Archive for May, 2012

Did you ever see the new video on Todd Gurley?

He’s the 4-star running back from Tarboro, N.C., who signed with UGA over Clemson, among others. He’s buddies with Keith Marshall, another elite tailback from North Carolina who also signed with UGA this past year.

Marshall enrolled early at UGA, while Gurley will report this summer.

Marshall or Gurley, or both, are expected to push incumbent Isaiah Crowell for playing time this fall.

Which one – Gurley or Marshall – do you think will have the quickest impact at UGA?

Some people think Gurley is  more “college ready” at this point, while other  speculate that Marshall might have  the edge because he had the benefit  to go through the spring (although he was injured some) with UGA.

Regardless, UGA fans seem to excited about both new additions.

JUST IN

• Nick Saban shares stamps; Recruit gets 52 letters in ONE DAY from Georgia Tech
• QB commits to D1 school before ever visiting it
• College prospects are being watched … on Facebook and …

Continue reading Todd Gurley: 4-star RB ready to make impact at UGA this year? »

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An Atlanta football recruit got 52 letters in one day from Georgia Tech.

Charles Mack, a safety from Wesleyan, said he checked his mailbox last week and discovered a big package from Georgia Tech. It was really big.

“I opened it up, and it had typed letters, hand-written letters, newsletters from the school … 52 in all,” Mack told the AJC.

“I was shocked and surprised. I started reading all of them, and I still haven’t finished.”

It’s a creative but not unique recruiting tactic: Earlier this spring, Nick Saban made headlines after Alabama sent 105 letters in one day to another Atlanta recruit.

“I think it caught all of us by surprise,” said Mack’s father, Charles II, who played fullback at Georgia Tech from 1983-87.

“For them to send 52 letters through the mail in one day, including a personal letter from each coach on the staff, it spoke highly of Georgia Tech … As an alum, I was excited for my son. Of course, Georgia Tech has a wide array of things …

Continue reading Recruit gets 52 letters in ONE DAY from Georgia Tech »

The last MVP Camp for high school football prospects will be at 5 p.m. Friday at Alpharetta High School. Go here for more information and to register for $40.

MVP Camp is owned and operated by Scout.com’s Chad Simmons and 247sports.com’s Rusty Mansell.

Mansell on how MVP Camps started: “I was going to other camps/ combines and leaving not seeing players in football situations. I approached Chad Simmons back early in 2010 and we got together and had our first camp in March of that year. We want to see kids compete and put them in more football situations. They are going to run 40’s, do vertical jumps, and other things are all the other camps. At MVP Camps, you are going to get a height/weight and run two 40’s and then you are going to go to work. We have a  heavy focus of group work and 1 on 1’s … What you do at MVP Camp is what you are going to do at college camps. We have had numerous kids call us saying that did the exact same thing at camps like Georgia, Alabama, Florida …

Continue reading Updates on MVP Camp, FBU Camp »

College football prospects are being watched on Twitter and Facebook.

And many of them know it.

Jordan Watkins realized it after attending a WrestleMania event last year. “One of the Ohio State coaches was messaging me, asking who was winning and who was doing what,” said the Woodward Academy defensive tackle who signed with Stanford last February. “That kind of woke me up to it.”

Shaq Wiggins discovered it after tweeting out some song lyrics. “When I was talking to some coaches in person, they were like ‘I like so and so song that you put on Twitter’ and I was surprised they had paid attention,” said the Sandy Creek High School cornerback who is committed to Georgia.

Brandon Kublanow, the highly-recruited offensive lineman, knew after attending his prom at Walton High School. “I had coaches look through my Facebook photos, and were telling me I looked nice in this or that one.”

He's back … Mark Richt on Twitter (AJC)

Social Media is a new and popular way for …

Continue reading College prospects are being watched on Facebook and Twitter »

QB Justin Holman (247sports)

Stephenson High School, which is known as one of the state’s top producers of college football talent, is sending its quarterback to Central Florida.

Justin Holman committed to UCF over Wake Forest, Marshall, South Alabama and Florida International.

What’s interesting is that Holman made his decision without first taking a visit to UCF’s campus.

“I heard it was a great area and a great school from my [high school] coaches, and one of my former teammates who plays down there,” Holman  said.

“But the main reason was because of the UCF coaches, with how honest and genuine they were. They were honest and frank throughout the whole recruiting process. They were real, from the beginning. Honesty was key, and I appreciated it.

“I also know that Central Florida is going to the Big East in 2013, and that was a big thing for me. It’s an up-and-coming program.”

The 6-foot-4, 201-pounder is a dual-threat quarterback who was being recruited by most schools at …

Continue reading Justin Holman: QB commits to D1 school before visiting it »

How do you feel about UGA’s 2013 recruiting class so far?

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The Bulldogs are off to a fast start with 17 commitments, including the last two at their biggest position of need – offensive line.

UGA could sign around 30 in February.

