Georgia Tech gets 1st commitment for 2013
Georgia Tech finally got its first commitment for 2013. And he’s a good one.
RB Travis Custis is "a step faster" than NFL RB Tashard Choice, according to his coach (AJC)
Travis Custis, a 4-star running back from Lovejoy High School, committed to Georgia Tech over football scholarship offers from Miami, Tennessee, Clemson, Vanderbilt, Ole Miss, Virginia and Mississippi State, among others.
“Coach Paul Johnson and the rest of the Georgia Tech coaches have really shown us a lot of love, and we feel like we can come here and make a difference,” said his father, Travis Sr. “We liked Georgia Tech, and the other schools we were really looking at were starting to fill up at running back … so we thought ‘Why wait any longer?’”
The 6-foot, 212-pound Custis has broken all the Lovejoy rushing records previously held by Tashard Choice — who starred at Georgia Tech and now plays in the NFL.
Lovejoy’s coach even went as far to say that Custis is “a step faster” than Choice.
“They are very similar running backs … Travis has broken all of Tashard’s records and he’s a step faster than Tashard,” Al Hughes told the AJC. “They have very similar styles of running. Tashard is a strong inside runner who can also hurt you outside. It’s the same with Travis.
“Travis is a power runner. He’s a slasher but also has great breakaway speed. He’s an Adrian Peterson-type of runner. That’s his style … he can run through a tackle or around a tackle. Travis has got that extra gear of speed. Every time he touches the ball, there’s a chance he can take it to the house.
This past season as a junior, Custis helped lead Lovejoy to the Class AAAA state championship game, where it lost to Tucker. Custis was the team’s workhorse, rushing for 1,839 yards and 30 touchdowns.
For Georgia Tech, Custis is the inaugural commitment for its 2013 recruiting class. Paul Johnson has said that it may be one of his smaller classes, with as few as 14-15 signees because the ACC school’s low rate of attrition. Running back is a top priority for Georgia Tech, which hopes to sign two at the position.
“I think that’s great for Travis because Georgia Tech is definitely a program where a running back would have a chance to be highlighted,” Hughes said. “That’s a good place for a running back to go, I would think.”
Said Travis Sr., “We love Coach Johnson because he has always been honest and straight forward with us the whole time. He showed more interest in Travis than the coaches from the other schools, and that was big with us. He made no bones about it. He said ‘Hey, we want your son.’”
Custis has a 2.9 core GPA and plans a career in Sports Medicine.
OVER THE WEEKEND
- Alabama DT signee Dalvin Tomlinson will undergo knee surgery after “significant” injury while playing soccer
- Georgia Tech gets 1st commit for 2013 … Coach says he’s “a step faster” than NFL RB
- Jordan Jenkins: UGA-bound DE was “big fish that got away” from Nick Saban, Alabama
- Georgia DB heads to West Coast
- OL Max Garcia ranks UGA visit somewhere “between a 9 and 10″ … Guess where he’s visiting next?
- Vanderbilt coach tells Georgia recruit “we’re engaged”
READING MATERIAL FOR MASTERS COMMERCIAL BREAKS
- Dabo’s plan to REVOLUTIONIZE college football
- Nick Saban gets pay rai$e and big recruit from Georgia in same day
- Mark Richt and Paul Johnson: Sales pitches to the state’s loaded 2013 class of football recruits
- Vandy coach apparently not fond of country music, nets 4-star LB from Georgia
- Does being Vince Dooley’s son help Tennessee with recruiting Georgia?
- Could UGA pull off biggest recruiting UPSET in years? Yes, maybe, well …
- Nation’s No. 1 overall prospect will announce on … May 18
- UGA close to making critical hire for football recruiting
INSTANT AJC RECRUITING CLASSICS …
- “The story that won’t go away” … Alabama’s grayshirt scandal
- Derek Dooley rips anything & everything to do with SEC’s new over-signing rules
- Meet the Bulldogs (UGA’s 2012 class)
- Meet the Yellow Jackets (Georgia Tech’s 2012 class)
– By Michael Carvell, AJC Recruiting Blog
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 the top 125 prospects state of Georgia who signed with D1 schools? It’s looong. Go here.
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121 comments Add your comment
Buzzzed
April 2nd, 2012
7:56 pm
Good pick up and not a bad offer list. GT will be selective.
Josh Gralton
April 2nd, 2012
7:57 pm
Welcome to the GT Fam!
–
Atlanta Insight Sports Blog – http://atlinsight.com
First, but not last
April 2nd, 2012
7:58 pm
Welcome to The Flats young man! Maybe a good thing that GT didn’t get their other target from the Southside in Dalvin Tomlison: http://www.henryherald.com/news/2012/apr/02/bama-signee-tomlinson-hurts-knee-playing-soccer/
wes
April 2nd, 2012
7:58 pm
Nice pickup!
He was also offered by Michigan State, I believe.
Buzzzed
April 2nd, 2012
7:59 pm
…and I don’t have to type it b/c your already thinking it.
