Josh Harvey-Clemons, who is ranked as the state’s No. 1 overall prospect by ESPN, will narrow down to two schools after 6 p.m. Tuesday, according to a Valdosta radio station.

Who will make the cut? Who won’t? It’s down to UGA, Florida State, FSU and Miami for the 6-foot-5, 200-pound linebacker from Lowndes High School.

TheVikingVoice, the radio station that broadcasts the Lowndes football games, said on Twitter that Harvey-Clemons will narrow down to two schools at 6-8 p.m. Thursday. It will be part of a signing day show that will also include other Lowndes seniors at a Valdosta steakhouse.

What about Josh’s official announcement? That will come in front of ESPNU cameras at 9 a.m. Wednesday.

As you can imagine, we’re hearing every rumor in the book about Harvey-Clemons via emails, text messages and phone …

Stephenson OL Nicholas Gibbons committed to Memphis (AJC photo by Michael Carvell)

Stephenson High School now has 11 seniors that have both been offered and accepted D1 college football scholarships.

Nicholas Gibbons, a 6-foot-5, 290-pound offensive lineman, said he committed to Memphis over Boston College, Vanderbilt and Wake Forest.

Gibbons said it’s special being part of the senior class at the Stone Mountain school, which is a candidate to lead the nation with the most players signing major-college football scholarships in February.

“It’s crazy being around that many good players,” Gibbons said. “It’s a good thing; it only makes you better, being around that kind of competition. Every one pushes each other. There’s always competition.”

Gibbons has a 3.0 GPA and wants to study Computer Engineering.

Here’s a list of the other Stephenson 2012 players that have committed (click on each link to read about each):

• RB Mike Davis (Florida)
• DT Jafar Mann (Florida)
• LB Darreon …

“A.J. Liddell, our senior wide receiver, committed to Maryland,” Chris Parker, football coach at Chapel Hill High School, said.  “He talked to Coach [Randy] Edsall to let him know of his intentions today.”

The 6-foot-3, 185-pound Liddell said Maryland, UConn and East Carolina were his leaders earlier this month, according to Rivals. Liddell is Maryland’s second commitment from the state of Georgia within the last few days. Luella DB Alvin Hill, whose older brother plays at Virginia Tech, has also pledged to the ACC school.

– By Michael Carvell, AJC Recruiting Blog Got a recruiting item? mcarvell@ajc.com

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No. 783 was No. 1 in the eyes of many at Athens Nike Camp (AJC Photo)

Several of Georgia’s top college football prospects for next year were on display at Friday’s Nike camp in Athens.

However, it was a member of the Class of 2013 that grabbed the spotlight: Grayson High School’s Robert Nkemdiche, a 6-foot-5, 260-pounder who turned everybody’s heads as soon as he walked up to the registration table. He’s only a sophomore.

Nkemdiche dominated the drills, so much to the point that one other heralded defensive lineman — a junior — was overheard saying to a couple of others, “I’m just glad 783 (Nkemdiche’s camp number on his jersey) isn’t in the Class of 2012 with the D-Line rankings.”

The consensus of several recruiting analysts observing the camp, which included players from many surrounding states, was this: Nkemdiche will almost certainly be ranked at Georgia’s No. 1 overall prospect for 2013, and has a decent shot of being rated No. 1 overall in the USA.

Nkemdiche, who was …

JaQuay Williams has been picking up trophies and scholarship offers, with LSU being No. 12 on Monday (AJC photo by Jason Getz)

LSU entered the sweepstakes for one of Georgia’s top prospects at wide receiver, extending an offer to Sandy Creek’s JaQuay Williams on Monday night.

“I’m excited, great school,” Williams told the AJC. He has around a dozen offers, including Auburn, Michigan, Ohio State, Tennessee, Clemson, South Carolina and Georgia Tech.

The 6-foot-2, 180-pounder recently won the top award at the 2011 Atlanta MVP Camp attended by many of the state’s top college football prospects.

Williams recently transferred from Heard County High School to Sandy Creek, the Fayette County school which has won back-to-back state championships.

– By Michael Carvell, AJC Recruiting Blog

“I want to help South Carolina in recruiting by having the best 2012 class, starting by working on my teammate Geno,” Holloman said.

