Archive for October, 2012

The friendship of UGA WR commit Tramel Terry (right) with QB Brice Ramsey may turn out to be critical for the Bulldogs over the next few months (247sports.com)

There’s good news and bad news for UGA about Tramel Terry, the 4-star wide receiver who has already committed to the Bulldogs twice.

The good news is that Terry will make an unofficial visit to UGA this weekend for the Ole Miss game. The bad news for the Bulldogs is that Terry will make a return trip the following weekend to Clemson, according to Palmetto Sports.

There has been rampant speculation that Terry is considering switching to Clemson — and publicly committing for a third time – after he took an official visit with the Tigers a few weeks ago. It has become such a sensitive topic that Terry has mostly avoided the topic of recruiting with reporters. However, he did throw out these comments this week to the website, which have to make UGA fans wonder:

“I’m not talking about (recruiting) right now … I’m …

Continue reading INSIDER: UGA WR commit Tramel Terry to visit Clemson … again »

Tennessee's Derek Dooley in his famous neon orange pants (AP)

Is UGA in danger of losing the commitment of LB Naim Mustafaa after his recent official visit to Tennessee?

“No sir, I’m committed to Georgia,” he said.

The 6-foot-4, 235-pounder is the son of former Georgia Tech standout Najee Mustafaa (Reggie Rutland), who played seven seasons in the NFL. Last summer, the younger Mustafaa was rumored to be on the brink of committing to the Yellow Jackets at one point or another before pledging to UGA.

The 4-star recruit from Alpharetta intends to take a few official visits to other schools, and his first stop was at Tennessee for the Alabama game.

“It was pretty good, the game was pretty packed and Tennessee lost, but I got a lot of love when I was down there,” said Mustafaa, who met the next day with beleaguered coach Derek Dooley.

“He made sure my visit went well, and told me how he could use me in their system. I mean, I do like Tennessee because they run a 3-4 …

Continue reading Naim Mustafaa: UGA LB commit sticking with Bulldogs, despite visits to other colleges »

TE Greg Taboada injured his hamstring at UGA camp before he could be fully evaluated (AJC)

How often does Stanford — or anyone — beat out Alabama in recruiting? Not often.

Stanford edged Alabama for a Georgia tight end who some consider to be the state’s best at his position.

Greg Taboada, a 6-foot-5, 250-pounder from Marist high school, picked Stanford over Alabama, among his other football scholarship offers. Taboada is ranked by ESPN as the state’s No. 9 overall prospect.

“I mean, it was a combination of things but just the new lifestyle and the position a degree from Stanford would put me in after four years,” Taboada told the AJC. “And the skill developing and record they have for tight ends speaks for itself.”

While thinking hard about playing at Alabama, Taboada was waiting to see if he would get an offer from Stanford. He finally got one from the prestigious California school about a month ago, and decided to commit on Sunday night.

“It just felt right, …

Continue reading Greg Taboada: Stanford beats out Alabama for Georgia TE »

One of Georgia Military junior college’s top players, Mario Alford, has committed to Arizona.

The 5-foot-10, 180-pound “athlete” pledged to Arizona after taking an official visit to the school this weekend, picking the Wildcats over Oklahoma State, Washington State, Ole Miss and Cincinnati.

“Arizona has been with him the longest, built a good relationship, and he feels comfortable that Coach (Rich) Rodriquez can utilize him the best in his offense,” GMC coach Bert Williams told the AJC. “He liked the family atmosphere out there, and was impressed with what the other players there had to say about the program, Coach Rodriquez and his staff.”

Alford is a star running back at GMC, rushing for 580 yards and 6 touchdowns in eight games. He can also play wide receiver or cornerback, but will likely stay on offense at Arizona. His coach said he has that “extra burst of speed” that you don’t find in many prospects.

Alford had heavy flirtations with UGA last year …

Continue reading Former UGA DB target commits to Arizona »

The nephew of the most decorated player in UGA history, Herschel Walker, has been offered a football scholarship by archrival Georgia Tech.

Milan Richard is a 6-foot-2, 223-pound tight end from Savannah’s Calvary Day high school. His parents both ran track at UGA, and his mother Veronica is Herschel’s sister.

The 1982 Heisman Trophy winner is not pushing his nephew to play football at UGA (AP)

Georgia Tech is offer No. 9 for Richard, following UGA, South Carolina, NC State, UCLA, Vanderbilt, and Ole Miss, among others. Richard is a junior and considered one of the state’s top 20 prospects for 2014.

