Archive for the ‘Georgia Tech’ Category

Three members of Georgia Tech’s 2010 recruiting class were selected this week to play in the Offense-Defense All-America Bowl.

AJC Super 11 quarterback/athlete B.J. Bostic of Jefferson County, DT Shawn Green of Grayson and DT Denzel McCoy of Northview were invited to play in the high school all-star game Jan. 2 in Myrtle Beach, S.C. The game, in its third year of existence,  pits nationally-ranked high school all-stars from the East against others from the West. It competes with the UnderArmour (Jan. 2, Orlando) and U.S. Army (Jan. 9, San Antonio) All-America games.

Now for some other news and notes:

• Word is that Union Grove athlete Jordan Akins is about to land a scholarship offer from Georgia. Akins is a 6-foot-3, 190-pound multi-skilled athlete who plays quarterback, wide receiver, defensive back and kick returner for the Wolverines, depending on where they need him when. He received a scholarship offer from Georgia Tech last week and holds offers from Ole Miss, UConn, …

Continue reading 3 Tech commitments invited to national All-Star game »

Apparently Chad Simmons of Scout.com and I are on the same wave length.

The respected Southeast region recruiting analyst put up a report this morning on Calhoun wide receiver Da’Rick Rogers, a five-star prospect, AJC Super 11 selection and a University of Georgia commitment.

It just so happens that I am heading up to Calhoun this afternoon to talk to Rogers, quarterback Nash Nance (a Vanderbilt commitment) and coach Hal Lamb in a previously arranged meeting. My father lives in Calhoun — starred for the Yellow Jackets in the mid-1950s — so I’d planned for a while to get up there and meet in person this phenomenal football player.

Simmons didn’t really steal my thunder, though. Rogers told him what Coach Lamb told me last week, that he remains “solid to Georgia” despite continued intense overtures from Tennessee, Florida and Southern Cal. Hopefully I’ll be able to glean a few more insights from Da’Rick today.

If there are some specific questions you’d like me to ask Rogers, …

Continue reading Checking out Da’Rick Rogers, and other fun stuff »

You have to like Avery Walls’ proactive approach to recruiting.

A junior defensive back at Union Grove, he already has landed an offer from Oklahoma because he and his parents sent a “recruiting packet” they put together that included personal information, video highlights and academic information. They did the same thing for Stanford and it resulted in an official offer from the Cardinal Monday night.

“I talked to Coach [Jim] Harbaugh last night and he asked me if I’d received my official offer letter,” Walls said. “I said I hadn’t seen it. We talked for a while and he was telling me a lot about the school and the campus about the football program. It’s a very prestigious school. I feel great about it.”

Walls (5-10, 180) transferred to Union Grove from Sandy Creek last year. As a safety this season, the junior has four interceptions and leads the team 60 tackles, 10 pass breakups, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery for a touchdown.

Walls has been to at least two …

Continue reading Avery Walls adds Stanford to his list of official offers »

Pope offensive lineman Thomas O’Reilly received an official scholarship offer from Georgia Tech on Friday. And the Yellow Jackets made quite a splash in doing so.

Tech didn’t simply mail O’Reilly an offer letter. It was hand-delivered by assistant coaches Brian Bohannon and Todd Spencer.

“They came in and gave me a letter which I then gave to Thomas O’Reilly offering him a scholarship,” Pope coach Matt Kemper said. “They hand-delivered it but they followed all the channels and did the right things.”

It was just the first of what promises to be dozens of offers for this 2011 prospect. The 6-foot-3, 313-pound O’Reilly also is being recruited by Georgia, Alabama and Vanderbilt, among others.

“Thomas is a heck of a player and a good kid and he’s going to have decisions to make,” Kemper said. “I’m sure this is the first of a lot of offers. Everybody in the country will probably end up offering this kid.”

You’d have to say the Yellow Jackets have the inside track.

“He’s been going …

Continue reading Tech coaches hand-deliver offer to Pope’s O’Reilly »

About the time Da’Rick Rogers got a coveted fifth star added to his recruiting ranking, the Calhoun wide receiver and University of Georgia commitment also got an impromptu visit from Tennessee.

Ed Orgeron, Lane Kiffin’s right-hand man in recruiting, dropped in at Calhoun High to try to get a foot in the door of Rogers’ recruitment.

“Yeah, Coach O came by a couple of weeks ago,” Calhoun coach Hal Lamb said. “He kind of  ‘bumped into’ Da’Rick like they all do. But that was the extent of it.”

Rogers was not particularly impressed.

“He’s a Georgia Bulldog,” Lamb said. “He’s solid.”

Rogers, a 6-foot-3, 207-pound senior, has been committed to Georgia since early June. And it’s going to be hard to pry Rogers away from the Bulldogs.

Lamb’s father, Ray Lamb, has been Georgia’s coordinator of high school relations since 1993. Not surprisingly, Rogers has been a regular at the Bulldogs’ football camps ever since he came under the tutelage of Hal Lamb at Calhoun.