Holloman gave three reasons for picking the Gamecocks: “No. 1, Coach Spurrier stresses the importance of graduation and, as an athlete, it is important for me to excel in the classroom first. I believe in order to do well on the field, it starts in the classroom. No. 2, South Carolina has a winning record for the past two years and made it to the SEC Championship, showing the program is a great competitor in the best conference in the country. No. 3, when I attended the Spring Game I observed the number of fans there. I realized football is important to the …

The Blue Devils also received the paperwork from their second defensive back in the Metro area, signing 5-10 Chris Tavarez of Westlake High, who has his own wikipedia entry because of his child modeling and acting career.

Mays defensive end Darrius Caldwell, who was committed to Georgia Tech, switched to Illinois in the final days after taking an official visit, opening a possible slot for Mann. Caldwell followed through with his signing with the Illini.

But he did reach into Georgia to pluck 6-foot, 200-pound linebacker D.J. Hill from Newton High in Covington.

Hill is the No. 41 linebacker in the nation, according to Rivals.com and he averaged 74 tackles a season. He played running back as well.

Click the link to read Chip Towers’ interview with him on the AJC Recruiting Blog.

A lot of hard work has paid off for the 6-foot, 250-pound fullback who signed with Maryland.

He joined the varsity at Mill Creek in Hoschton as a freshman and hasn’t looked back.

“I use my strength a lot,” Cierski told the Baltimore Sun. He said he squats 575 pounds, power cleans 340 and benches 300.

At 6-foot-3, 215 pounds, he is the No. 29 tight end in the nation, according to Rivals, and listed as the fastest tight end in the country.

He helped paved the way for the Panthers’ offense as they reached the state championship game before falling.

Barr originally committed to Vanderbilt but the Commodores’ fluid coaching situation led to a switch to the Wolfpack in December.

Last year, Grayson’s Joseph Champaign  switched from Navy to Air Force in the final days before signing day.

Peek, who led Grayson in tackles and interceptions, said he grew up rooting for ACC teams.

Where's this man gonna play college ball? We'll find out today. (AJC photo by Jason Getz)

It’s National Signing day. Or at least it will be at 7 a.m. this morning. That’s when fax machines (yes, they still use them) will begin whirring in college athletic departments from coast to coast. It’s the NCAA-appointed time that schools can begin accepting signed letters-of-intent from “prospective student-athletes,” or as the rest of us call them, “recruits.”

Before today they were merely “commitments.” Or in some cases, “decommitments” and “recommitments.” More on that later.

We won’t have to wait long for news. Linebacker Anthony Harrell of Tampa, Georgia Tech’s newest commitment, is expected to sign his papers by 7:15 this morning. Longtime Georgia commitment Amarlo Herrera is slated to make it official at 7:30 a.m. down at North …

The Yellow Jackets allegedly extended a scholarship offer last weekend to Mann, according to Lithonia coach Marcus Jelks. But whether it was a hard offer from Tech or just an attempt to gauge interest remains unclear.

“Dave was kind of excited about the [Tech] offer, and said he was going to consider it,” Jelks said. “However, N.C. State came to the school [on Tuesday] and spent a lot of time with him. I’m pretty sure that Dave will stay with N.C. State.”

The 6-foot-4, 235-pound Mann said he met with Georgia Tech assistant Joe Speed last Thursday — and he was informed that a scholarship had come open at his position.  Mays defensive end Darrius Caldwell, who was previously committed to Georgia Tech, switched to Illinois on Sunday after taking an official visit to the Big 10 school (academic issues reportedly played a factor in Caldwell’s decision to part with the …

1. Ray Drew may be a licensed minister, but he’s having a devil of a good time keeping people guessing about his impending college decision. The 5-star defensive end is going to unveil his choice on Friday morning in the gym at Thomas County Central High School. Which team he will choose, well, everybody thinks they know but nobody really does.

Publicly Drew likes to throw out hints that he’s headed to Auburn, such as the text he sent me Sunday night that read “WDE” (that’s “War Damn Eagle,” as in the Auburn battle cry, for the un-indoctrinated). But Georgia fans insist Drew is so overly outspoken about the Tigers that it has to mean it’s a smokescreen for his real intention, which is to become part of the Bulldogs’ Dream Team. But then Drew will throw up a Facebook status that confuses the issue even more, such as the one he posted late Monday evening.

