Archive for the ‘Future Star’ Category

Here’s a running list of where some of the top high school seniors in the metro area are signing athletic scholarships. Nov. 14 was the first day of the early signing period for basketball, and other non-football sports.

Baseball

• Ryan Blanton, Parkview, Georgia State
• CJ Brazil, Blessed Trinity, Georgia Southern
• Adrian Celata, Mt. Pisgah, Tusculum
• Zach Chandler, Roswell, Georgia College and State U.
• Bryce Conley, Alpharetta, Mercer
• Drew Davis, Roswell, Kennesaw State
• John Davis, Blessed Trinity, GCSU
• Alex Dickerson, Roswell, Army
• Jarrett Freeland, Parkview, UGA
• Josh Hart, Parkview, Georgia Tech
• Syd Hopkins, Roswell, Georgia Tech
• Keenan Innis, Blessed Trinity, Georgia Tech
• Kyle Jackson, Mt. Pisgah, Coastal Carolina
• Connor Johnston, Roswell, Wake Forest
• Brian Kehner, Blessed Trinity, Presbyterian
• Troy Kizer, Woodstock, Young Harris College
• Nathaniel Maggio, Blessed Trinity, Tennessee
• David Mayo, Loganville, Georgia State
• Matt Meeder, Roswell, Mercer-Atlanta
• Sam McCoy, Parkview, …

Continue reading Basketball and non-football signings for Metro Atlanta »

The recruiting journey of Mario Mathis will apparently have a happy ending.

LB Mario Mathis (AJC)

The 6-foot-2, 238-pound linebacker from Thomasville High School committed to Central Florida on Monday after visiting the school with his adoptive parents of three years. Mario’s only other scholarship offer was from Florida International.

“UCF just felt right,” his father, David Fletcher told the AJC. “We got there, and Mario liked Coach (George) O’Leary a lot. They are looking at Mario at both sides of the ball, linebacker and H-back. Both of those position coaches, they were kind of fighting over him and said they would let him pick when he got there.

“They kept talking about how much they wanted him, and how much they loved him. They loved everything about him – his film, his character and everything else. The more that UCF talked about how much they wanted him, the more he wanted to be there. We liked everything else that went along with it, including the academics … …

Continue reading Happy ending for LB Mario Mathis »

• RELATED: Did we see this coming? Beverly Nkemdiche, mother of No. 1 prospect, in a Q&A with the AJC
• The story behind Robert Nkemdiche de-committing from Clemson

No. 1 prospect Robert Nkemdiche (Twitter)

GRAYSON, Ga. — Robert Nkemdiche, the nation’s undisputed No. 1 overall college football prospect, officially de-committed from Clemson on Thursday. You can get a quick recap here.

The 6-foot-5, 284-pound defensive end from Grayson High School had been committed to Clemson since June.

At Grayson on Thursday evening, Nkemdiche looked upbeat as he exchanged hugs and high fives with coaches as the team’s football practice concluded. Nkemdiche politely declined interview requests, but did say he had not re-activated his Twitter account and that somebody was impersonating him.

Grayson coach Mickey Conn did a Q&A with the AJC to explain the 5-star recruit’s decision to de-commit:

Continue reading Q&A with Robert Nkemdiche’s coach on his de-commit from Clemson »

The new ESPN rankings came out this week, and Carl Lawson has vaulted all the way up the charts to the nation’s No. 2 overall prospect — right another Georgian, Robert Nkemdiche.

Lawson, a 6-foot-2, 250-pound defensive end from Milton High School, was No. 5 in the previous rankings. “It’s pretty cool, I guess,” he said.

Lawson is also a member of the AJC’s Super 11 team. He has had a monster senior season, racking up 21 sacks despite being blocked by two or three defenders on most plays.

What’s the latest with recruiting? Lawson remains committed to Auburn and told the AJC again on Wednesday that he will wait until after his senior season to decide whether or not he will visit other colleges.

Lawson said he was being recruited the hardest by Auburn, Tennessee, UCLA, USC, Clemson, North Carolina, Florida State, Oklahoma State, and Auburn.

Continue reading Carl Lawson vaults all the way to No. 2 in ESPN rankings (video) »

It’s the best year ever in Georgia for top-tier football prospects. Never has the state had so many high school seniors ranked so highly, led by Grayson High School’s Robert Nkemdiche – the first-ever Georgia player to ranked No. 1 overall in the nation.

And there’s a lot more talent than just Nkemdiche.

Which colleges are doing the best job of recruiting Georgia’s elite talent?