TVFan
April 2nd, 2012
8:06 pm
Great news for the Jackets.
Bulldog59
April 2nd, 2012
8:06 pm
Looks like a solid pick up for PJ and the Jackets.
Cdpridg
April 2nd, 2012
8:06 pm
Fish fry has this program going nowhere
party central
April 2nd, 2012
8:08 pm
RUN BABY RUN WHEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW
Big Time RB Commits to GT
April 2nd, 2012
8:09 pm
[...] PM #5 stonedwall Senior Member Join DateAug 2011 Posts2,927 Georgia Tech gets 1st commitment for 2013 | AJC College Sports Recruiting Reply With Quote + Reply to Thread [...]
Teddy Roosevelt
April 2nd, 2012
8:10 pm
Good pickup for us, can’t wait to see him blow up the defensive line
GEORGIA FAN
April 2nd, 2012
8:11 pm
Yes sir!!! and welcome to GA Tech . Those of you who think Tech is little late to get prospect to commit are fa from the truth. think about South Carolina with two commits Oklahoma one commit etc etc .
By the way michael Please update us on Demarcus Robinson, the WR from Peach County High school. You think UGA has a shot on this kid?
mp
April 2nd, 2012
8:16 pm
WnE???? where are you??? crickets, is all i’m hearing!!! guess you’re too busy trying to find this young man’s twitter handle so you can harass him to no end.
now, back to travis. love what i see! CPJ said he was gonna work on rounding up some BBs and i think we’ve got a good one here. size, speed, balance, toughness. seems to have all the ingredients.
WnE
April 2nd, 2012
8:18 pm
Congrads young man!
Stay healthy, have a good Sr. yr. and take care of your course work when you get to GT.
Kingdaddy
April 2nd, 2012
8:25 pm
Congragulations Mr. Custis and GT! Sounds like a gooden. Y’all were starting to worry me with the goose-egg …
Wrecker
April 2nd, 2012
8:26 pm
Saw him only briefly in that state championship game against Tucker. He did not have his best game, but that might be expected against Tucker’s defense. Welcome to the flats and good luck!
Keepin' It Real
April 2nd, 2012
8:31 pm
I wonder how long it will before this young man is downgraded to a 3-star or 2-star running back because he chose Tech.
blueforever
April 2nd, 2012
8:31 pm
4-star? He’s not even listed in 2 major databases. 3-star in two others. Who has him as a 4?
Ol'JacketFan
April 2nd, 2012
8:36 pm
Very nice pickup for the start of the 2013 class. Good size and speed, he appears to run with an attitude
Look to me like he may well be an ELITE running back! Welcome aboard young man!
SINKIN WRECK
April 2nd, 2012
8:36 pm
HE SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! JUST LIKE TECH, HE WILL FIT IN!!!
jadams
April 2nd, 2012
8:43 pm
Yes
FL Jacket
April 2nd, 2012
8:47 pm
Hmmm…
Welcome to the Flats, Travis! You’ll love breaking free on those dive plays and taking it to the house! World class education, awesome urban campus, close to the house!
He’s an ELITE PROSPECT…what say you, haters?
Mountain Dawg
April 2nd, 2012
8:48 pm
‘A step faster’ than Choice means he is a step faster than mud!
Dawglasville
April 2nd, 2012
8:53 pm
Congrats Travis. Being a tailback at Tech is a great opportunity to display your skills (especially for a running back) and to get a great education.
Is it just me but do you feel a little uneasy when I prospect says, “Coach _________ and the _______ coaching staff really showed me a lot of love.” The kids say that regardless of the school. It is just sad that this is what college football comes down to now. These kids don’t have much of a chance not to feel entitled.
Rubber Neck
April 2nd, 2012
8:56 pm
FL Jacket just because you say he’s elite doesn’t make it so. Not a single recruiting service agrees with you. I will say that the fact that he doesn’t have offers from Elon and Wofford makes him better than most you guys sign.
FL Jacket
April 2nd, 2012
8:59 pm
“Picked GT over Miami, Vandy, and Clemson…”
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA this will cause some heads to explode!
I guess the race for our next RB spot is on…getting one of Peyton Barber, Brendan Douglas, Wayne Gallman, Kamani Thomas, or Khalid Thomas would be quite excellent…
WOW
April 2nd, 2012
9:04 pm
Nice RB, but not on Choice’s level. Choice played for Lovejoy when they were in a much tougher region (EC, Newnan, Riverdale (when they were good)) Not so much anymore. Remember seeing Mario Fannin dominate over at Lovejoy. They have the studs, but the coach also knows how to put them in position to make plays (Like Carver of Columbus). It’ll be different in D1 football, but still a nice pickup none the less
George Stein
April 2nd, 2012
9:08 pm
Leave it to Dawglasville to keep it classy.
I hope he stays healthy and keeps his grades up (and maybe has a little fun his senior season). It’s a great opportunity for him and I hope he recognizes the chance he has to use Georgia Tech to better himself, because they sure as hell are going to use him to better themselves.