“There will be a huge surprise on Friday . . . no Auburn, no Georgia, no LSU . . . time to shock the world …

Linebacker Nick Menocal decommitted from Miami in order to commit to Georgia Tech over the weekend. (Photo by The Miami Herald.)

Georgia Tech’s latest commitment is a Miami guy. Nick Menocal grew up in the South Florida city, starred in football at nearby Belen Jesuit Prep and was a lifelong fan of  the Miami Hurricanes.  So, naturally, when he developed into a top-notch college football prospect and UM offered a scholarship, he accepted to great fanfare in his hometown.

That was way back in June. Since then, Miami had a dreadful season, head coach Randy Shannon got fired and new coach Al Golden got hired. And suddently Menocal wasn’t so sure about the Hurricanes anymore.

And neither were they about him, all the sudden.

“Two weeks ago I got a call from [a Miami coach] and he told me they had reviewed my film and they felt I wouldn’t be a good fit for them,” said Menocal, a 6-foot-3, 235-pound outside linebacker. “He said they would honor my commitment but I’d probably have …

Dalton's Watts Dantzler said he expects all of Georgia's offensive line recruits to remain committed to the Bulldogs despite Stacy Searels departure to Texas. (AJC photo by Chip Towers)

THE TEN AT 10:

1. The departure of Georgia offensive line coach Stacy Searels for the same job at Texas is disappointing to players he has recruited to become Bulldogs. But apparently it is not a deal-breaker.

Dalton offensive lineman Watts Dantzler, one of the first recruits to give Searels the nod early last summer, said he remains “100 percent” committed to UGA, as are most of his fellow offensive line commitments, all with whom he has been in contact.

“You know, I think [Searels] had to make a decision that was best for him and I understand,” he said Wednesday night. “But I committed to the school, not to him, and I’m still committed. I’m looking forward to seeing who they’re going to hire.”

Dantzler is one of five O-line commitments the Bulldogs have for 2011. He said he has been in …

With the two new additions, South Carolina has now reached double digits in its Georgia recruiting efforts for the 2011 class — as 11 of 28 commitments are from the state. Last year, the Gamecocks landed six prospects from Georgia.

“South Carolina had a great season in the SEC, and I think a lot of people noticed,” McEachern coach Kyle Hockman said. “I know all of our kids want to play in the SEC, especially with their run of national championships. That was an important overall factor.

The timing of the McEachern duo’s announcement was interesting: Why on a Wednesday?

“They both finished a visit last weekend and kind of decided they had seen enough during the overall recruiting process to be able to make a comparison,” Hockman said. “They felt like it was that time.

“And you know how recruiting works? It can get …

Carver-Columbus RB Isaiah Crowell tops out the AJC's Fab 50 list of the state's top recruits. (AJC photo by Jason Getz/jgetz@ajc.com)

The 2011 AJC Fab 50 is out, and it might just be the strongest group of football players ever assembled on paper in this state.

Traditionally, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has at the beginning of each year produced a list of what we believe to be the best senior high school football players in the state. That’s not exactly what this is.

While most of the names you’ll find on this list certainly were fine high school players, that’s not why they’re included. This is intended to represent the 50 best “college football prospects” in the state. So it’s based as much on potential at the next level as much as it is high school production.

Leading the list was a trip of 5-star-rated recruits who remain undecided about their college choices. Carver-Columbus running back Isaiah Crowell gets the distinction of being the top prospect in the state. He’s …

Griffin's Xzavier Dickson has practiced well and very likely could start at defensive end for the White team in the Under Armour All-America Game on Wednesday. (AJC photo by Chip Towers)

Kissimmee, Fla. — Greetings from the Under Armour All-America Game practices and combines here at Walt Disney World’s ESPN Wide World of Sports complex.

I’ve been watching the workouts all morning. Ten Georgians are among the 90 players invited to this prestigious national all-star game. That’s the second-most players represented from one state behind Florida (19) and tied with California. There are players from 22 states in all.

This is just a quick update but I’ll be filing more detailed information throughout the day. In fact, I’m about to participate in the hour-long media interview session/luncheon that begins at 1 p.m. in one of the pavillions here.

