Jack Banda: Arizona gets commitment from Nkemdiche’s teammate
Jack Banda committed to Arizona on Friday, without visiting the school first. But the 6-foot-4, 220-pound defensive end from Grayson High School had his reasons.
DE-TE Jack Banda (AJC)
“Because that’s a big offer and I didn’t want to let it sit on the table,” Banda explained. “I wanted to seal the deal and not let anything slip away.”
Banda said Arizona stopped by Grayson last month to watch his spring football practice, but he was playing with the school’s baseball team in the state playoffs. Banda is a pitcher and first baseman. Arizona offered a football scholarship on Monday, and Banda accepted. He also had offers from Florida International and UNC Charlotte.
“It’s a really good offer and it’s in the Pac-12,” Banda said. “And they’ve got a new coach with Rich Rodriquez. Everything is looking good over there, and I’ve always wanted to go to the West Coast. They have nice weather over there and it’s different.”
Banda played defensive end and tight end this past season at Grayson, which won the Class AAAAA state championship. He is in the same class as DE Robert Nkemdiche, the nation’s No. 1 overall prospect, and RB Wayne Gallman, who committed to Clemson.
OVER THE WEEKEND
- How did Alabama visit go for … UGA’s TOP recruit?
- UGA edges out Georgia Tech in rare head-to-head battle for in-state recruit
- OL who appeared to be on brink of committing to UGA … picks South Carolina
- Steve Spurrier strikes again: Two Georgia commits in two days
- Nick Saban finally lands a Georgia QB for Alabama
- Robert Nkemdiche’s teammate will go west
AND THE RECRUITING NEWS KEEPS COMING
- Son ex-UGA player commits to play QB at LSU
- Notre Dame plucks away one of Georgia’s best prospects
- Should UGA be worried about 5-star RB Derrick Henry visiting … Alabama?
- Georgia Tech’s entire recruiting class gets GREEN LIGHT
- Hmmm … Florida and UGA agree to NOT host recruits for annual showdown
- UGA football signee forced to delay enrollment
- Georgia Tech FLIPS commitment of 4-star LB
YOU’VE GOT MAIL
- Nick Saban shares stamps; Recruit gets 52 letters in ONE DAY from Georgia Tech
- How would you grade UGA’s 2013 class so far?
- Did UGA hire Robert Nkemdiche’s coach to get No. 1 prospect??
- Mark Richt and Paul Johnson discuss Facebook and Twitter
- UGA offers top prospect after initially saying he was … “too weak”
- Mark Richt has a little secret
- Will Alabama sign BOTH of Georgia’s top football prospects?
- Robert Nkemdiche: No. 1 prospect officially delays his college decision
- Nick Saban on his Georgia recruiting success: “Well, I still have a home in Georgia”
– By Michael Carvell, AJC Recruiting Blog
- 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.
Got an item? mcarvell@ajc.com
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34 comments Add your comment
01HAWK
June 8th, 2012
9:26 pm
He will get more offers and change his mind.
Lakedawg
June 8th, 2012
10:28 pm
Slick Nick will find a gray shirt for him to sew up Kendiche.
Tdawg
June 8th, 2012
10:41 pm
Does this now mean that Nkemdiche will go to Arizona?
bwell
June 8th, 2012
11:00 pm
Congrats! Make the our State proud.
Blackoutanyone?
June 8th, 2012
11:22 pm
Lakedwag… I think Richt is the one in the buisness of offering coaching jobs to friends of Nkemdiche.
A person SMART enough to know......
June 8th, 2012
11:27 pm
WHY does Mrs. Nkem’s name have to be added to this story? Is Mrs. Nkem calling these coaches trying to get HER boys considered?
Blackoutanyone?
June 8th, 2012
11:30 pm
MC… Arizona is not a player for Nkemdiche. Just a friendly suggestion… I think the “Nkemdiche’s teammate” should’ve been in the report and not the title. This is a big moment for this kid and in no way will affect Robert Nkemdiche’s decision. I just think we should celebrate this accomplishment for Jack Banda.
GT = 10 time loser to Mark Richt
June 9th, 2012
12:02 am
Nkemdiche’s name was only used by Carvell just to get you to click on an uninteresting article.
GT = 10 time loser to Mark Richt
June 9th, 2012
12:03 am
Nkemdiche’s name was only used by MC so you’d click on an uninteresting article.
Fan
June 9th, 2012
2:31 am
Wow. Can’t believe it, but I actually agree with you blackout (about using Nkemdiche’s name in article). Who would have thought…..
