Archive for October, 2012

Kelsey Griffin, who has kept a low profile since he tried to commit to UGA a few weeks ago, spoke to the AJC about Tuesday’s pledge to South Carolina and his feelings towards the Bulldogs.

Steve Spurrier has Georgia on his mind when it comes to recruiting with 21 signees or commits from this state over the past two seasons (AJC)

“I’m pretty excited about South Carolina; they were second on my list for a reason,” said the 4-star defensive tackle from Mill Creek High School.

“When things didn’t work out with Georgia, I went to the second person on my list, which I had up there for a reason. I got to see a game for the first time at South Carolina this past weekend, and I enjoyed myself. I had them second on my list, I really liked them a lot, and I committed.”

The 6-foot-1, 290-pounder had a face-to-face meeting with Steve Spurrier on the day after South Carolina’s 35-7 win over UGA. “It was a pretty nice conversation. He got pretty excited about about me coming there, and he …

Continue reading INSIDER: Kelsey Griffin speaks out about UGA, South Carolina »

Steve Spurrier, who has led South Carolina to three straight wins over UGA, has made the state of Georgia his top recruiting priority. The Gamecocks have 21 commitments and counting over the past two seasons out of Georgia (AP)

• BREAKING NEWS: No. 1 prospect Robert Nkemdiche says family is torn between Clemson and Ole Miss (click here)

Kelsey Griffin, who tried to commit to UGA a few weeks ago, pledged to South Carolina on Tuesday.

The 6-foot-1, 290-pound defensive tackle from Mill Creek High School picked South Carolina after making an unofficial visit to see the Gamecocks defeat UGA 35-7 this past weekend.

“He’s very relieved and excited,” Mill Creek coach Shannon Jarvis told the AJC. “It was always between South Carolina and Georgia for him. He feels blessed with how it all turned out. He was able to go the game this week, and meet with Coach [Steve Spurrier] on Sunday to finalize this.

“He’s excited about the opportunity to play at South Carolina. He’s built …

Continue reading Kelsey Griffin: South Carolina lands 4-star DT who tried to commit to UGA (UPDATED) »

Milton High School may have its best crop of college football prospects in school history with five seniors committed to BCS conference schools, including the nation’s No. 5-ranked overall recruit and a running back that is now considered one of the state’s top five at his position after missing nearly all of last season with an injury.

Why aren’t any of them going to UGA or Georgia Tech?

That’s a question asked repeatedly and almost daily to Milton coach Howie DeCristofaro and his five seniors – DE Carl Lawson (committed to Auburn), RB Peyton Barber (Ole Miss), OL Cory Helms (Wake Forest), OL Eason Fromayan (TCU) and OL Josh Harris (Wake Forest)

Milton is an affluent suburb of Atlanta located 35 miles from Georgia Tech and is home to one of UGA’s most fervent fan bases.

DE Carl Lawson is ranked by ESPN as the nation's No. 5 overall college prospect. His dad played football at Georgia Tech and he grew up a UGA fan. He's committed to Auburn (AJC)

UGA has yet to …

Continue reading Carl Lawson: What happened between 5-star DE, his four D1 teammates … and UGA and Georgia Tech »

Do you know any high school juniors that are being overlooked by colleges?

There’s still a couple of weeks to nominate them for the AT&T Georgia Junior Bowl, which has quickly turned into the premier all-star football game for football players out of this state.

The third annual game, which will be held on Dec. 31 in Atlanta, features 90 of the state’s prospects. Around 40 have already been named to the rosters, while organizers will select the final 50 by Oct. 20.

After last year's Junior Bowl, DT Montravius Adams rocketed from a small-town hero to a national 5-star prospect (AJC)

If you play football in Georgia, it’s far more important to be in this game as a junior rather than the Under Armour or U.S. Army national games as a senior. Why is that? Because the Junior Bowl is where many prospects get “discovered” or make a name for themselves nationally while performing in front of the scouts, recruiting media and coaches in attendance – and the colleges that later …

Continue reading Do you know a HS junior that is being overlooked by colleges? »

Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson got on the phone with some of the team's recruits after Monday's coaching changes (AJC)

One of Georgia Tech’s top football recruits said he got a call on Monday evening from Paul Johnson, explaining the team’s coaching changes.

Darius Commissiong, a three-star defensive tackle from Forestville, Md., was told that Georgia Tech defensive coordinator Al Groh had been relieved of his duties, while a few other assistants had been moved around on defense.

“I was shocked at first because Coach Groh was my recruiting coach, and we talked on a nightly basis,” Commissiong said. “I was disappointed because he was like a father figure to me. We used to talk about a lot of things outside of football. He would give me life advice, and things like that.