Let me just provide some quick observations for now and I’ll follow later after I talk to some of these guys:

• It’s very hot here. And …

Five-star recruit Marcus Lattimore looks like he's going to be the man for South Carolina. (The State)

Third in a series . . .

This week, answers come.

Until now, the worth of “elite” prospects was based on high school production and perceived potential. Now we get to see for certain if they have what it takes to become college football’s new stars.

We’ll get our first glimpse Thursday night when South Carolina opens up against Southern Miss. Marcus Lattimore, the No. 1 running back in the country, according to Rivals.com, will suit up for the Gamecocks in the ESPN nationally-televised game. Georgia, which intensely recruited the 6-foot, 210-pound tailback, will get an in-person look at Lattimore next week.

So far Lattimore has done his part. He managed to get through preseason camp without injury and has pushed established players in front of him on the depth chart. He remains behind senior Brian Maddox and sophomore Kenny Miles on the depth chart and head coach Steve …

NOTE: Following is an “aggregation blog.” It’s a roundup of news and information from a variety of sources that is believed to be of interest to AJC readers. Material from sources other than the AJC is attributed.

Westlake's Marcus Thornton loved his visit to The Flats last Thursday. (AJC photo by Curtis Compton)

1. Marcus Thornton told the AJC he was extremely impressed with Georgia Tech after his visit this past week. But the Westlake basketball star might have to be willing to sit out a year if he wants to go there. Shane Lyons, associate commissioner for compliance for the Atlantic Coast Conference, confirmed to the AJC Monday afternoon that the league’s stringent intraconference transfer policy would apply in a case such as Thornton’s. That is, he would have to sit out his first season and have only three years of eligibility remaining if he opted to sign with Tech or another ACC school. That’s “even if you are released from the letter-of intent,” …

Milton's Dai-Jon Parker has multiple scholarship options in both football and basketball. (AJC photo by Jason Getz)

As a football prospect, Milton’s Dai-Jon Parker was one of Atlanta’s best-kept secrets.

The emphasis there should be on the past tense word – was.

“I’ve got about 900 pieces of [recruiting] mail for him sitting on my desk right now,” Milton football coach Scott Walker said Friday.

Parker’s name has been floating around in basketball circles for a while. The 6-foot-3, 180-pound shooting guard is rated a four-star prospect in hoops and just helped lead the Eagles to the Class AAAAA state championship. He led Milton with 19 points and six rebounds in the title game against Westlake.

But only recently has Parker emerged as a major football prospect. And that was his coach’s intention.

“To make a long story short, I haven’t said anything about him [as a football prospect] because I promised I wouldn’t until after basketball season,” said Walker, who just sent …

The Georgia players tabbed so far are ATH Quan Bray of Hogansville (Callaway HS), RB Isaiah Crowell of Carver-Columbus, TE Jay Rome of Valdosta and DT Gabriel Wright of Carver-Columbus. Three of the four designees are members of the AJC’s “Tentative Top 10.”

Under Armour has designated only 23 All-Americans so far. There were 87 on last year’s final roster, including 12 from Georgia.

Following is the whole list:

Here are all the signings to date in the state of Georgia this year (sorted by high school classification and school) as complied by high school historian and AJC correspondent Steve Slay. The recruiting period continues until May 31 so it’s work in progress. Coaches, please be sure to let us know if one of your players is missing:

CLASS AAAAA

ALPHARETTA

Michael Bennett – Georgia

Justin Burns – Delaware

Connor Hollenbeck – Washington & Lee

Brandon Terry – Wake Forest

BERKMAR

Norman Booker – Hampton

BRADWELL INSTITUTE

Sheldon Barnes – Savannah State

Darvean Herron – Savannah State

Ulrick John – Georgia State

BROOKWOOD

Donovan Barker – Brevard

Julian Suber – Georgia Southern

CAMDEN COUNTY

Jeremiah Booth – Wofford

Ean Days – Illinois

Robert Gabriel – Carson-Newman

Zach Griffiths – Carson-Newman

Matt Jackson – South Carolina State

Glenn Mack – Georgia Military (JUCO)

Steven Murphy – South Carolina State

Derrick …

Ambles was a longtime Tennessee commitment until Kiffin and his staff bolted for the West Coast. Ambles immediately decommitted to the Vols, then took official visits to North Carolina, USC and then UT last weekend.

