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AJC College Sports Recruiting

Nigel Bowden: Ex-Georgia Tech commit is still considering Jackets

3:15 pm June 14, 2012, by Michael Carvell

4-star LB Nigel Bowden says he will likely sign with Vanderbilt or Georgia Tech (AJC)

4-star LB Nigel Bowden says he will likely sign with Vanderbilt or Georgia Tech (AJC)

Nigel Bowden, who recently de-committed from Georgia Tech, said he is still considering the Yellow Jackets and will likely sign with them or Vanderbilt.

The 6-foot, 238-pounder from Central Macon High School originally committed to Vanderbilt then switched to Georgia Tech in early June. One day after making the switch, Bowden said he realized he may have rushed his decision.

The 4-star linebacker is currently not committed to any school.

“I talked with my coach, my family and everybody, and they felt like I might be doing things in too much of a rush … and after thinking about it some, I felt the same way,” Bowden told the AJC on Thursday.

“This is one of the biggest decisions of my life, and they want me to be happy at the place I’m going to spend the next 4-5 years of my life. So I decided to take a step back and look at everything some more. I’m going to visit Georgia Tech and Vanderbilt a lot more, and it’s going to be either one of them.”

Bowden said Georgia Tech recruiting coordinator Andy McCollum was sympathetic about the situation when they talked. “Coach Andy understood what I was doing and why I was doing it. He told me I need to handle things in the way that make me feel most comfortable.”

What’s next for Bowden? He was supposed to make an unofficial visit  to Vanderbilt this weekend but had to cancel because of his family’s car trouble. He hopes to make at least another trip to both Georgia Tech and Vanderbilt this summer, and then take official visits to each finalist in the fall.

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83 comments Add your comment

Rick James

June 14th, 2012
9:35 pm

@HighTech

June 14th, 2012
8:31 pm

Rick James…Do you know Bruce Burch?
——————————————————–
I only know of him..Very successful and talented guy..

Supersize that order, mutt

June 14th, 2012
9:42 pm

@ bitter……if you don’t like him, then go somewhere else. Nobody’s forcing you to be here

Steverino

June 14th, 2012
9:45 pm

Either school would be an outstanding choice…that’s why it’s difficult choosing one over the other. It’s wise of you to step back and take your time.

www

June 14th, 2012
9:49 pm

it’s good to be a yellow jacket. i look forward to seeing bowden on the flats.

Southerndirtroad

June 14th, 2012
9:56 pm

Ga Tech does not like male players behaving in a female fickle manner, saying they chose one school, got ajc write up and blog posts, and then changed their mind. I’m not sure Tech needs this fickle high schooler. Granted, he hasn’t signed on the dotted line, but he has drawn attention as being female fickle-like. Ga Tech used to be all male, and had mostly males when I was there from 69 to 73. If this kid signs with Vandy, he signs with a SEC team that would lose to Ga Tech whenever they would play them.

Nashtown

June 14th, 2012
10:13 pm

SEC and ACC fans have a hard time believing this but Vanderbilt is committed to winning SEC football and that means Eastern Division and SEC championships. Yes, most everyone reading this may say no way. Watch it. Franklin is the real deal. He has a great staff. VU will pay to keep the staff. They are upgrading facilities like never before.

You hang around the staff, the players and culture they have now and you see this change and commitment is for real. The recruits see it is for real as well. More top players will be committing soon. Next year recruiting will be even better. The current players have developed and improved like never before. Seriously folks, Vandy is for real and not playing around anymore.

1 4 GT

June 14th, 2012
10:47 pm

bitter—-I’ll stop SMART if you’ll stop Dick James—-deal????

A person SMART enough to know......

June 14th, 2012
11:27 pm

BITTER………….That was not NAME DROPPING………..It was WORK we did for REBA…….

Ramblin Man

June 15th, 2012
12:10 am

Nashtown I get that Vandy is on the way but the problem Vandy will have is if Franklin keeps showing he can win/compete at Vandy a better football school is going to come around and take him.

GO BLUE

June 15th, 2012
3:41 am

It is in the best interest for UGA to get this recruit to GT for in state purposes but I see some are so against GT that they don’t realize this,,,,,GO UM

The real deal

June 15th, 2012
8:36 am

What’s funny tech fans is that no matter how much you jump on us for not having anything to show for out top 5 classes, you guys can still not beat us. What’s bad is you guys have to root for other teams to beat us because God knows the jackets can’t beat the dawgs. 10-1 and still
Counting hahahaha

cdpridg

June 15th, 2012
8:54 am

Funny thing is that day after day you have the same so called tech loser trolls on UGA related articles everyday. This is an example of a good article on a positive note about a potential recruit and you see none of them with the exception of enough to know. I give him a little props I think he actually supports the tech program. The rest are just miserable people

JimJacket

June 15th, 2012
9:37 am

I agree Nigel, it is a very important decision. Take your time, and do what’s right by you. However, the car trouble may be a good indication that you need to be closer to home so that your family can watch you play on Saturdays. Best of luck to you.

jimmyFranklin

June 15th, 2012
10:14 am

If he goes to Ga Tech I will personally fly in a helicopter down to Atlanta and kick Andy McCollum’s butt.

bravesfan79

June 15th, 2012
10:42 am

You will never win a conference title or get into a final 4 playoff with Vandy. With GT you gotta chance!

wreckmaniac

June 15th, 2012
12:25 pm

Either Vandy or Tech is a wise choice. This is a smart kid. He has the right to vacillate.

