Tennessee’s Derek Dooley lands third 2013 recruit out of Georgia
Derek Dooley has the state of Georgia as a recruiting priority (AP)
The speculation about Derek Dooley’s future at Tennessee hasn’t stopped the coach from recruiting well in the state of Georgia.
Tennessee picked up its third Georgia commitment for 2013 when Joe Sanders pledged to the Volunteers on Wednesday night.
The 6-foot-5, 270-pound defensive end from LaGrange High School said he picked Tennessee over football scholarship offers from South Florida, Western Kentucky, Central Florida, Eastern Kentucky and South Alabama.
“I committed tonight because I had it made up in my mind that I wanted to go to Tennessee,” Sanders told the AJC. “I liked the atmosphere, the coaches, and how they push you once you’re down there.”
Sanders said he gave the news directly to Dooley during a phone conversation. “Coach said, ‘I’m glad. I’ve been watching you since (summer) camp.”
What about all the rumors about Dooley? “I’ve heard things, but I haven’t really looked into it. Coach Dooley hasn’t said anything about that (the topic), so it doesn’t mean that much.”
Sanders transferred from Troup to archrival LaGrange for his senior year. He’s ranked as the No. 119 overall prospect in Georgia by 247sports.
Tennessee’s other two 2013 commits from Georgia are DB Cameron Sutton of Jonesboro High School and LB Zach Barnes of Grayson High School.
RECRUITING HEADLINES
- Robert Nkemdiche on Clemson-to-Ole Miss rumors: “Nothing is final yet”
- No. 1 JC prospect waiting for the call from UGA’s Mark Richt
- Tennessee’s Derek Dooley strikes again in Georgia
- The latest on former UGA WR target JaQuay Williams
- Good news for UGA with 5-star DT Montravius Adams
- Tough news for Alabama: RB commit Tyren Jones suffers knee injury (UPDATED)
- Tennessee freshman DB Deion Bonner is suspect in campus theft
- Q&A with mother of undisputed No. 1 prospect Robert Nkemdiche
- Robert Nkemdiche on UGA visit, mother talks over phone with Mark Richt
- Longtime UGA WR commit Tramel Terry to visit Clemson … again
- Is UGA in danger of losing 4-star LB to Derek Dooley and Tennessee?
WE’RE LESS THAN THREE MONTHS AWAY FROM SIGNING DAY
- Herschel Walker’s nephew offered by … archrival Georgia Tech
- Stanford beats out No. 1 Alabama for Georgia tight end
- Ex-UGA player REVITALIZES football career … could he end up playing QB at Auburn?
- Nick Saban poised to pluck another 5-star recruit out of the state of Georgia
- Can Clemson hold onto Nkemdiche & other star Georgia recruits???
- Georgia TE calls his de-commitment from Auburn a “misunderstanding”
GREATEST HITS
- Mark Richt croons “Happy Birthday” to star football player
- How things went WRONG … between UGA and Trenton Brown
- UGA loses another top football recruit … 4-star Demarre Kitt de-commits from Bulldogs
- Kelsey Griffin finally SPEAKS OUT on UGA, South Carolina
- – By Michael Carvell, AJC Recruiting Blog
- So much is happening so fast. Have you missed anything over the last few days? Catch up with our feed by CLICKING HERE
- BOOKMARK the NEW AJC Recruiting homepage here
Got an item? mcarvell@ajc.com
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37 comments Add your comment
wayxbulldawg
November 7th, 2012
9:58 pm
First?
ONCE A CHEATER ALWAYS A CHEATER !!!!
November 7th, 2012
10:11 pm
Second?
Cap
November 7th, 2012
10:11 pm
Offers from South Florida, Western Kentucky, Central Florida, Eastern Kentucky and South Alabama. Is this a joke? Oh sorry, that’s the Vols program. Maybe they should change their name to Eastern Tennessee?
ONCE A CHEATER ALWAYS A CHEATER !!!!
November 7th, 2012
10:12 pm
Or tenn Knoxville.