Stephenson's Mike Thornton is Atlanta's big fish that has yet to be reeled in. (AJC photo by Jason Getz)

It’s here!

National signing day has arrived and some of you are like a kid on Christmas morning. You can’t wait to rip open the packages under the tree to see what’s inside. Others of you feel like you’re getting ready to read a great mystery novel, eagerly anticipating some unexpected twists and turns and hoping for the big payoff in the end. Still others, might have an underlying sense of dread knowing your team didn’t close the deal Kid Bluechip, so the heck with the rest of the class.

Wherever you fall on that spectrum, you’re in the right place. Welcome to the AJC Recruiting Blog, which today might be called the “College Recruiting Nerve Center of Georgia.” From this place you’ll be able to monitor everything that happens recruiting-wise in our state today. We’ll be reporting player signings as soon as their letters-of-intent start whirring off the fax machines at 8 …

Deon Hill rushed for 1,587 yards and 18 touchdowns for Central High School in Phenix City, Ala. (Photo by Richard Day provided by Deon Hill)

As quick as it found itself with some unexpected room, the Georgia Tech recruiting class is filling up again.

The Yellow Jackets got two more commitments from prospects on official visits this weekend. Deon Hill, a 6-foot, 195-pound running back from Phenix City, Ala., and Jeremiah Attaochu, a 6-foot-3, 223-pound linebacker from Washington, D.C., became commitment numbers 15 and 16 for Tech.

While Tech fans may not have heard much about Hill before now, the Yellow Jackets have actually been recruiting Central (Ala.) High School’s star back for quite some time.

“I’ve had a long relationship with [Tech assistant coach] Charles Kelly,” said Hill, who came to several games last season and attended one of the Jackets’ junior camps last year. “He was my recruiter and he’s been recruiting me for a while. But I had no idea whether I was going to …

It looks like defensive end Brandon Willis of Duncan, S.C.  — one of the subjects in the Tennessee hostess flap — is considering backing out on the Vols to commit to Miami, according to PalmettoSports.com’s Phil Kornblut. Willis and his teammate Corey Miller were the players the members of the Orange Pride hostess outfit were visiting at a Byrnes game back in September. Meanwhile, teammate and fellow defensive end Corey Miller says he’s still 100 percent committed to the Vols. Miller also told ESPN.com the whole “hostess-gate” thing is overblown.

“All they did was come down for a football game. They got them a little place or whatever and went back to Tennessee the next morning. People are trying to say people can’t come to a football game. It’s the same situation like saying a guy from Byrnes like (Florida State safety) Justin Bright can’t come back. That is the situation. …

Hutson Mason may wait until Jan. 9 to reveal his college choice on national television as part of the reality show "The Ride." (AJC photo)

Mason is scheduled to appear at the U.S. Army All-America Bowl in San Antonio, Texas, on Jan. 9. But Lassiter’s record-setting quarterback will not be there to participate in the high school all-star game. He’ll be there as a guest of the sports reality show “The Ride,” of which he and seven other high school quarterbacks were cast members this past summer. The Survivor-style elimination show is still airing episodes on Comcast Sports Southeast and other cable networks.

“For the last episode they’re wanting to bring us all together at the U.S. Army Game and they’ve asked me if I’d be interested in making my decision on national television,” Mason told me this week. “So I might make a silent commitment and …

Georgia coaches, banned from recruiting Carver-Columbus by coach Dell McGee back in July, visited the high school en force this week.

Assistant coaches Mike Bobo, Jon Fabris (since dismissed), John Lilly and Stacy Searels traveled to Columbus together on a mission of both business and diplomacy. On the first count, they went there to try to woo a pair of recruits to Athens as part of their Class of 2010. On the second part, they intended make good on a public relations gaffe from this past summer.

The Bulldogs re-extended a formal scholarship offer to senior quarterback Devin Burns, who was at the center of this summer’s controversy. Burns and his whole family came to UGA’s “Georgia Night” elite camp in July with the intention of accepting Georgia’s scholarship offer. But it …

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 …