Archive for December, 2012

Saturday night’s Class AAAAAA state championship matches up the state’s top two running backs.

Norcross High School’s Alvin Kamara vs. Lovejoy’s Travis Custis.

Custis is committed to Georgia Tech, while Kamara could be playing at archival UGA. Kamara has the Bulldogs as his co-leaders with Alabama, with Oregon still in the mix.

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There’s also Walton High School’s Tyren Jones, who is committed to Alabama, but his senior season – and his team’s championship hopes — ended abruptly after a knee injury.

The 5-foot-10, 195-pound Kamara is another one in the pipeline of prospects out of Norcross, the Gwinnett County powerhouse.

“He can just do so many things,” Norcross coach Keith Maloof said. “He can catch the ball out of the backfield and had a 65-yard scoring reception (in the semifinals). He threw a touchdown pass (in the quarterfinals) … The kid can do just …

Continue reading Alvin Kamara: UGA or Alabama for 4-star RB? »

Alabama is one of several colleges taking a look at RB Travis Custis, who is committed to Georgia Tech.

The 6-foot, 205-pounder from Lovejoy High School has had a breakout senior season: Custis has rushed for 2,058 yards and 35 touchdowns while leading Lovejoy to the state championship game for the second year in a row.

Nick Saban (AP)

How good is Custis? His coach says he is better than Tashard Choice, the former Lovejoy RB who starred at Georgia Tech and now plays for the NFL’s Buffalo Bills.

“We’ve had a lot of good football players at Lovejoy High School, and (Custis) is the best one we’ve had,” Lovejoy’s Al Hughes said. “He broke all of Tashard’s (rushing) records last year, and he’s working on his own records this year.”

How does Custis compare to Tashard? “He’s a better football player overall. First of all he’s bigger and faster. Statistically, he’s broken all of Tashard’s records.”

Like with any elite prospect, Custis will be recruited …

Continue reading Georgia Tech RB commit Travis Custis collects accolades »

Posted at 2 p.m. Thursday

Shaq Wiggins says he’s “100-percent committed” to UGA after taking an official visit with the Bulldogs last weekend. But he’s still going to take other recruiting trips.

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The 5-foot-9, 160-pound cornerback will lead Sandy Creek High School against Ridgeland for the Class AAAA state championship at 5:30 p.m. Saturday at the Georgia Dome.

Wiggins has been committed to UGA for nearly a year and is still being heavily pursued by other colleges. Next month, Wiggins is scheduled to take official visits to South Carolina, Florida, Ole Miss and Texas A&M. The Gamecocks are considered UGA’s biggest competitor.

“Yes, I’m still committed to Georgia but I’m looking at other opportunities,” Wiggins told the AJC. “This is a real hard decision for me. It has become real hard for me right now. I really don’t know who to believe. I’m just going through the …

Continue reading Shaq Wiggins: UGA CB commit to visit South Carolina, Florida, others »

Over the last few months, the recruiting process has taken a backseat to high school football for Vonn Bell, the 5-star safety from Ridgeland.

All of that will change after Saturday when Ridgeland plays Sandy Creek for the Class AAAA state championship at 5:30 p.m.

AJC Super 11 DB Vonn Bell (AJC)

After Saturday, Bell will listen to the sales pitches and maybe visit his three finalists of Alabama, Ohio State and childhood favorite Tennessee. UGA was eliminated when Bell trimmed from seven to three schools.

“Nothing has changed with recruiting recently, and Vonn isn’t talking to anybody about it until after Saturday,” Ridgeland coach Mark Mariakis told the AJC.

“About halfway through our season, he cut it off to focus on our team, which we appreciated. It has worked out well for Vonn.

“After our season is over on Saturday, I think it will be soon that he will make his decision between those three schools.”

Bell has had a monster senior season for Ridgeland, and …

Continue reading Vonn Bell: Decision could be near for 5-star safety »

Published at 3 p.m. Thursday

Eagle’s Landing Christian Academy will have two of the state’s college football prospects at their respective positions when it plays for the Class A Private School state championship at 2:30 p.m. Friday at the Georgia Dome.

Isaac Rochell is a 6-foot-4, 250-pound defensive end who committed to Notre Dame over Florida State and UGA, among others: “He’s a tremendous athlete in a huge body,” ELCA coach Jonathan Gess told the AJC. “He can do anything. He could probably play quarterback or linebacker. He has that kind of athletic ability. The key thing about him is that he’s such a great leader. He’s just an amazing guy.” Rochell missed four games with an injury. He has 41 tackles, including 8 tackles for losses and 3 sacks. At tight end, Rochell averages 3 pancake blocks per game and has a 93-percent blocking grade.