To determine that, we listed the state’s top 10 prospects from the 247sports Composite Rankings, which combines the rankings of the four major recruiting services — Rivals, Scout, ESPN and newcomer 247sports. (Each player is assigned a composite score that is explained here)

1. Robert Nkemdiche, DE, Grayson: Committed to Clemson but flirting with Ole Miss. Ranked No. 1 overall in the nation at 1.0000
2. *Reuben Foster, LB, Auburn, Ala. (formerly Troup): Committed to Auburn. Ranked No. 2 overall in the nation at 0.9991
3. Montravius Adams, DT, Dooly County: Undecided. Ranked No. 7 in the nation at 0.9968
4. Carl …

Continue reading Which colleges are doing the best job at recruiting Georgia’s elite prospects? »

(See above video)

UGA is considered to be a longshot for Robert Nkemdiche, the nation’s No. 1 overall prospect who is committed to Clemson but flirting with Ole Miss.

Nkemdiche, along with his parents, will make an unofficial visit to UGA on Saturday to watch his older brother, Denzel Nkemdiche, who is a star linebacker for Ole Miss.

Does UGA have a chance for Nkemdiche? The Bulldogs are considered a longshot. But they do have at least one thing over the school he’s currently committed to (Clemson) – UGA Mark Richt spoke over the telephone this week with Nkemdiche’s mother, according to the 5-star prospect.

And when asked about UGA’s chances on Thursday night, Nkemdiche was respectful of the Bulldogs and said, “I don’t know. I could fall in love when I get there. I haven’t been there in forever, so I don’t know.”

SERIES ON ROBERT NKEMDICHE AND FAMILY

• Robert Nkemdiche to visit UGA, mother talks over the phone with Mark Richt
• Q&A with Beverly Nkemdiche, mother of nation’s …

Continue reading Robert Nkemdiche to visit UGA, mother talks to Mark Richt »

Vonn Bell is the first-out-state resident to ever been named to the AJC Super 11.

The 5-star safety lives in the suburbs of Chattanooga, Tenn., but commutes with his mother every day to Ridgland High School where she teaches.

Bell has narrowed his college choices to Alabama, Tennessee and Ohio State. He grew up a fan of Tennessee.

Continue reading Vonn Bell: AJC Super 11 and 5-star safety on recruiting »

The friendship of UGA WR commit Tramel Terry (right) with QB Brice Ramsey may turn out to be critical for the Bulldogs over the next few months (247sports.com)

There’s good news and bad news for UGA about Tramel Terry, the 4-star wide receiver who has already committed to the Bulldogs twice.

The good news is that Terry will make an unofficial visit to UGA this weekend for the Ole Miss game. The bad news for the Bulldogs is that Terry will make a return trip the following weekend to Clemson, according to Palmetto Sports.

There has been rampant speculation that Terry is considering switching to Clemson — and publicly committing for a third time – after he took an official visit with the Tigers a few weeks ago. It has become such a sensitive topic that Terry has mostly avoided the topic of recruiting with reporters. However, he did throw out these comments this week to the website, which have to make UGA fans wonder:

“I’m not talking about (recruiting) right now … I’m the one who …

Continue reading INSIDER: UGA WR commit Tramel Terry to visit Clemson … again »

TE Greg Taboada injured his hamstring at UGA camp before he could be fully evaluated (AJC)

How often does Stanford — or anyone — beat out Alabama in recruiting? Not often.

Stanford edged Alabama for a Georgia tight end who some consider to be the state’s best at his position.

Greg Taboada, a 6-foot-5, 250-pounder from Marist high school, picked Stanford over Alabama, among his other football scholarship offers. Taboada is ranked by ESPN as the state’s No. 9 overall prospect.

“I mean, it was a combination of things but just the new lifestyle and the position a degree from Stanford would put me in after four years,” Taboada told the AJC. “And the skill developing and record they have for tight ends speaks for itself.”

While thinking hard about playing at Alabama, Taboada was waiting to see if he would get an offer from Stanford. He finally got one from the prestigious California school about a month ago, and decided to commit on Sunday night.

“It just felt right, talking the …

Continue reading Greg Taboada: Stanford beats out Alabama for Georgia TE »

DT Jalen Lawrence picks GSU over the big boys (247sports)

Published at 10:40 pm Friday

Georgia State beat out some of the big boys when Jalen Lawrence committed to the Panthers on Friday.

The 6-foot-1, 265-pound defensive tackle from Westside High School of Macon picked Georgia State over Texas Tech, Colorado State, Troy, Middle Tennessee State, Southern University and Georgia Southern, among others.

“At Georgia State, the coaches are friendly and they talked straight up,” his father, Jeff Lawrence told the AJC. “They said ‘This is what we have to offer. We know other schools are looking at you, but this is what we have to offer.’

“I’d be wrong if I said I didn’t want my son in the league (NFL) but education comes first. Football is vehicle to where he wants to get in life … Georgia State doesn’t have an Engineering program but our second choice was Geology, which deals with oil. He wants to work in the oil industry. If he gets a degree in Geology, it won’t take much to get …

Continue reading Georgia State beats out big boys for commit No. 9 »