Archive for the ‘Big Story’ Category

Within the last couple of months, new Cincinnati coach Tommy Tuberville has been accused of going postal on an assistant coach, leaving Texas Tech recruits in the middle of dinner to accept a new job, and running off longtime recruits at Cincy (AP)

Pebblebrook High School defensive back Demetrius Monday de-committed from Cincinnati on Thursday after never hearing from new coach Tommy Tuberville.

“I think it’s messed up,” his father, Bryant Monday, told the AJC. “You wait until a few weeks before signing day to say something? They could have told us a month ago.

“Now we’re left with less than a month until signing day to figure something out. He had other scholarship offers but he hasn’t talked to those coaches in six months … since he committed to Cincinnati on July 25.

“It’s really disappointing.”

The 5-foot-10, 180-pound Monday said he committed to Cincinnati over Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Ball State, Ohio and Georgia State, among others, last summer. Tuberville was hired …

Continue reading Ex-football recruit on Tommy Tuberville: ‘It’s a bad situation’ (UPDATED) »

One down, one to go for Robert Nkemdiche, the nation’s No. 1 college football prospect.

The defensive end from Grayson High School confirmed that he has set up an official visit to Ole Miss for Jan. 25.

Listed for $99 on eBay

Nkemdiche will take one more recruiting trip, touring LSU at some point within the next month, but he hasn’t scheduled a date for that yet. “Still in the process of setting up,” Nkemdiche said Thursday.

What about other schools? Nkemdiche flirted with the idea of checking out other schools, such as Alabama and Florida, but ultimately settled on Ole Miss and LSU. “I don’t want to get it all mixed up with other schools in there.”

Ole Miss, where his older brother Denzel Nkemdiche is a star linebacker, is the frontrunner for the 5-star prospect. “Yes, it would be real hard for me not to go to Ole Miss; that’s a family thing,” Nkemdiche said last week. “It would be real hard not to do that, real hard.”

Continue reading Robert Nkemdiche: Makes a date with Ole Miss (UPDATED) »

UGA suffered a big blow when Naim Mustafaa switched his commitment from the Bulldogs to Oklahoma State.

The 6-foot-4, 235-pound defensive end from Alpharetta High School said he let UGA’s coaches know his decision a few days ago, and went public with it on Saturday. He starts college on Monday.

For the second year in a row, one of UGA's football recruits switched to … Oklahoma State. LB Naim Mustafaa let the Bulldogs know a few days ago (247sports)

“I kept re-evaluating my decision, and I felt like Oklahoma State was better off for me,” said Mustafaa over the telephone from Oklahoma City’s airport.

“I really like the area in Stillwater, and the team, and the tradition of the Oklahoma State program, and all of that.

“It’s hard not going to Georgia because I’m from Georgia. But I want to go to the NFL one day, so I have got to do what’s best for me.”

Mustafaa thinks he will be better fit as a defensive end in Oklahoma State’s 4-3 defense rather than in UGA’s 3-4 as an outside …

Continue reading Longtime UGA DE commit Naim Mustafaa flips to Oklahoma State »

UGA officials confirmed on Friday that 13 of its recruits have enrolled early in college.

The Bulldogs, which have 30 commitments for 2013, originally had 17 recruits that intended to start class on Monday for the spring semester. However, only 13 were cleared through admissions. The others will have to wait until May.

UGA needed to hit the magic number of 10 early enrollees circumvent the SEC’s new over-signing rules on a 25-man annual limit on class size. Under the rules, 10 of this year’s recruits will be “back-counted” toward the 2012 scholarship numbers, permitting the Bulldogs to sign 25 in February.

With 13 total enrolling early, 10 of those will count toward last year, and the other three will go toward this year’s numbers.

The last admittance of the group was John Atkins, a defensive tackle from Virginia’s Hargrave prep school.

On Thursday, Atkins told the AJC that he was approved by the NCAA Clearinghouse after his coach discovered that one of his grades had been …

Continue reading UGA confirms that 13 football recruits have enrolled early »

UGA got some unexpected good news with one of its commitments on Thursday.

John Atkins, a 6-foot-4, 310-pound defensive tackle from Virginia’s Hargrave prep school, was told that the NCAA Clearinghouse had corrected a mistake on his transcript — allowing him to enroll early at UGA.

UGA DT commit John Atkins (hargravesports.com)

“I feel good, I feel blessed,” Atkins told the AJC on Thursday evening, while making the six-hour trip from Virginia to Georgia.

“I couldn’t believe it when I heard it. They told me ‘You’re going to Georgia, and you will be there by tomorrow.”

Atkins will provide immediate help this spring to a UGA defense that will be depleted by graduation and NFL departures. He will play nose tackle.