“But that’s the business aspect of college football, especially when things aren’t going as well as you would like. I think a big part of it was Clemson putting up 600 yards against them last …

Continue reading Georgia Tech recruits react to firing of Al Groh »

Ex-UGA football recruit Kyrin Priester committed to NC State on Sunday.

Ex-UGA WR Kyrin Priester is headed to NC State (247sports.com)

The 6-foot-2, 195-pound wide receiver from Brookwood High School said he picked NC State over South Carolina, TCU and Vanderbilt.

“My relationship with the NC State coaches sealed the deal,” Priester told the AJC. “Then when I got there this weekend, the atmosphere for the game and everything … everybody being so nice to me, and my family as well, made it even better.”

Priester originally committed to UGA last April and then re-opened his recruiting a few months later because he felt like he had “rushed” his decision.

Last summer, Priester nearly committed to South Carolina after being recruited heavily by assistant Steve Spurrier Jr. “I had a good relationship with Coach Spurrier, but I didn’t really talk to the all the other coaches like I did at NC State. It’s like family there. It was way better this weekend than when I …

Continue reading Ex-UGA football recruit picks N.C. State after flirting again with Bulldogs »

Georgia State has picked up a couple of football commitments.

Tevin Jones, a defensive lineman from Luella High School, and safety Rameak Smith of South Carolina’s Woodland High School, both pledged to Georgia State over the weekend.

Georgia State now has eight commitments for its 2013 recruiting class, according to PantherTalk.com.

The 6-foot-4, 270-pound Jones picked Georgia State over scholarship offers from UConn, Florida International, Appalachian State and Jacksonville State.

“His mom and dad had a big influence on that decision, and I think being close to home was very, very important so his parents could see him play,” said Luella assistant James Roberts.

“Georgia State is getting an unbelievable football player. He causes chaos. This season, he has 10 solo tackles and 43 overall, including 6.5 tackles for a loss. On Friday, he blocked a kick and scored a touchdown on it. He can use his hands and he can use his speed. He’s a fantastic football …

Continue reading Georgia State picks up two football commitments »

There have been a lot of rumors flying around about Brendan Langley, who is considered  by some to be the state’s No. 1 prospect at defensive back.

Langley committed to South Carolina this past summer, but has been flirting heavily with UGA, attending a pair of recent home games with the Bulldogs. UGA appeals to Langley because it will allow him to play both football and basketball.

However some things have changed in recent days.

• Will Langley still take an official visit to UGA?
• Why did he change this weekend’s visit to South Carolina from an official to an unofficial? Is that good news for UGA?
• And what other school is quietly emerging with Langley?

He talks about that and more in the video above.

SINCE THE WEEKEND

• Is ESPN’s No. 5 overall prospect living up to the hype? Yes or no?
• Brendan Langley rumors … will South Carolina DB commit still take his official visit to UGA?
• Guess why AJC Super 11 WR-DB JJ Green picked UGA? Click here
  
• FSU commit liked UGA so much … he …

Continue reading Brendan Langley rumors: Will South Carolina DB commit still visit UGA? »

DE Carl Lawson is committed to Auburn and will decide after the season if he will visit other schools (AJC)

ESPN ranks Milton High School defensive end Carl Lawson, who is committed to Auburn, as the No. 5 overall college football prospect in the nation.

Has Lawson lived up to his 5-star status this season?

“No doubt about it; absolutely,” Milton coach Howie DeCristofaro said. “He’s leading our team.”

Despite seeing two or three blockers on most plays, Lawson has 11.5 sacks through five games for Milton (4-1), which plays at Etowah (3-2) at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.

Lawson really impressed one of the former NFL players that coached at this past summer’s Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge, which featured many of the nation’s top prospects.

“He was like ‘I don’t know anything about Robert Nkemdiche but if he’s better than Carl Lawson, then Nkemdiche must be Superman because that’s the best player I’ve ever seen,’” DeCristofaro said.

What’s the latest with …

Continue reading Carl Lawson: Is ESPN’s No. 5 overall prospect living up to the hype? »

What does UGA WR-DB commit JJ Green want to do after college?

“After football, I really want to go to the military … you know, help my country any way I can. So I’m just going to go ahead and look into that,” Green told the AJC.

The 5-foot-9, 178-pounder might be the most electrifying member of UGA’s 2013 recruiting class. He plays both ways for Camden County High School and all special teams.

Listen to why Green, whose uncle is former Florida Gators WR Jacquez Green, picked UGA …

SINCE THE WEEKEND

• Is ESPN’s No. 5 overall prospect living up to the hype? Yes or no?
• Brendan Langley rumors … will South Carolina DB commit still take his official visit to UGA?
• Guess why AJC Super 11 WR-DB JJ Green picked UGA? Click here
  
• FSU commit liked UGA so much … he will return for official visit

• 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 …

Continue reading Why did AJC Super 11’s JJ Green pick UGA? »