Archive for the ‘Other Colleges’ Category

Some of Atlanta’s college football prospects will be writing a weekly diary for the AJC until February’s signing day. They will be sharing their thoughts, opinions, adventures and perspectives on the recruiting journey.

Kyle Wilson is a wide receiver who transferred to Sandy Creek High School from Alpharetta this summer for his senior year. The 6-foot-3, 180-pounder is still waiting on his first football scholarship offer.

Sandy Creek WR Kyle Wilson (AJC)

I’ve been getting a lot more interest from schools I haven’t even targeted, which is good.  They tell me that they’ve been watching me and to keep doing what I’m doing.  I don’t know how it will turn out, but I am thankful that I am in a good situation this year.  I’m waiting to hear back from a few D1 schools that are reviewing my highlights from this season so far.  I really feel confident that I can play at the next level and be a key factor in a program.  I’m looking forward to being a part of that.

I have gotten interest …

Continue reading Recruiting Dairy: Sandy Creek WR Kyle Wilson (Vol. III) »

David Johnson, one of the state’s top linebackers, hasn’t decided if he will take official visits to any other schools other than South Carolina.

LB David Johnson is part of Lithonia-to-South Carolina pipeline (AJC)

The 6-foot-2, 240-pounder from Lithonia High School committed to South Carolina last summer. He is still being recruited by other schools, including Auburn and Vanderbilt.

“I don’t know, I’m going to make a decision after the season is over,” Johnson told the AJC. “If I take a visit and I’m already committed, it feels like I’m doing something wrong, you know what I mean? But I don’t know. I’m going to talk to my coaches and [South Carolina defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward] about it and see if it’s OK.”

Note: You can watch Johnson when Lithonia plays Grady at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in a live webcast by clicking here

Johnson will be the third Lithonia prospect in three years to sign with South Carolina. Is there a pipeline between the DeKalb County school and the …

Continue reading David Johnson: South Carolina LB commit unsure about other visits »

Kasey Gaines, who made the signature play during Grayson High School’s state championship season, committed to Penn State on Wednesday.

Penn State DB commit Kasey Gaines (GraysonRamsFootball.com)

The 5-foot-11, 160-pound cornerback committed to Penn State over Harvard, while also considering Miami of Ohio. Gaines is one of six Grayson seniors committed to a D1 school, led by national No. 1-ranked prospect Robert Nkemdiche (Clemson).

“I just thought it would be a great opportunity,” Gaines said. “I love the coaches, and I thought it would be awesome to be a part of the Penn State tradition up there.”

What about all the NCAA penalties and probation for Penn State? Among other things, the Nittany Lions have a four-year bowl ban. Gaines said he reviewed the situation, and felt like Penn State was too good to pass up.

“I really didn’t think of the NCAA stuff as a big deal,” Gaines said. “Obviously, no one wants to go through anything like that. But I just think it’s a great …

Continue reading Kasey Gaines: Penn State beats out Harvard for DB »

RELATED: Check out where some of the state of Georgia’s top college football prospects are going this weekend by clicking here.  Both UGA and Georgia Tech have home games.

Some of Atlanta’s college football prospects will be writing a weekly diary for the AJC until February’s signing day. They will be sharing their thoughts, opinions, adventures and perspectives on the recruiting journey.

Rashard Fant is considered one of the state’s top sleeper prospects. He has been overlooked by many colleges because he attends the small private school of Our Lady of Mercy. However, he has impressed enough as an “athlete” to earn early college football scholarship offers from Florida State, Utah, Ole Miss and Kentucky, among others. Many other colleges will be evaluating him as a senior.

My team, Our Lady of Mercy, started out the 2012 season 2-0, and we have a big game on Friday. We won our season opener against a good Mt. Paran team 38-7. I had a good game, scoring two touchdowns and …

Continue reading Recruiting Diary: Our Lady of Mercy ATH Rashard Fant (Vol. II) »

Gary Pinkel is activel recruiting Georgia, especially the Atlanta area, for Missouri (AP)

Missouri, which lost to UGA on Saturday, is winning some recruiting battles in its new SEC recruiting territory.

Donovahn Jones, a quarterback from Dutchtown High School, committed to Missouri over Arkansas, Kentucky, Cincinnati, Minnesota and South Florida. The 6-foot-3, 190-pounder will play WR in college.

“I just fell in love with Missouri when I visited back in July. I really loved the campus and the stability of the program,” Jones said. “The fact that Missouri plays in the SEC was also very important in my decision.

”I know we had a tough lost against Georgia, but the atmosphere at Memorial Stadium was electric. I knew as I was watching the game with my family that Missouri was where I wanted to call home for the next four years.”

Jones, who is originally from the Midwest area (Illinois), is the second Dutchtown senior to commit to a D1 college, following in the footsteps of OL …

Continue reading Donovahn Jones: Missouri picks up Georgia QB »

Veion Robinson, whose was partially named after former NFL star Deion Sanders, committed to Middle Tennessee State on Wednesday.