Athens
November 7th, 2012
10:49 pm
Good luck. I wish you the best. UT is a great SEC school. Sounds like you have earned it.
Satan Sabin
November 7th, 2012
10:49 pm
Congrats to the first and second juvenile morons. One or two in every crowd.
WnE
November 7th, 2012
11:47 pm
Nkemdiche and his MOTHER should do their due diligence before she sends another son of hers to the State of Miss.
See link:
http://www.salon.com/2012/11/07/ole_miss_students_start_racist_protest_after_election_result/
gasblast
November 8th, 2012
1:52 am
I wonder if Mr. Sanders can tell us who his coach will be next year?
Latest Vol commit: Georgia defensive lineman Joe Sanders - VolNation Blog
November 8th, 2012
5:30 am
[...] committed tonight because I had it made up in my mind that I wanted to go to Tennessee,” Sanders told the AJC. “I liked the atmosphere, the coaches, and how they push you once you’re down [...]
Douglas
November 8th, 2012
5:49 am
Sounds like Robert Nkemdiche’s mom wears the pants in the house — not her husband. Pretty pathetic don’t you think?
Northwoods Dawg
November 8th, 2012
6:04 am
Sounds like Nigerian politicians are like US politicians. How can you tell they’re lying, they’re lips are moving. I’m so glad UGA isn’t involved in this soap opera. The only thing that upsets me is how a Nigerian Politician has instructed MC to deny his readers their freedom of speech on articles about her little “Mama’s Boy”. Old Sis or Clumsey can have him, NO high school prospect is worth this much grief.
RedandBlackDAWG
November 8th, 2012
7:45 am
He committed to Tenn. because that was the only legitimate div. 1 school that offered him a scholarship. I would guess the DC will look to develop him into a legitimate threat at that level.
Good luck to the young man.
GADevildawgs
November 8th, 2012
8:02 am
Recruiting well in the state of Georgia ? 119th ranked player in GA. Congrats to the young man. Though if this was UGA this paper would skewer Richt for getting a player with that ranking .
hit a single
November 8th, 2012
8:04 am
Tenn. is stupid if they fire Dooley. Lousianna Tech is where they are because of the foundation that Dooley built while there. If you fire him why did you only give him three years anyway? It sounds like he was a lameduck coach anyway. No chance to succeed. Once he gets the defense straightened out you better watch out.
NoDistrictLineInDekalb
November 8th, 2012
8:14 am
Oh sure he is committed just like he was to Troup until LaGrange came along.How do you transfer to a rival?
slydog
November 8th, 2012
8:15 am
“I committed tonight because I had it made up in my mind that I wanted to go to Tennessee,”
His other offers: South Florida, Western Kentucky, Central Florida, Eastern Kentucky and South Alabama.
Easiest decision ever.
slydog
November 8th, 2012
8:20 am
@Douglas
November 8th, 2012
5:49 am
Sounds like Robert Nkemdiche’s mom wears the pants in the house — not her husband. Pretty pathetic don’t you think?”
No it’s not pathetic, it’s pretty much how every household runs. The father , or men in general, do not care about the details of such and such. Men care about the end game and did it make you happy. It’s the women who care about every little non-essential detail such as how nice a coach was or who currently is the winning team (cause every one flocks to the top dog). Notice how you have heard nothing from Alabama in regards to Nkemdiche even though Mom keeps floating out feelers. And just like most men, you do whatever to keep your woman’s mouth shut as long as the plan isn’t too cockamammy.
slydog
November 8th, 2012
8:28 am
Any black athlete who plays for Ole Miss campus-wide racists protests and riots after the election and the selection of an overweight black woman as homecoming queen as a prank, is a brainwashed idiot, parents included. If any poster disagrees with that, you lack basic common sense.
Just Saying
November 8th, 2012
8:36 am
@Slydog
I disagree……..so I must lack basic common sense, you moron!!! And I could care less about Ole Miss, Clemson and RN.
Burdell
November 8th, 2012
8:41 am
I mean c’mon…it’s Mississippi folks…slydog’s got it right!