JM

June 15th, 2012
12:58 pm

This kid should never have committed. He is obviously confused by the process. He really should have made his visits first.

Al Bundy

June 15th, 2012
1:45 pm

If you step back and take a look at both schools, the cities where they are located and their football programs, GT is the obvious choice. Both schools are a great place to get an exceptional education. Both schools are located in great cities, but both don’t have outstanding football programs. Vandy never competes for the SEC championship or winning their division. Vandy is lucky to be on TV more than once or twice a season and it’s even more rare for them to play in a bowl game. GT on the other hand does compete to win their division and most years are in the running for an ACC championship. GT is on TV several times a year and GT goes to a bowl game almost every year. No brainer! GT is the ONLY choice!

GTFan2012

June 15th, 2012
2:37 pm

Look GT clearly has more history and is able to attract more talent than Vandy, but I have to admit, James Franklin has done a good job of making Vandy relevant in the SEC (not an easy out like they used to be) and has been able to utilize the position of the SEC to attract some good talent to Nashville. If he can sustain this for four or five years we will have to give him his props and Vandy will have the opportunity to make some waves in the SEC. Now I still think the chances of them winning a conference title are less than 1%.

Now having said all that, Vandy is a great private academic institution. Any true student athlete would have to take a long hard look at a scholarship offer from Vandy. For certain majors, it would be a no brainer to pick Vandy over GT, for other majors, just the opposite.

Nashtown

June 15th, 2012
4:03 pm

Ok, I hear you guys. Vandy has not done this, does not have that, will never win the SEC, never on TV, etc. Every other school has this and that.

Those days are over and never coming back. VU will not lose Franklin because of money or lack of support. You guys watch. VU will be winning big-time, on TV regularly, signing the top recruits, and become one of the top destination football programs in the south. They have advantages that no other SEC school and ACC school has and now they are committed to winning SEC championships.

I know it is hard for SEC fans and other program fans to believe this. And yes, btw, for people that have lived in both cities – Nashville and Atlanta – nearly all prefer Nashville if it is their choice.

BLT

June 15th, 2012
4:21 pm

I like Nashville and wish Vanderbilt the best. I wish Niget the best wherever he goes.Go Jackets!

BLT

June 15th, 2012
4:22 pm

Oh yeah, please beat UGA! You guys came close last year so it’s possible.Go Dores!

Al Bundy

June 15th, 2012
5:44 pm

@Nashtown I hope Vandy does make a run at the big boys in SEC. I like Vandy and I think they’ve got a fine coaching staff. In fact one of my best friends and co-workers played football at Vandy in the late 70’s and his father played in the early 50’s. I just believe at this point in time GT has the better program. Give Vandy a few more years under their current coaching staff and it’s likely to be a toss up. I just hope Niget does well where ever he ends up and more importantly gets his degree while he’s there. Good luck to Vandy and Go Jackets!

Techie

June 15th, 2012
7:55 pm

@Rick James–she’s dancing in Nashville, what’s the name of your club there?

Techie

June 15th, 2012
7:58 pm

@Ramblinman–you’re right, you know we had the best bowl record in the nation for 100 yrs now we can’t beat Sand Diego St.(no disrespect but damn)

Techie

June 15th, 2012
8:02 pm

with all this silly recruit mind changing a coach really has got to love this game, I wonder why they even bother to ask a kid for a comittment or get excited if he gives one……

Techie

June 15th, 2012
8:26 pm

C’mon Nigel, we’d love to have ya, Tech has raised from her family and spent over 100 million dollars on all their athletic facilities in the last couple of years, MONEY there, athletic history there, top education there, great close rivalries there, close to home there, folks who will care about you there, play on TV most every week, for sure a bowl game there and a route to the NFL. We want you especially if you want us but if you want Vandy, then that’s where you should go.
We do need SMART LB’s.

Supersize that order, mutt

June 16th, 2012
1:40 pm

A new commitment for Tech today—–Harrison Butker, kicker, from The Westminister Schools in Atlanta. Tech won out over Auburn. We definitely need a good kicker.

Nigel Bowden - Page 2

June 16th, 2012
5:52 pm

[...] for quite a while …….. as I said earlier, at least he is considering two good academic schools. Nigel Bowden: Ex-Georgia Tech commit is still considering Jackets | AJC College Sports Recruiting They are a commit until they sign the papers, really wish we could have early signing. [...]

Nashtown

June 17th, 2012
7:52 pm

Confirmed. Nigel Bowden recommits to VU. Again, the VU football train will not be slowing down but gaining momentum. They are building championships teams at VU. Eastern and SEC champs in the near future.

PopeVanIII

June 18th, 2012
8:55 am

Georgia Tech, LOL. He hadn’t been considering the Jackets for weeks. Just had to get his stupid high-school coach out of the way.

Techboy23

June 18th, 2012
10:00 am

Looks like early playing time opportunty is the key for Bowden’s decision.
We have 14 LB’s on scholarship (only 1 Sr); plus KRobbins (6′5, 240) already commtted over MichST for 2013. Still love to have Nigel, but redshirt is likely at Tech.

beej

June 19th, 2012
9:14 am

Downside: in practices every day you go against VANDERBILT.

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