Archive for June, 2012

Brendan Langley, one of the state’s top cornerbacks, still won’t say what knocked UGA from No. 1 to No. 4 on his list of favorite colleges earlier this month. Well, Langley will, but he won’t go too much into details.

UGA DB target Brandan Langley

“I had a little bit of a misunderstanding with Georgia but it’s already been cleared up for a while now,” Langley told the AJC on Sunday from Los Angeles, without offering more information.

The 6-foot-1, 185-pounder from Kell High School bumped UGA out of the top spot earlier this month, and now has Alabama, Tennessee and South Carolina as his top three.

What about UGA? There was speculation on message boards that Langley was concerned that the Bulldogs had too many commits at cornerback with five, although Tramel Terry and JJ Green are expected to play offense in college. Langley denies it.

“Message boards are ridiculous … you and I both know that,” Langley said. “I’m not going to concern myself with message boards. Whatever the …

Continue reading Brendan Langley: How did UGA go from No. 1 to No. 4 with star DB? »

Mark Richt is waiting on the final two members of UGA's 2012 class (AJC)

UGA’s Mark Richt is still waiting on two members of his 2012 football recruiting class to report to summer school.

The Bulldogs signed 19 recruits last February, with three enrolling at UGA early. Everybody else reported earlier this month for summer school, except for two – defensive tackle John Atkins and linebacker Leonard Floyd, who are still being reviewed by the NCAA Clearinghouse.

“They’re still in the hunt, and that’s a good thing,” Richt said of Atkins and Floyd. “That’s where we are at.”

“Historically with our [signees], most of them come in early June, and then there’s one or two that come around the second session, which is around July 4,” Richt said. “And then there are some guys that don’t make it until camp starts. That happens every once in a while, too. We’ll just see.

“Some guys go down to the wire, as far as a test score or the Clearinghouse, to say they’re good. Sometimes it takes that …

Continue reading UGA’s Mark Richt waiting on 2 — “They’re still in hunt” »

Three months ago, Georgia Tech didn’t have any commitments for its 2013 football recruiting class.

While some Tech fans were panicking, coach Paul Johnson maintained his cool — saying he “wasn’t too concerned” because it was so early in the process.

Fast forward three months and Georgia Tech has eight commitments. The Yellow Jackets were briefly ranked in the top 25 of the Rivals.com team rankings.

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“It’s the same now as I told you before: I felt like we were in pretty good shape,” Johnson told the AJC. “I wasn’t too worried about it. These things [commitments] don’t mean anything until they are signed. It’s just like anything else. I don’t get too hung up on them. There’s a long time between now and February.”

Does Johnson feel better now with eight commitments than when he had zero a few months ago? “I wasn’t feeling bad about how things were …

Continue reading How would you rank Georgia Tech’s 2013 recruiting class so far? »

UGA RB target Alvin Kamara (AJC)

UGA made the cut with one of the nation’s top college football prospects on Wednesday.

The Bulldogs made the top 10 list from RB Alvin Kamara of Norcross High School. If he wasn’t already, Kamara has rapidly become a top priority for UGA after 5-star RB Derrick Henry de-committed from the Bulldogs recently.

“I was shocked because [Henry has] been committed for so long,” Kamara told the AJC. “But I don’t blame him for it. In the end, you gotta make the  right decision for you … not the coaches, not the fans, not anybody else but you.

“And I would say it helped UGA [with me]. No running back commits for 2013. That’s opportunity.”

Kamara’s other finalists are Alabama, Clemson, Oregon, Tennessee, Oklahoma State, Florida State, Florida, USC and Auburn.

“As far as visits go, I want to try and make it to each of the schools in my top 10 this summer,” Kamara said. “And my decision will come after I evaluate each option thoroughly. I just want to make …

Continue reading Alvin Kamara: UGA makes top 10 for 4-star RB »

It has been nearly a week since Robert Nkemdiche’s surprising commitment to Clemson and a lot of people – especially those from Alabama, LSU and Ole Miss – want to know:

Did it really happen?

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Yes, it did. The nation’s No. 1 overall college football prospect did commit to Clemson. It was surprising for many reasons, including the timing of it (Robert could’ve waited until it was time to report next summer).

Nkemdiche’s high school coach at Grayson, Mickey Conn, provided some insight on the situation. He actually drove Nkemdiche last Wednesday to Clemson for summer camp, and says he had “no idea” that Robert intended to commit.

“Oh no, I had no idea,” Conn said. “I drove him up there because he wanted to go. I thought he was going to commit in February and I didn’t know where. I had no idea he was going to do it last week.

“But then he decided that’s what he wanted to do. I think …

Continue reading Robert Nkemdiche to Clemson — Did that really happen? »

No. 1 recruit Devonte Washington

One day after Georgia State lost its first commitment for 2013, another recruit claimed the honor.

