.

I don’t typically get drawn into debates about who’s better historically, cmmay. They beat the hell out of us last year. That’s all I know.

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