Ramblnwrek
April 2nd, 2012
9:18 pm
Welcome to the family! Sounds like a future B-Back to me. Mostly because of his size. Cant wait to see what he can do on the field. Go Jackets!
GT Grad
April 2nd, 2012
9:18 pm
kudos to CPJ…
this kid runs like marshawn lynch, better rain skittles on him everytime he runs into the endzone!
Not Disappointed
April 2nd, 2012
9:19 pm
Welcome to the Flats!
Ramblin Wreck!
raleigh_dawg
April 2nd, 2012
9:23 pm
yeah … fifteen sixteen signees due to low rate of attrition AND NCAA PROBATION … oops
At this rate
April 2nd, 2012
9:25 pm
Ga Tech will fill up the 2013 recruiting class sometime around the fall of 2032
Frankly
April 2nd, 2012
9:27 pm
Good luck Travis except for that last regular season game each year. Glad you stayed in the state.
greta
April 2nd, 2012
9:28 pm
Georgia is number one – in bankruptcies.
Last in education, physical health, and mental health – in the South!
UGA runs this state – congratulations!
JB
April 2nd, 2012
9:29 pm
Tech is a good place to go for a running back. 20 plus carries a game per back= 240 a season. That’s a career for some college backs. Good for Tech. Go Dawgs.
JB
April 2nd, 2012
9:30 pm
greta……………Delta is ready when you are.
Bleep
April 2nd, 2012
9:38 pm
Tech has a sports medicine program?
Brthrite
April 2nd, 2012
9:41 pm
Ouch, 2.9 core GPA…and that at a crappy high school from the Clayton County public school system that was so bad they were almost stripped of accreditation a couple of years back. Good to see Tech isn’t lowering the academic standards just to get a good running back.
BigTimeTECHFan
April 2nd, 2012
10:32 pm
Awesome, seen him play and he’s a very solid RB, was hoping Tech could get him, Jones (Walton), or Payton at Milton.
Very nice highlight video also, thanks for posting
1 4 GT
April 2nd, 2012
10:37 pm
WOW says “not as good as Choice”. His coach says he is, even a step faster, and went on to say he is an Adrian Peterson type. I know who I believe and it ain’t no Georgie leg humper. As for the AP comparison, I imagine CPJ would be very happy if he is 75% of what AP is. What we read here sounds like another J Dwyer type. And for the BLEEP! No, he cannot major in sports medicine at GT, but he can do what all the doctors in the world do. Go to the college of their choice and major in Biology, premed in other words (which he can do at GT), then go to Med School at the college of their choice that has a medical school. ALL DOCTORS DO THIS!! FYI for the ignorant!! Then, they become what was called a GP (general practice) MD several years ago. After they earn their degree in general medicine, if they want to specialize in a specific field of medicine, they spend at least another 2 years in that school. So they now have 8 to 10 years in school. Now maybe you understand why it takes so long to become a doctor. And they still have to serve an internship and residency at a hospital somewhere. Now maybe you have some understanding of what it takes to become any kind of DOCTOR. BLEEP is a good name for you!
right......
April 2nd, 2012
10:37 pm
So what site ranked this guy as a 4 star? Rivals, Scout, ESPN, and 24/7 Sports all have him ranked as a 3 star, or not at all… Good job AJC
Ads
April 2nd, 2012
10:50 pm
Nice pickup Goods choice Travis and good luck on the flats.
Fizzzzz
April 2nd, 2012
10:53 pm
Dear Dad,
“We” are not going to Tech together. Very sad quote.
Bout time PJ. Pathetic.
ToeMeetsLeather
April 2nd, 2012
10:53 pm
Looks like a very solid pick-up for what for sure will be a very selective class with only 14-15 spots.
CPJ will finally start to have a team with experience this year with by far the most upper classmen he’s had on the flats. 2012 will be the start of the true CPJ era, and we will see just how successfull he can be at TECH.
Good luck Travis, and get those test scores required by the “Hill”!
Pat
April 2nd, 2012
10:53 pm
They already down graded him b/c he chose tech right.
FB fan
April 2nd, 2012
10:54 pm
Hey congrats Travis. Sometimes choices are not popular to many but I think you made a good choice and people should respect your decision to further your education. Good Luck and forget the haters; they probably never played sports.
Tdawg
April 2nd, 2012
10:56 pm
2.9 GPA ya say. What happened to that, ” we only except the highest academically qualified students”? Still all in all, not a bad choice. Congrats Mr Curtis.
Taco
April 2nd, 2012
10:57 pm
Kid runs like a beast through contact. I am glad he ain’t from Carver or Stephenson.
UGA gets all the great players every year and they win tons of titles over there. Oh wait maybe I meant to say they get lots of dope smokers and transfers.
I hope Zach Mettenberger Rothlesberger beats the hell out of the Dogs again this year!
GT Man
April 2nd, 2012
10:57 pm
Wow !!!!! Finally !!!!!!, somebody chose GT over some Big name schools besides Wofford, Elon Memphis or The Citadel !!!!