OLB Veion Robinson

The 6-foot-2, 205-pound outside linebacker from Lovejoy High School picked MTSU over football scholarship offers from Tulane, Kent State and Furman.

“I was getting a lot of interest from a lot of other schools,” Robinson said. “Miami wanted to offer me but they wanted to see more film. Middle Tennessee was willing to take me now as I was, and said they could mold me into something. The coaches there seem genuine, and really seem to want me to do well.

“The first time I met [coach Rick Stockstill], he told me anytime I had a problem on the field, at home, or in my lovelife, to ‘take it back to him’ and he’d always have my back. That spoke to me. It seems like a real good program, and I wanted to go ahead and make it official.”

And what about that first name? “My mom, she’s a big Deion Sanders fan. She wanted to name me Deion. But my …

Continue reading Veion Robinson: Lovejoy OLB to play D1 football »

The NCAA is investigating for potential recruiting violations involving Tony Parker, according to Scout.com’s UCLA website.

Parker was the AJC’s Mr. Basketball from Miller Grove High School who signed last April with UCLA over offers from UGA, Ohio State, Kansas, and Memphis.

On Sunday night, Parker’s high school coach told the AJC he was aware of the report, and also stated that he had not been contacted by the NCAA.

Tony Parker, who signed with UCLA over UGA, among others, is being investigated by the NCAA for potential recruiting violations, according to Scout.com. Parker cited UCLA's hiring of his longtime AAU coach — permissible under NCAA rules — as a major reason he picked the Bruins (AJC photo/Curtis Compton)

“Of course, I was caught off guard by this,” Miller Grove’s Sharman White said. “I think it’s the NCAA just doing what they do. If they’ve got any suspicions, I don’t know … I can’t really go on the record and say anything.

“I mean, you hear about things like …

Continue reading NCAA investigating Tony Parker for potential recruiting violations, per report (UPDATED) »

Ex-UGA recruit Derrick Henry (247sports.com)

Derrick Henry, the 5-star RB who was formerly committed to UGA for nearly a year, has finally set his announcement date.

The 6-foot-3, 245-pounder told BamaOnline that he will decide between Alabama, Tennessee and UGA on Sept. 28.

Henry told the website that “Alabama’s still leading, and Tennessee is right there.” He plans to attend Tennessee’s home game against Florida on Sept. 15 to get a good feel what Rocky Top is like during football season.

What about UGA? Henry picked the Bulldogs last summer at Dawg Night, stayed committed for nearly a year, and backed off his pledge in June. UGA appears to be third in a three-horse race, but Henry is close friends with UGA QB commit Brice Ramsey of Camden County and attended his game on Friday night.

Last Thursday, Henry rushed for 338 yards and 3 touchdowns in Florida’s Yulee High School’s loss to Gainesville. Henry has racked up 8,211 career rushing yards and 102 …

Continue reading Derrick Henry: Alabama, UGA or Tennessee for 5-star football recruit? »

Some of Atlanta’s college football prospects will be writing a weekly diary for the AJC until February’s signing day. They will be sharing their thoughts, opinions, adventures and perspectives on the recruiting journey.

Eddie Printz led Lassiter High School to its first-ever appearance in the state semifinals last year. He completed 277 of 442 passes for 3,350 yards and 28 touchdowns with 9 interceptions. Printz committed to SMU last September, and later switched to UCLA in January.

August was an exciting month.  I was selected to The AJC Super 11 which is the highest individual honor for a high school player in Georgia.  I am humbled by this recognition.  Guys I know like Jamal Lewis, Joe Burns and Robert Cromartie were Super 11 players.  Don’t ask me how the selection process works because I don’t know about stats, stars or anything other than wins.  Like Coach Ron Veal says, stay hungry and humble.  It is a huge honor and credit to my Lassiter teammates but to be …

Continue reading Recruiting Diary: AJC Super 11 QB Eddie Printz (plus video) »

• VIDEO: What’s the best and worst part of the recruiting process? We asked Robert Nkemdiche, Brice Ramsey, Tyren Jones and others in the below video

Auburn will take advantage of a new SEC rule to entertain some of the nation’s top college football prospects at Saturday’s Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game.

Reuben Foster, Montravius Adams, AJ Jackson and Trey Johnson are among the celebrity recruits who confirmed with the AJC that they will make an unofficial visit with Auburn to the Georgia Dome on Saturday.

As expected, Auburn will take advantage of a prime recruiting opportunity under a new SEC rule to invite top prospects to Saturday's game at the Georgia Dome (AP)

Last spring, the SEC passed league rules that finally gave permission to the home team of a game at a neutral site to entertain prospective student-athletes. It was already permitted by the NCAA. Auburn, which traditionally recruits the Atlanta area as well as any out-of-state school, has immediately taken …

Continue reading INSIDER: Auburn will take advantage of new SEC rule to entertain recruits at Georgia Dome »