Game Changer
June 9th, 2012
8:06 am
UGA scouting report on Jack Banda
Jack Banda — White — Good Grades — Could represent UGA well — XXX
Others — Black — academic risk — lets waste time and money and offer
Mark Richt and Butts Mehre Leadership is Terrible
And people wonder why UGA has such high attrition and trouble. Many will call this racist but I see Jack Banda as a quality young man that would make UGA Alums and football team proud. This is the very kind of recruit that Boise State signs and then kicks schools like UGA ass with.
RHall55
June 9th, 2012
8:21 am
Game Changer, same IMO on Max Garcia, OL!! When Max was @ Norcross, he was told he was not good enough to be an OL @ UGA; now, look @ him, will start for FL next year and is a NFL Prospect; and UGA wanted him now!! CRG needs to go as RC!! Has lost too many top notch kids that are starting all over the country!! C’mon Man. do your job!!
Vampire Bill
June 9th, 2012
8:26 am
No wonder Nkemdiche is a prima-dona? Next headline will be Vampire Bill goes to Walmart once visited by Nkemdiche
Game Changer
June 9th, 2012
8:36 am
RHall55: Max Garcia is just one of many dozen football players each year in GA that would turn on the field and off the field issues into an area of pride for the University of Georgia.
No leadership and a bunch of no balls followers ——
bitter//dawgs insider
June 9th, 2012
8:42 am
@shame changer———Nobody invited you on here——your a trailer trap hater and bring no game
just negitive crap———————-tusk-ur-looser
bitter//dawgs insider
June 9th, 2012
8:45 am
@Cravell——————–Not being to hard michael but how about some stats on this kid
like try calling him and conduct a real interview!!!!———try a cup of joe before calling
————————–JUST SAYINNG————–enjoy most of your stuff though
Blackoutanyone?
June 9th, 2012
10:17 am
Fan… we have more in common than you would think. I love to win… you love to win. Here’s where we differ… I pull for a program that is a winner. You pull for Georgia. LOL
Notso fast
June 9th, 2012
10:34 am
Grayson won last year because they had a lot of good players. Lets give this young man credit and say he earned the offer. Nkemdiche does not have to be mentioned. He will get his day.
June 9th, 2012
12:03 am
Nkemdiche’s
to Mark Richt
June 9th, 2012
12:03 am
Nkemdiche’s
cdpridg
June 9th, 2012
11:09 am
Blackout….you say this….but to me it looks as if you are consumed by all things Ga football.
Big Dawg
June 9th, 2012
11:15 am
Game Changer you are starting to show your true color with that comment
Game Changer
June 9th, 2012
11:51 am
Enter your comments here
Coriolus Effect
June 9th, 2012
12:02 pm
Jack Banda is an . . . interesting looking gentleman.
Game Changer
June 9th, 2012
12:02 pm
Guess you missed I said Max Garcia would have been a great recruit for UGA, he is black D A.
Less than 1 out of 5 players signed out of high to UGA football scholarship is white, unacceptable to ” ME “. No excuse good enough to justify
UGA needs to sign Kids that are good athletes, will project a good image for the University, student body and alums, and will take the opportunity for a free education serious getting a degree. UGA football graduation rate of kids signed out of high school is terrible. Some class have more of the players arrested, thrown off the team or fail out than graduate, GREAT STAT FOR MARK RICHT.
I am not against signing blacks to football scholarships in any way. I do not see why it is so hard to sing 20 to 25 very good players each year that we can all be proud of and will ” DO RIGHT “. Only a lazy group of people like Richt and Staff along with the Pres, Athletic Director and Board of Regents would allow the embarrasing acts of the UGA football program to continue. Accountability, Leadership, none of this exist with UGA FOOTBALL today.
The contract to Richt is silly, nothing changes in anyway from the prior contract with two years remaining other than Richt makes more money and has no buyout any longer, Richt lost nothing and has zero accountability or leadership.
HighTech
June 9th, 2012
12:27 pm
Coriolus Effect
June 9th, 2012
12:02 pm
Jack Banda is an . . . interesting looking gentleman.
———————————————-
http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRbPA3qJY6xO7Mex6rzvrxasQJWFOK4WPz_V8OXRj3gJ4yBzcB0
HighTech
June 9th, 2012
12:42 pm
I apologize for that. Best of luck to Jack Banda at Arizona. Jack Banda just sounds like a football player’s name. Blackjack Banda will decapitate some poor PAC12 quarterback.