How would you grade this class so far? Which prospects do you like the most? Which are the ones that UGA needs to keep an eye on due to attention from competing colleges?

What are the biggest remaining needs for this class? Which positions? Which players?

Please post below.

UGA commits for 2013

1. RB Derrick Henry, 6-3, 241, Yulee, Fla.
2. QB Brice Ramsey, 6-3, 190, Camden County HS
3. S Tray Matthews, 6-2, 205, Newnan HS
4. DB Shaq Wiggins, 5-10, 160, Sandy Creek HS
5. DB Steven Nelson, 6-0, 185, College of Sequoias JC (Northside-WR HS)
6. DT Chris Mayes, 6-4, 295, Mississippi Gulf Coast JC (Spalding HS)
7. DT DeAndre “Moose” Johnson, 6-3, 311, Northgate HS

Continue reading How would you grade UGA’s 2013 recruiting class so far? »

Georgia Tech secured a "package deal" from Tri-Cities HS — offensive linemen No. 73 Jeremi Hall (6-5, 350) and No. 71 Shamire Devine (6-7, 331)

A package deal of offensive linemen to Georgia Tech is complete.

Jeremi Hall, a 6-foot-5, 350-pounder from Tri-Cities High School, committed to Georgia Tech on Saturday. Hall followed in the footsteps of his Tri-Cities teammate, Shamire DeVine, who committed to Georgia Tech last week.

“Georgia Tech recruited me the hardest, to this point,” Hall told the AJC.

Hall is a 4-star who is ranked as the nation’s No. 6 offensive guard by Rivals.com.

Hall, who has a 3.3 GPA and may study Computer Science or Architecture, has early football scholarship offers from Virginia Tech, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Purdue and Kentucky, among others. He nearly committed to the Yellow Jackets during a February visit.

Georgia Tech now has five commitments for its 2013 football recruiting class – with two being running backs. The Yellow Jackets project to sign …

Continue reading Commit! Georgia Tech completes package deal of O-linemen »

TE AJ Jackson (AJC)

Posted 3:44 p.m. Saturday

AJ Jackson, one of the state’s top prospects at tight end, committed to Auburn on Saturday.

The 6-foot-6, 245-pounder from Lovejoy High School picked Auburn over South Carolina, Missouri and Virginia among 21 football scholarship offers. He is ranked as a 4-star tight end by Rivals.

“I came up to Auburn for the ‘Big Cat’ weekend with my family, and it just felt like the perfect fit,” Jackson told the AJC. “Auburn has everything I’m looking for in a school, with academics and athletics. And it was perfect timing to commit with my family here and everything.”

Last year as a junior, Jackson was one of the star players for a Lovejoy team that reached the Class AAAA state championship, losing to Tucker. Jackson started both ways at tight end and defensive end.

“I’m happy for AJ; I’ve had four other players from here go to Auburn and I’m very familiar with Auburn,” Lovejoy coach Al Hughes said.

“He’s an outstanding football player, and …

Continue reading AJ Jackson: Auburn gets commitment from 4-star tight end »

Did UGA hire one of Robert Nkemdiche’s former high school coaches to get an advantage for the No. 1 college football prospect in the nation?

It’s a JFK conspiracy theory that has been debated here and here and other places all over the Internet.

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For the record, UGA recently hired Daryl Jones as its Director of On-Campus Recruiting – which is the most critical behind-the-scenes job in the recruiting department.

Jones was an assistant (in charge of defensive backs) at Grayson High School for 2009 season, when a talented freshman named “Big Rob” split time between the freshmen team and varsity roster. Soon after, Jones took another job running Under Armour camps before he was hired by UGA.

Nkemdiche and Jones are friends. So now the popular question for Internet message boards – Did UGA hire Nkemdiche’s former coach to get an advantage?

Grayson coach Mickey Conn chuckled when …

Continue reading Robert Nkemdiche: Did UGA hire coach to get No. 1 prospect? »

Who is the state's best QB prospect? Atlanta Elite 11 QB MVP Anthony Jennings is part of unusually deep and talented 2013 class in Georgia (AJC)

One of the Southeast’s top quarterbacks has released a list of his 10 finalists.

Anthony Jennings, a 6-foot-1, 205-pounder from Marietta High School, was named MVP of the Alanta Elite 11 QB camp last month.

“He wanted to narrow it down to make it more manageable,” Marietta coach Scott Burton told the AJC. “He ended up with around 35 scholarship offers. He wanted to get it down to 10 to take a harder look at those schools, and then let the other ones move on with other quarterbacks they are recruiting.”

Here’s the 10 in alphabetical order:

• Alabama
• Arkansas
• LSU
• Mississippi State
• Missouri
• Nebraska
• Ole Miss
• Oregon
• South Florida
• Wisconsin

Jennings grew up a fan of UGA, where his father played college football. However, the Bulldogs already have a commitment at the QB position with Brice Ramsey of Camden County.

What’s next for Anthony? …

Continue reading Anthony Jennings: QB releases his 10 finalists »