INSIDER: Georgia Tech football recruits react to 2-3 start

Georgia Tech's recruits don't appear to be panicking over the 2-3 start (AJC)

What do Georgia Tech’s football recruits think of the team’s surprising 2-3 start?

We asked several of the top high school seniors that are committed to the Yellow Jackets. Georgia Tech has 13 commitments for its 2013 recruiting class.

• DE Justin Akins of Jackson High School: “They’re going through some problems. What can you say? Every team has problems throughout the season. They are going through theirs right now. They have missed on some plays. They are going through some things right now but I think they’ll be all right as the season goes along.” Akins attended the Miami and Virginia games.
• WR Antonio Messick of Fayette County: “They started off pretty good, besides the Virginia Tech loss and the Middle Tennessee State loss. I was at the Middle Tennessee State game and it didn’t feel like the whole team was together. The atmosphere felt kind of different. But they’re going to be OK. I’ve got a feeling they’re going to be good by the end of the season.” Messick has attended every home game.
• K Harrison Butker of Westminster: “I didn’t see the latest game but I think they’re doing pretty well. I don’t know what happened in the losses. I really couldn’t tell you about those. But I’m pretty confident in the direction of the program.”
• DB John Marvin of Fort Walton Beach, Fla.: “I mean, they’ve been going through some bumps and bruises but I feel like they are going to end up finishing strong. Other than that, I’m still committed there — strongly committed. I was at the Miami game, and they were playing good. It was a last-second thing that hurt them. But it’s all good. Whenever a team loses, they just have mistakes that they have to correct. The coaches will get them together and they will be straight.” Marvin is still hearing from Louisville, Kentucky, Minnesota and Penn State.

UGA-bound LB Reggie Carter (AJC)

RECAP OF UGA OFFICIAL VISITS: Two of UGA linebacker commits, South Gwinnett High School’s Reggie Carter and Ryne Rankin of Orlando, took official visits with the Bulldogs last weekend for the Tennessee game. Brookwood’s Shaun McGee was supposed to be there, too, but was injured in his game last Friday. The reason the linebackers scheduled the official visit so early because they are enrolling early at UGA. Carter said he got to UGA around 2 a.m. on Friday night for the three-day visit, which ended with a Sunday brunch at the house of Mark Richt. Carter’s player host was Ray Drew. “I rate the visit as a 10; it was just a great experience,” he said. “The game was fun, and it was cool to spend time with another linebacker.” Carter, who is still being recruited by Louisville and NC State, hasn’t ruled out taking a couple of other official visits but made it clear he intended to sign with UGA. “I’m 100-percent committed to Georgia. I tell people every day that I’m 100 percent.”

Montravius Adams

MORE MONTRAVIUS: Will being an in-state school help UGA with its chances of landing Montravius Adams? The 5-star DT from Dooly County High School made an unofficial visit with the Bulldogs last weekend. “Early on, it didn’t seem like that was carrying that much weight,” Dooly County coach Jim Hughes said. “But that was before he got to know John Jenkins, and some of these kids committed to Georgia like Shaq Wiggins. I don’t know how much that will favor Georgia, but I know it’s not working against them being an in-state school. I know Montravius told me on Saturday that it didn’t take long for us to get to Georgia. I know he wants to be in a fairly reasonable driving distance. It’s not a bad ride from Vienna to Athens, about two hours and 35 minutes.” On Friday, the two rumored frontrunners for Adams, Clemson and Auburn, will have coaches at Dooly County’s game. On Saturday, Adams will make an unofficial visit to Florida.

OUTLAW AT FIRST UGA GAME: There was an ex-Florida Gators commit at last Saturday’s UGA game, offensive lineman Joshua Outlaw of M.L. King High School. Outlaw’s unofficial visit was his first-ever time at a UGA game. Unfortunately, he arrived too late to meet with the coaches but still had a good experience. “It was great; I got to see one of my former high school teammates, Blake Tibbs,” Outlaw said, referring to the freshman WR for the Bulldogs. Outlaw said he has been offered by UGA.

THIS AND THAT: Kell High School DB Brendan Langley is committed to South Carolina and had planned to take his official visit with the Gamecocks for this weekend’s UGA game. However, Langley stated on Twitter that it will be an unofficial visit. Langley is still flirting with UGA, and has made a pair of recent unofficial visits with the Bulldogs … Carver-Atlanta High School OL Delando Crooks took his first official visit last weekend, touring Purdue. Crooks told Scout’s Chad Simmons that he plans to take all five visits and hasn’t set another one up yet but is considering Stanford, North Carolina, USC, UGA, Wake Forest, Vanderbilt and Miami …Raekwon McMillan, the LB from Liberty County High School, also told Scout that UGA and Ohio State are his co-leaders. McMillan is a candidate to be the state’s top prospect for 2014. He made an unofficial visit with the Bulldogs last weekend.

SINCE THE WEEKEND

• The nation’s No. 1-ranked JC prospect says UGA will “definitely” be one of his five official visits
• Should UGA fans be worried that a longtime football recruit will take an official visit to CLEMSON this weekend? Yes or no?
• Top UGA football recruit will visit … Alabama
• 5-star recruit gets “red carpet” treatment by UGA
• Georgia TE commits to SEC rival

THE LATEST NEWS

• Ex-UGA 5-star commit makes college choice … and it’s Alabama
• Does UGA have a chance at flipping top Alabama football recruit?
• Offensive lineman DE-COMMITS from UGA
• DT Kelsey Griffin on WHAT WENT WRONG with his brief commitment to UGA
• Surprise! UGA back in the race for one of state’s top DB recruits
  
• DT Kelsey Griffin commits to UGA … then de-commits several hours later
• Ex-UCLA QB commit Eddie Printz: “I learned you can’t always trust people …”

AND EVEN MORE …

• Alabama, Tennessee and Ohio St. have all the RIGHT ANSWERS for top Georgia safety prospect
• Will it be Auburn or Georgia Tech for top DT?
• Clemson determines no NCAA violation occurred after NFL player tweets at Nkemdiche
• Robert Nkemdiche’s mother “unhappy” with Clemson & says decision “is not final”

– By Michael Carvell, AJC Recruiting Blog

Got an item? mcarvell@ajc.com

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