It has been a …

Continue reading UGA 5-star commit Da’Rick Rogers not swayed by UT »

Last week I wrote about how Union Grove’s talent had been overshadowed by region rivals Stephenson and M.L. King, and the Wolverines do indeed have some talented football players. But they weren’t just overshadowed this past Saturday night, they were overwhelmed in a 27-7 loss to the Jaguars.

Raymond Sanders, a Kentucky commitment who wowed an ESPN national-television audience last week against MLK, had his most dominating performance to date. Stephenson’s senior running back piled up 232 yards rushing on just 17 carries, scored three touchdowns and added a 23-yard reception.

Other standouts for the Jaguars included DB Kenneth Ladler with eight tackles, a pass breakup and a blocked field goal; LB Jabari Johnson with eight tackles; OLB Tyrone Cornelius (Miami) with six tackles and a pass breakup; and DT Mike Thornton with four tackles and another dominating night blowing up the middle of the line.

Some other standout performances from the area’s top prospects this past …

Continue reading UK commit Sanders turning it on for Stephenson »

Tennessee’s high-flying recruiting tactics didn’t wow everybody.

Georgia Tech commitment Denzel McCoy of Northview High was not impressed by Tennessee's high-flying act and declined thei Vols' attempts to reopen his recruitment. (AJC photo)

Northview defensive lineman Denzel McCoy, who has been committed to Georgia Tech since April, has long been a target of the Volunteers. He said Tennessee assistant coach Ed Orgeron called him Friday and said head coach Lane Kiffin were going to be at his game against North Gwinnett last Friday in Suwanee.

“I didn’t know they were going to come in a helicopter,” McCoy said with a laugh.

The Vols’ coaches flew there in a rented helicopter after watching the first half of the M.L King-Stephenson game in Clarkston.

“I thought it was  interesting,” McCoy said, “but it didn’t really affect me. That’s why I committed to Tech when I did, so I would have recruiting behind me and be able to concentrate on my senior season. I’m solid with Tech. I …

Continue reading Tech’s McCoy says ‘no thanks’ to helicoptering Vols »

Another one-time Florida State commitment has landed elsewhere.

After decommitting to Florida State late last month, Lowndes County's Ed Christian committed to Auburn on Sunday. (AJC Photo by Jason Getz)

Lowndes offensive lineman Ed Christian, an AJC Super 11 selection, committed to Auburn after going there on an official visit this past weekend. The 6-foot-5, 280-pound tackle originally committed to the Seminoles way back in February, just a week after national signing day. He “decommitted” to FSU late last month when questions started to arise over the future of the program. He attended the Auburn-Ball State game on an unofficial visit that weekend.

Christian credited Auburn assistant coach Curtis Luper for reigniting his interest in Auburn. He said Luper called him out of the blue last month.

“I wanted to experience another college,” Christian told Auburn.Scout.com. “I gave them that chance and it was my overall best visit to a school. This school (Auburn) treats you the …

Continue reading Super 11 OT Christian picks Auburn after FSU spurn »

AJC Super 11 wide receiver Tai-ler Jones switched his commitment from Stanford to Notre Dame.

AJC Super 11 selection Tai-ler Jones, a wide receiver at Gainesville, switched from Stanford to Notre Dame after visiting the Fighting Irish in South Bend, Ind., this past weekend. (AAJC photo by Jason Getz)

The 6-foot, 185-pound senior gave Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis the word about 4 o’clock Sunday afternoon, not long after returning from an official visit to South Bend, Ind., over the weekend. That call was followed shortly by one to Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh, who was none-too-happy about the news.

“It was very difficult to do,” said Jones, who has 36 catches for 640 yards and 11 touchdowns for the No. 1-ranked Red Elephants. “The schools were so close with my comparison. It’s hard to tell that coach and that staff that you’ve change your mind when you’ve stuck with them and been so close the last few months. But it’s just something I had to do.”

Jones said the camaraderie and …

Continue reading Tai-ler Jones pulls switch from Stanford to Notre Dame »

Anybody who thinks Lane Kiffin’s showy antics don’t make a difference in recruiting wasn’t listening to these players after the game. They were clearly impressed by Kiffin’s idea to chopper to the game with right-hand recruiting man Ed Orgeron.

The two Tennessee coaches landed on a soccer field just west of James R. Hallford Stadium in a red helicopter as the
Star Bangled Banner played before the nationally-televised the M.L. King-Stephenson game. They flew out at the end of halftime.

“That really felt good to me because I talked to him for a minute on the phone,” said Mike Thornton, Stephenson’s star defensive tackle. “He told me he was going to come in and show off a little bit and, sure ‘nough, he did his thing. I saw him leave out and come in but that’s it.”

Stephenson led 7-0 at the half.

Thornton, considered the top uncommitted D-lineman in the state, hadn’t mentioned Tennessee among his favorites (Auburn, Georgia, Penn State) before Friday. Asked after the game if  the …

Continue reading Kiffin’s antics impress Thornton, Brown, and lift Vols »