Neutral
November 8th, 2012
8:46 am
Fire all the UGa coaches for letting this Georgia player get away. We must block our State borders even if it requires barbed wire fences and highway checkpoints. Our coaches are terrible for losing another player from our state. Incompetence is rampant in Athens. Dump the whole lot and let’s bring in Petrino….a total class act!!!
OK, I’M JUST KIDDING, BUT WANTED THE “NEGATIVE” BLOGGERS TO SEE WHAT YOUR TYPICAL RESPONSE TO THESE RECRUITING ARTICLES SOUNDS LIKE TO THE VAST MAJORITY OF US DAWG FANS WHO ARE POSITIVE!!!
Neutral
November 8th, 2012
8:50 am
Sly Dog must be a Clemson fan!!!!! P.S. This RN story is just begining. I wouldn’t be the least surprised if it takes another turn before signing day (like Bama or UGa coming into the picture). Stay tuned because this is like a major soap opera!!!!
Walker, Texas Ranger
November 8th, 2012
8:55 am
@Slydog Riots! you beleve way to much from the press. There wasnt even a protest. Ole Miss is no more racist than any other campus in the Southeast.
Walker, Texas Ranger
November 8th, 2012
8:56 am
@neutral, the story is over. He is Ole Miss. Mama said so
Neutral
November 8th, 2012
9:24 am
You are probably right Walker, but these HS players love the attention so I still think this story has at least 1-2 more twists and turns…..maybe even 3 if we are lucky. Stay tuned!
Buzz Off
November 8th, 2012
9:28 am
@neutral @8:46
You are sooooooooooooooooooooooo correct…..those negative bloggers don’t have a clue, they just complain about everything!
Official Jon Gruden Thread VI - Page 4 - VolNation
November 8th, 2012
9:31 am
[...] of recruiting woes………..the link below shows what our program has dropped to in recruting: Tennessee’s Derek Dooley lands third 2013 recruit out of Georgia | AJC College Sports Recruiti… I mean getting a recruit from Eastern KY and South [...]
Mike Bobo
November 8th, 2012
9:45 am
Hey Joe…. would you like to be a TE at UGA?
slydog
November 8th, 2012
9:49 am
@Walker, Texas Ranger
November 8th, 2012
8:55 am
@Slydog Riots! you beleve way to much from the press. There wasnt even a protest. Ole Miss is no more racist than any other campus in the Southeast.
I absolutely do agree with that statement. Riots might be a little strong even considering they destroyed other people’s personal property in the process. Anyway, Ole Miss being just as racist as anywhere else, well, can’t disagree with that. It’s just shameful that a native afrikan would even consider sending both of her sons there let alone even entertaining the thought.
Buzz Off
November 8th, 2012
11:00 am
Slydog,
I agree with Neutral, you must be a Clemson fan trying to scare RN away from Ole Miss. By the way, I think RN’s brother would tell him if racism was an issue at his University.
longduckdawg
November 8th, 2012
11:53 am
Dude can strike all he wants to won’t have a job in acouple of months.
dawgdude
November 8th, 2012
12:53 pm
I am always amazed at the classless comments on here. Good luck to the young man from Ga at Tennessee. Always happy to see anyone get a good opportunity.
molar roller
November 8th, 2012
3:57 pm
racism always has and always will exist..in ALL communities…
hit a single
November 8th, 2012
4:02 pm
molar roller – you are right. Racism and reversed racism is alive. Racism against whites and blacks.
Roll Tide with Pride!!!
November 9th, 2012
2:08 pm
HIs older brother turned out to be a very good football player. RN is top notch – love to see him at T-Town. Saban would put some discipline in that situation.
Adam
November 11th, 2012
1:25 pm
The Vols offense has been good and fun to watch this year. It’s only the D that needs fixing badly. Heck, they often score 40 points and lose. There has been progress, since the O was pathetic last year.
sam
November 14th, 2012
11:21 am
“Strikes again”…. LMAO!