Calvary Day coach Mark Stroud was informed of the offer by Georgia Tech assistant Lamar Owens. Richard, who will likely talk directly to Georgia Tech early this week, is interested in what position he is projected to play, since the Yellow Jackets don’t employ a tight end in the triple-option offensive formation. His coach said it didn’t really matter.

“I don’t know …

Continue reading Herschel’s nephew offered football scholarship by Georgia Tech »

DT Jalen Lawrence picks GSU over the big boys (247sports)

Published at 10:40 pm Friday

Georgia State beat out some of the big boys when Jalen Lawrence committed to the Panthers on Friday.

The 6-foot-1, 265-pound defensive tackle from Westside High School of Macon picked Georgia State over Texas Tech, Colorado State, Troy, Middle Tennessee State, Southern University and Georgia Southern, among others.

“At Georgia State, the coaches are friendly and they talked straight up,” his father, Jeff Lawrence told the AJC. “They said ‘This is what we have to offer. We know other schools are looking at you, but this is what we have to offer.’

“I’d be wrong if I said I didn’t want my son in the league (NFL) but education comes first. Football is vehicle to where he wants to get in life … Georgia State doesn’t have an Engineering program but our second choice was Geology, which deals with oil. He wants to work in the oil industry. If he gets a degree in Geology, it …

Continue reading Georgia State beats out big boys for commit No. 9 »

Somewhere in the middle of Kansas, there has been a rebirth of the football career of one of UGA’s former star recruits.

And the kid is doing it at the position that earned all the original accolades and praise – quarterback.

Nick Marshall is putting up Nintendo-like numbers this season while playing quarterback at Garden City junior college in Kansas. He has passed for 2,168 yards and 16 touchdowns, while rushing for 714 yards and 13 touchdowns.

After a legendary high school career at QB, Nick Marshall played one season at UGA at DB before being dismissed

It seems like an entirely different world than last season at UGA, when Marshall showed promise as a freshman by appearing in a few games at defensive back but was later dismissed for an undisclosed violation of team rules. Multiple sources told ESPN that Marshall and another player were connected to an incident involving theft of money.

Marshall then landed at Garden City, where he wasn’t necessarily supposed to play …

Continue reading Nick Marshall: Dismissed UGA player revitalizes football career … at QB »

One of the coolest scenes in college football every year. Recruits not invited (AJC)

UGA athletics director Greg McGarity told the AJC that he hasn’t given any consideration to changing his stance of not inviting football recruits to the annual Georgia-Florida game, despite the fact that SEC rivals are taking full advantage of the new rule.

Under amended SEC legislation passed last June, member schools are permitted to give complimentary tickets to prospects when they are the “home team” at a neutral site, such as Saturday’s game located in the fertile recruiting grounds of Florida.

Soon after the rule was announced, McGarity and his Florida counterpart, Jeremy Foley, made an agreement that neither school would entertain recruits for the “World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party” because of logistical concerns.

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“I think the NCAA rules come into play on the decision …

Continue reading UGA’s Greg McGarity not changing stance on inviting recruits to Jacksonville »

Peach County High School’s Demarcus Robinson is considered by some recruiting analysts to be the state’s best prospect at wide receiver.

Robinson pledged to Clemson over the summer, but now considers himself to be a “soft commit.” He wants to visit both Florida and Notre Dame.

Here’s what Robinson, an AJC Super 11 selection, had to say about the recruiting process:

Continue reading Demarcus Robinson: Clemson “soft commit” talks recruiting, etc. »

Some of Atlanta’s college football prospects will be writing a weekly diary for the AJC until February’s signing day. They will be sharing their thoughts, opinions, adventures and perspectives on the recruiting journey.

Rashard Fant is considered one of the state’s top sleeper prospects. He has been overlooked by many colleges because he attends the small private school of Our Lady of Mercy. On Wednesday, Fant announced that he was committing to Indiana over Utah, FSU and Western Kentucky.

Rashard Fant

Well, things have changed a lot since the last time I wrote my entry; because I am now committed to play with Indiana University. I committed to Indiana on Wednesday mainly because of the relationships I have developed with the other commits in my class, Coach Shelby and Coach Wilson. They all made me feel like I was family, and showed me that they really wanted me to be part of the program. Also, academics played a huge role, because coming from a top-notch private …

Continue reading Recruiting Diary: Rashard Fant talks about his commitment to Indiana (Vol. IV) »