There are so many good tailbacks in Georgia this year that some forget about Keyante Green, the 5-9, 190-pounder who has …

Continue reading Isaac Rochell and Keyante Green lead ELCA into finals »

How much talent is there in the state of Georgia?

The AP released its All-America teams this week. There were six players from Georgia on them, and not one of them signed with UGA or Georgia Tech out of high school.

Not one — although Jarvis Jones of Carver-Columbus High School later transferred from USC to UGA.

Bradley Roby, the Ohio State All-America CB from Peachtree Ridge High School (AP)

What about the other five?

• Chance Warmack, OG, Alabama, Westlake High School: Signed with Alabama over Auburn, South Carolina and Rutgers. No offer from UGA or Georgia Tech.
• David Yankey, OT, Stanford, Centennial High School: He claimed early offers from both UGA and Georgia Tech, but it’s unclear how heavily either school recruited him. Yankey was serious about academics, and ended up picking Stanford over his other finalists of Duke, Wake Forest and South Carolina.
• Kevin Minter, LB, LSU, Peachtree Ridge: Minter grew up a Georgia Tech fan, and that was the school where he attended his …

Continue reading AP All-America team loaded with talent from Georgia »

AJC Super 11 wide receiver Demarcus Robinson switched his commitment from Clemson to Florida on Wednesday.

Robinson is the third 2013 prospect from Georgia to de-commit from Clemson, following the Grayson High School duo of DT Robert Nkemdiche and DB David Kamara (both are undecided).

“I have a chance to play as a freshman, and I wanted to play in the SEC, so I’m a Gator now,” Robinson told the Gainesville Sun’s Zach Abolverdi. “They’ve recruited me harder than anyone else.”

A few months ago, Robinson had described himself as a “soft” commitment to Clemson, but then said he was solid after taking an official visit with the Tigers in early November. The Peach County High School standout expects to enroll early at Florida in January.

Despite the loss of Robinson, Clemson still has four commits from the state – Lassiter WR Ryan Jenkins, Grayson …

Continue reading AJC Super 11 WR flips from Clemson to Florida Gators »

Football fans around Atlanta will get a chance on Saturday to observe the state’s best prospect not named Robert Nkemdiche.

Montravius Adams, a 6-foot-4, 295-pound defensive tackle, will lead Dooly County High School against ECI for the Class A state championship (public) at 11:30 a.m. Saturday at the Georgia Dome.

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UGA is considered to be one of the frontrunners, along with Clemson and Florida, for Adams, who is also looking at Alabama and Auburn. He will likely take official visits to all five colleges before making his decision.

Adams is ranked as the No. 2 overall prospect in the state and No. 6 overall in the nation in the 247sports composite rankings, which combines the rankings of ESPN, Rivals, Scout, and 247sports.

The 5-star recruit may be one of UGA’s top two remaining recruiting priorities for the 2013 class on …

Continue reading UGA DT target Montravius Adams: Living up to the hype »

Georgia State’s new football coach has landed his first recruit for the Panthers.

Brandon Pertile, a 6-foot-6, 290-pound offensive lineman from Clearwater, Fla., has committed to Georgia State. He picked the Panthers over Presbyterian, Florida International, Florida Atlantic, Coastal Carolina, Gardner-Webb, and Florida A&M.

“Coach (Trent) Miles is the new coach; he came to my school today to talk with me,” Pertile said. “He told me about transforming the football program, and it got me really fired up. It seems like a good place to spend the next 4-5 years.”

Pertile is projected to play right tackle at Georgia State, which has 10 commitments for 2013.

Continue reading Georgia State’s new football coach lands first recruit »

If Reuben Foster makes an official visit to UGA next month as expected, the Bulldogs will have something big in their favor.

One of Foster’s closest friends, Tray Matthews, will likely be his UGA player host during the January recruiting trip. And Matthews is the main reason that Foster is considering the Bulldogs.

UGA DB commit Tray Matthews and Mark Richt (Note: Photo was owned and submitted by Matthews family. It was not arranged, publicized or distributed by UGA)

This weekend, Matthews was one of around 20 prospects to make an official visit to UGA. The safety from Newnan High School is an early enrollee and will be a student at Georgia next month – making him eligible to host recruits.

“I heard that Reuben is supposed to making an official visit, I’m supposed to be his host, and I’m going to show him around,” Matthews told the AJC. “I will be there on Jan. 6, so whenever he takes his official visit, I will be his host.”

Foster and Matthews have been in …

Continue reading UGA’s Tray Matthews on Reuben Foster, Shaq Wiggins, and Mark Richt’s mansion »