Kareem Martin, one of the top defensive ends in North Carolina, will be on campus this weekend as Tech’s only official visitor. The 6-foot-6, 240-pound Martin is described by Roanoke Rapids High School coach Russell Weinstein as “a coach’s dream.” And one can see why, what with the 4.0 grade-point average in AP honors coursework and a 4.65 40-yard dash timed by college scouts.

“He’s an impact player on defense,” said Weinstein,  who said Martin finished third in state in the high jump last year. “He can play standing up on the outside or with a hand on the ground. He’s averaging 12 tackles a game for us and teams are scheming away from him. He’s three-sport all-conference in football, basketball and …

Despite passing for 1,235 yards and 12 TD in four games -- including a record 449 yards this past Friday -- Lassiter quarterback Hutson Mason still does not have a BCS scholarship offer. (AJC photo By Jason Getz)

To date Hutson Mason’s recruitment has been mostly an under-the-radar proposition. But if he keeps putting up numbers  like he did this past weekend, he’s not going to be able to fly low much longer.

Mason, a 6-foot-3, 185-pound quarterback at Marietta’s Lassiter High School, set a Georgia Class AAAAA record this past Friday when he piled up 486 yards on 30-of-39 passing with four touchdowns in a 42-10 win over Campbell. He completed passes to nine different receivers,  had TD passes of 75 and 35 yards called back due to penalties and had two other potential TDs dropped in the end zone.

For the year Mason has completed 73 percent of his passes for 1,235 yards with 12 TDs and 3 INTs. Lassiter is 4-0 for the first time in 27 …

The Red Elephants, ranked No. 1 in Class AAA, feature a pair of AJC Super 11 selections in quarterback Blake Sims and wide receiver Tai-ler Jones. Both had them have lived up to those distinctions. Then there’s the matter of their lesser-known teammate Tyson Smith. As far as big plays per opportunity, his ratio is out of this world.

All their talents were on display this past Friday as Gainesville rolled to a 55-12 victory over North Hall.

>The quarterback Sims — an Alabama commitment — completed 14-of-21 passes for 275  yards and three touchdowns and rushed for another.

>The wide receiver Jones — a Stanford commitment — caught 10 passes for 239 yards and three touchdowns and added a fourth TD on a 47-yard fumble return. A 58-yard punt return TD was called back for a penalty.

>Then there’s Smith, a running back that coach Bruce Miller likes …

There are a lot of good games are on tap tonight as far as getting a look at the best prospects in the city and state, none better than the North Gwinnett-Norcross game.

There will be a lot of attention on North Gwinnett’s JaWuan James since the big offensive tackle backed off his commitment to Alabama and reopened his recruitment last weekend. But the Bulldogs’ opponent has a few D-1 prospects of its own.

The Blue Devils’ high-powered offense is anchored by 6-foot-4, 265-pound tackle Max Garcia. Garcia has more than a dozen D-1 offers but appears to be garnering the most interest from and showing the most interest in Maryland, Clemson and Vanderbilt, according to coach Keith Maloof.

Another intriguing prospect for Norcross is tailback Delino DeShields Jr. DeShields, rushed for 803 yards on 83 carries for Woodward Academy last year before transferring to Norcross, has been somewhat held in …

Thanks to M.L. King quarterback Cameron Myers, Southwest DeKalb defensive end T.J. Stripling had to take in a lot of water Friday night. (Photo by C. Towers)

This is not to demean either players’ abilities or reputations. In fact, you could see flashes that justified the fuss even as Brown struggled for 66 yards on 20 carries and Malcome 75 on 17. Brown had a spectacular 26-yard run for a touchdown that was called back for an illegal shift. And the majority of Malcome’s yards came after being hit at the line of scrimmage or behind. And you had to like the Knowshon Moreno-like, pop-up-and-walk Malcome threw in after a good gain.

Actually, the matchup that ended up holding the most intrigue for me was the battle …

According to assistant coach Corey Johnson, at least 16 Stephenson seniors are currently being recruited. At least 13 of those have garnered interest from what would be considered major Division I (or FBS) schools (SEC, ACC, Big East, Conference USA, etc.). And that doesn’t include some juniors and sophomores that are also getting looks.

Three of the Jaguars’ players have already committed to programs: LB Tyrone Cornileus (Miami), RB Raymond Sanders (Kentucky) and DB Kenneth Ladler (Vanderbilt). Another one, CB Chris Sharpe, appears on the verge of pledging to Louisville, though that’s just speculation at this point.

Of course, the one uncommitted Stephenson player everybody is interested in is defensive tackle Michael Thornton. The 6-foot-2, 280-pounder is being pursued by Georgia, Georgia Tech, Auburn and Alabama, among many others.

I’ll let …

Cartersville's Donavan Tate and his agent Scott Boras have the San Diego Padres in an unenviable position. He reported to the Tar Heels' camp over the weekend. The Padres, who drafted Tate No. 3, have until Monday to come to an agreement on a contract.

North Carolina quarterback Donavan Tate of Cartersville faces a fast-approaching deadline to make a decision whether to remain with the Tar Heels or sign with a professional baseball contract with the San Diego Padres, who bothered to select him third in last June’s Amateur Baseball Draft.

You’d think it’d be a no-brainer, what with that draft position drawing an expected signing bonus of $3 to $6 million. But Tate insists he’s serious about being a two-sport athlete for the Tar Heels and he bothered to show up for their preseason football camp, albeit it a little late.

And Tate’s agent is Scott Boras. So, of course, anything could happen.

Here’s a take on it from the pro baseball perspective. Three of Padres’ top four prospects …

Included in today’s issue is a nice piece on Georgia commitment B.J. Butler of Osceola. The Sentinel reports that the 6-foot-3, 230-pound, 4-star linebacker plans to “look around” with some official visits to some other schools this fall. He said he hopes to make trips to Auburn, Colorado State and perhaps Southern Cal. But Georgia fans need not fret, Butler insists. He still plans on becoming a Bulldog.

“Georgia is a beautiful situation,” Butler told the Sentinel. “The coaching staff, the fan base, facilities, academics, everything was beautiful. Academics are important for me and their engineering program is attractive to me. And the coaches are like my high school coaching staff. I really like those guys.”

Now on to some links:

• I wrote …

In any case, I found it interesting that just today, ESPN, the latest and certainly most formidable player in the recruiting game, has now adopted the star system for rating recruits. Previously it used the numerical grading system similar to the one favored by NFL scouts to rate players. ESPN, which co-ops with Scouts Inc. on its recruiting coverage, will continue to use the numerical ratings but will also include the more widely accepted and understood star system in its ESPNU 150 recruiting rankingsas well.

“The star system is …

Let’s start here in our fair state, where esteemed colleagues Todd Holcomb and Chip Saye are making their e-mailed newsletter, Georgia High School Football Daily, an anticipated part of my morning ritual. These two covered preps for years and years for the AJC, so they really know their stuff when it comes to high school football in the state.

Anyway, I found it quite interesting that, in their last two editions in which they ranked the state’s top five running backs and wide receivers, respectively, some of the better known — and highly ranked — recruits were not included.

GHSF Daily addresses this with qualifying remarks immediately above the rankings: “In making these choices we value a history of production over potential.”

Its top five for running backs (listed apphabetically): MLK’s Mack Brown (Florida), North Clayton’s Clarence Jackson (Ole Miss) …