Devonte Washington of Jacksonville, Fla., committed to Georgia State over Iowa State and Florida Atlantic on Tuesday.

The 6-foot-2, 185-pound wide receiver is Georgia State’s first commitment for this year’s class and he didn’t even realize it until he was informed by a reporter.

“No sir, I wasn’t aware of that but it feels good,” Washington told the AJC. “Well, it’s not really a big deal because I already had my mind up that I was committing to Georgia State today. That’s why I got here early.”

On Tuesday, Washington made his first-ever trip to Georgia State. He had been to Atlanta before, even visiting Georgia Tech, which had showed some interest but has yet to offer. Washington said he missed out on the opportunity to meet with Georgia State coach Bill Curry because he was out of the office but went ahead committed to a couple of assistants.

“I …

Continue reading Georgia State picks up first 2013 commit … again »

Nigel Bowden said he no longer plans any future visits to Georgia Tech.

Will third time be a charm for 4-star LB? (AJC)

The 4-star linebacker from Central Macon High School has had a roller-coaster ride in recruiting over the last few months: He committed to Vanderbilt in March, switched to Georgia Tech on June 1, then opened things back up the very next day because he felt like he rushed it.

After two de-commits, Bowden said there won’t be a third one.

The 6-foot, 238-pounder made an unofficial visit to Vanderbilt last weekend and committed to the Commodores for a second time.

“It felt more like a family down there,” Bowden said. “I felt very comfortable around the freshmen and other recruits committed now, guys like [Cedar Grove QB] Johnathon McCrary. We’re all ready to come together as a team.”

What was the deciding factors between Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech?  “I feel like I fit in better in Vanderbilt’s 4-3 defense than  I did with the 3-4 at Georgia  Tech. And in …

Continue reading 4-star LB picks Vanderbilt for second time after de-committing from Georgia Tech »

The Florida quarterback who became Georgia State’s first commitment for 2013 … changed his mind two days later.

On Saturday, DJ Juste of Port St. Lucie, Fla., pledged to Georgia State.  On Monday, he called Georgia State coach Bill Curry. At that point, Juste wasn’t calling to de-commit but to let Georgia State he would be visiting other schools.

“I slept on it for two days and it hit me that I committed … I felt like I rushed it a little bit,” Juste told the AJC on Monday night. “I told Coach Bill Curry that I was still going to visit other schools and he got kind of upset. I mean, you could hear it in his voice.”

A couple of hours later, Juste said he contacted Georgia State assistant Anthony Midget and officially de-committed. “Coach [Midget] was understanding. He said it was hard to get mad because it’s a big decision because it will affect the next 4-5 years of my life. He said they still want me.”

What’s next for the QB? The 6-foot-1, 185-pounder wants to wait until …

Continue reading Georgia State’s 1st commit for 2013 … changes his mind »

UGA added commit No 19 (AP)

UGA regained some recruiting momentum over the weekend when it picked up commitment No. 19 – little-known WR/DB Rico Johnson of Swainsboro High School. He earned a football scholarship offer from UGA after turning in some blistering 40 times at Saturday’s Mark Richt Camp, and committed on the spot, picking the Bulldogs over Appalachian  State and Marshall. Johnson was off the recruiting radar because he was ineligible to play as a junior after transferring high schools. Go here to read more … The two most important visitors at the camp were a pair of 5-stars – former Troup High School LB Reuben Foster (committed to Alabama) and OL Laremy Tunsil of Lake City, Fla. The good-natured Tunsil appeared in Winnie the Pooh socks at the camp and later named UGA, Florida and Alabama as his three leaders, according to ESPN.

How many Georgia Tech games were decided last season by special teams? To the delight of many Tech fans, the Yellow Jackets picked up a …

Continue reading Kenny Anderson, Stephon Marbury, Mark Price and … Solomon Poole? »

UGA’s newest recruit, Rico Johnson, cried after was he was offered a football scholarship at Saturday’s Mark Richt Camp.

They were tears of joy.

“That was my dream school; I always wanted to go there,” Johnson told the AJC. “I told myself if I ever got an offer from Georgia, that would be the school I would go to.”

Mark Richt picked up a new commitment after losing two earlier this week (AP photo)

The 5-foot-11, 171-pound Johnson is a wide receiver and defensive back from Swainsboro High School. He picked UGA over offers from Appalachian State and Marshall. He was virtually unknown to recruiters because he was ineligible to play last season as a junior after transferring high schools.

On Saturday, Johnson earned an offer on the spot after a dazzling performance, including being clocked at 4.25 and 4.28 seconds in the 40-yard dash.

Toward the end of camp, UGA coach Mark Richt called Johnson over to speak. “He said ‘How would you like to be a Dawg?’ It made me cry. I went over …

Continue reading Rico Johnson: UGA gets commitment No. 19 »