Wet Willie...keep on smiling
June 9th, 2012
12:49 pm
lakepuppy showing his Bama envy…again…..good thing you got the preacher man’s buyout lower so you can fire him after two more seasons. All that PR bullsheet for that…heck the yellafella paid 5 million to boot Tubbs just so he could call Houston Nutt on Saturday Night after Bama blistered that AU behind in 2008. Your brilliant AD spends a year trying to reduce the dream team creator’s buyout and still has the missing man team for two years. Your AD is hell on the women coaches though…tuff guy. He learned from Foley right? I mean arrrest is right up with the best of them much like Foley at Florida. It’s a great thing the folks over at UGA are so well educated at the Hivard of the South in Athens for you sure do come across as stupid to most outside of the red and black.
irish dawg
June 9th, 2012
3:20 pm
You are on a roll Game Changer, keep it coming.
Odds and Ends
June 9th, 2012
3:35 pm
Max Garcia was recruited by UGA and chose not to accept the offer.
Gamechanger, you are not PC, that is for sure. Hope someone does not call you a white supremacist for that remark. In the case of this kid, look at his other offers as to why UGA is not recruiting him. No other SEC/ACC schools are either. We (SEC) are all fishing from the same pier when it comes to recruits, most every UGA recruit will have offers from Bama, Auburn, Florida, SC, etc.
Actually, I believe if you check, UGA’s graduation rates for football players is as good or better than most of their SEC brethren.
RIcht has a stricter drug policy than every school in the SEC besides UK. No mulligans for failed drug tests like at other schools. We don’t know how bad the drug problem is at our competition since the number of flunkies is not made public. At UGA we know.
Too bad classiness does not go along with winning, witness the constant stream of cheap shots directed at UGA by Bama fans (though I suspect some are not true Bama fans, but faking the name). I would hope when UGA is winning big again in the near future, our fans can be gracious in victory, though there will undoubtedly be some like the present Tide fans.
DawgInTexas
June 9th, 2012
3:36 pm
@Game Changer – I guess you feel how black athletes felt in the 40’s, 50’s 60’s etc. At the end of the day, it does not matter the color of the athlete at UGA, GT, UF, UK, BAMA etc. When your program is winning it doesn’t matter who makes the game winning play to make the University money.
Money has ALWAYS been color-blind especially if you are a winner. Don’t believe me, ask Bama, UF, LSU, and Auburn fans…..
durrtydogg
June 9th, 2012
4:17 pm
Its pathetic to bring up race in recruiting. Im not even going to entertain that remark. I work with kids every day and Im just happy the young man will be able to continue his education elsewhere. Good luck and I wish you the best!
Game Changer
June 9th, 2012
4:46 pm
@dawgintexas: Alot of truth to you statement 3:36, I disagree with the statement, when your winning it doesn’t matter, its all about the money anyway etc., to most this is the feeling but not to me. Most of the black kids are being exploited by those in power and then they project a image of love and care. IE: the following will be a response to Odds and Ends
@Odds and Ends:
How is it that UGA does the math for those so called good graduation rates by football players that were signed out of high school: You do the math
2008 to 2012: I believe we have signed 103 players out of high school Number may be a tad higher but I am working with 103
Number of signed football players out of high school 103
Number of players no longer on team for whatever reason 35
Number of 2012 players signed in academic mess 2
So now we are down to this number left 66 out of 103 total left
We cannot graduate a number higher than 64% because we are know this cannot happen regarding the football players signed to scholarship out of high school
It is known that from start date of college to 6 year plan graduation rate for UGA football players signed out of high school is no better than 2.5 per every 10 signed. So here is the math odds and rearend, 66 divided by 2.5 = 26 players is the most we can expect to graduate in a six year period of 2008 class to 2012 class.
26 divided by 103 = 25% —– what is UGA telling you the rate is? Pitiful but one thing for sure, while you are at UGA and making the head coach, athletic director and others football employees alot of money, ” They love your boy “, but when elgibility is over or you are done, they are looking for the next young man to exploit for money.
ALABAMA FOOTBALL
June 10th, 2012
5:05 pm
ROLL TIDE!
UGAFanatic2000
June 10th, 2012
9:25 pm
Banda is an athlete and can play multiple positions…check him out receiving (#82):
http://www.ihigh.com/ng7on7/broadcast_229387.html?silverlight=1
JasperJacket
June 13th, 2012
11:01 am
One summer in Tucson will modify this young man’s vision that he is going to the “West Coast” and also the “nice weather”