Last year, Atkins signed with UGA out of Thomson High School but failed to meet NCAA academic requirements. This year, Atkins went to Hargrave to improve his academics and hoped to enroll at UGA in January but was told he needed to stay at the prep school longer to …

Continue reading UGA gets some unexpected good news »

Whomever RB Alvin Kamara visits on Feb. 1 will likely have inside position (AJC)

LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLA. — Alvin Kamara, the AJC’s Mr. Football, has two major decisions to make over the next month:

The biggest one is picking a college, with the Norcross High School running back listing Alabama and UGA as his co-leaders, and Oregon somewhere in the mix. He’s got a month to figure that out.

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The other one is a little more pressing: Next week, Kamara will finally decide which college he will visit on Feb. 1, the final recruiting weekend before signing day.

“I’m not certain where I will take that last visit, I’m still trying to figure it out,” Kamara said. “Both Alabama and Georgia want that last visit, so I still got to wait and see.”

Kamara has developed close friendships with the assistants from both of his co-leaders who are in charge of recruiting him, Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart and UGA …

Continue reading Alabama and UGA fighting it out for last visit with AJC’s Mr. Football »

One of the state’s most inspirational recruiting stories this year involves a former UGA football player.

Since being dismissed from UGA nearly a year ago, Nick Marshall of Wilcox County High School has resurrected his career – and life – somewhere in the middle of Kansas.

The former AJC Super 11 selection switched back to his preferred position of QB, enrolled at Garden City junior college, and had a breakout season that has attracted attention from big-time college scouts.

Former UGA DB Nick Marshall was offered at QB by Texas this week (AP)

“Nick had a great season for us, and that opened up a lot of doors for him,” Garden City coach Jeff Tatum told the AJC.

Texas is the most recent scholarship offer for Marshall, who is also considering Kansas State and Indiana, among others. Auburn has also expressed heavy interest.

What about that Texas offer? “They are really excited about recruiting him,” Tatum said. “They want to do a little more up-tempo offense and a little more …

Continue reading Texas offers former UGA DB as a quarterback »

This year’s award for “Best Recruiting Soap Opera” could go to AJC Super 11 wide receiver Demarcus Robinson of Peach County High School.

After arriving at the Army All-America Bowl, Robinson told Rivals that he is no longer committed to Clemson.

It’s the second time that Robinson has de-committed from the Tigers. In between, he’s also switched to Florida, and later backed off that pledge.

Now that Robinson has committed and de-committed three times, which college will be his fourth pick?

It’s between Florida and Clemson.

“It’s 50-50, I don’t really know,” said Robinson, who reported to the all-star game wearing a Florida Gators hat.

Robinson said he will announce his fourth and final decision during Saturday’s game on national TV.

He has to make a quick turnaround because he will begin college classes as an early enrollee on Jan. 7.

MT @jcshurburtt 4-star WR Demarcus Robinson now says #UF leads Clemson, which is weird, per @swiltfong247- bit.ly/131jAfI

— Michael Carvell …

Continue reading AJC Super 11 WR will pick a college for a FOURTH time »

The state of Georgia has another strong crop of football prospects for next year.

Around 100 high school juniors will be on display for the RisingSeniors.com Bowl, which will be played at 1 p.m. Monday at Grady High School. Tickets are $20 for the all-star game that will also be broadcasted on ESPN3.com.

Here’s a look at the top five prospects in the game:

• Deshaun Watson, quarterback, Gainesville: The 6-foot-4, 200-pounder has looked like the state’s No. 1 prospect in practices. Watson has prototypical size, he possesses outstanding composure, he’s a running threat, and he can throw on the run with velocity. Watson has been just about perfect on short to intermediate throws in the cold and rainy weather. “He’s as gifted as anybody I’ve seen,” said Blessed Trinity coach Tim McFarlin, the East team’s offensive coordinator. Watson nearly holds all of the state’s major passing records, and he led Gainesville to its first state championship earlier this month. Watson committed to …

Continue reading 5 prospects to watch in RisingSeniors game at 1 p.m. Monday »

Note: Saturday’s practices were shortened due to inclement weather.

Here are unofficial awards from the first day of practices at the RisingSeniors.com Bowl, which features 95 of the state’s top high school juniors. These are based on observations from players, coaches, scouts and recruiting analysts.

EASTSIDE TEAM

Clemson-bound QB DeShaun Watson of Gainesville looked like the best overall player at Friday's RisingSenior.com practices (AJC)

MVP, OFFENSE

• Deshaun Watson, QB, Gainesville (committed to Clemson, but also reviewing offers from Ohio State, FSU, Auburn and Tennessee, among others). The 6-foot-4, 200-pounder looked like the best overall player at the all-star game. He’s got prototypical size, outstanding composure, he’s a running threat, and he can throw with accuracy and velocity on the run. Watson was just about perfect on the short and intermediate throws on a cold and windy day. “He’s as gifted as anybody I’ve ever seen,” said Blessed Trinity coach Tim …

Continue reading Recruiting Awards from Day 1 of RisingSeniors.com (UPDATED) »