Archive for the ‘Alabama’ Category

Alabama's Nick Saban met with now-2013 commit Justin Taylor on Tuesday (AP)

Nick Saban and Justin Taylor sat across from each other for about an hour at North Atlanta High School on Tuesday. It was the first face-to-face meeting between the two since it was reported that Taylor can’t sign with Alabama this year. It was surprising news for Taylor, who has been committed to Alabama since last February (he was the 7th of Alabama’s 27 commitments). The Crimson Tide wants Taylor to “grayshirt” because of a knee injury and wait to enroll in 2013, while others speculate that it was creative “roster management” by Saban. You can catch up by reading HERE and HERE and HERE. What’s the latest with Justin Taylor? He remains committed to Alabama. That’s never changed since last February. Purdue is interested but hasn’t offered a football scholarship. At this point, Taylor’s top options appear to be attending a prep school next fall or simply sitting out of school …

Continue reading Nick Saban meets with Justin Taylor, promises to “stand by his word” »

UGA recruiting coordinator Rodney Garner made a personal appearance to offer 2013 Dooly County DT Montravius Adams on Thursday (AJC photo by Michael Carvell)

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Fair or unfairly, UGA caught some criticism for being “too late” to offer some of the state’s top football prospects this year.

The Bulldogs may be trying to counter that perception for next year’s class.

On Thursday, UGA recruiting coordinator Rodney Garner made a personal appearance at Dooly County High School, which is located 60 miles south of Macon. That’s a big deal when the Bulldogs still have to fill 10 or so scholarships for this year’s class.

Garner was there to make a verbal scholarship offer to Dooly County High School defensive tackle …

Continue reading UGA’s Rodney Garner makes personal appearance to offer 2013 DT »

Reuben Foster (No. 2 jersey), who is ranked as the No. 2 college football prospect in the USA for 2013 and committed to Alabama, shares a laugh with his buddy Tray Matthews (No. 26), who is committed to UGA (AJC)

It’s the NCAA “dead period” until Monday but UGA has had one of its best recruiters working this week on Reuben Foster, the linebacker from Troup High School who is ranked as the No. 2 overall college football in the nation for 2013.

Foster, who is committed to Alabama but still flirting with UGA, is the star attraction for the 2011 AT&T Junior Bowl that will be played at 7 p.m. Friday at Grady High School. Nearly half of the 90 juniors in the all-star football game have early scholarship offers.

But none are like the 6-foot-2, 235-pound Foster, who has been so dominant in practices in front of his wide-eyed teammates this week that some players have dubbed his team, the West squad, as “Team Rueben.”

“Everything you’ve heard about Reuben Foster, it’s …

Continue reading Reuben Foster is committed to Alabama but still flirting with UGA »

QB Justin Thomas (Photo courtesy of 247Sports)

Georgia Tech made big news in the recruiting world this week when quarterback Justin Thomas, who had been committed to Alabama for a year, switched to the Yellow Jackets.

The 5-foot-11, 175-pounder is from Alabama’s Prattville High School, and is ranked as a 4-star prospect and the No. 19 all-purpose athlete in the country by Rivals.com. Thomas and Central Gwinnett defensive end Francis Kallon are the highest-ranked members of Georgia Tech’s 14-member recruiting class, which will expand to 17-20 players by February’s national signing day.

Thomas is one of the Southeast’s fastest athletes, and has been consistently clocked in the 40-yard dash at around 4.3 seconds. He guided his high school team to Alabama’s Class AAAAAA state championship, winning MVP honors after registering more than 300 all-purpose yards in the game. For the season, Thomas finished with 1,652 passing yards, 896 rushing yards and 20 total …

Continue reading Q&A with new Georgia Tech QB recruit Justin Thomas, who de-committed from Alabama »

AJC Super 11 LB Dillon Lee is also a candidate to be Georgia's No. 1 overall college prospect (AJC photo)

• RELATED: Junior college OL commits to UGA

UGA’s courtship with AJC Super 11 LB Dillon Lee is apparently over.

Lee, who is a candidate to be the state’s No. 1 overall prospect, committed to Alabama over UGA and Florida State last spring.

There was rampant speculation that Lee would consider flipping from Alabama to UGA due to famiy connections — his older brother plays offensive line for the Bulldogs. The younger Lee attended most UGA games this season, and developed a friendship with the Bulldogs staff, particularly LB coach Kirk Olivadotti.

Also working in UGA’s favor were rumors that Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart may be hired away by another school. Those rumors have quieted.

Lee reportedly considered making a visit to UGA last weekend to join his buddy, Stone Mountain High School linebacker Markuss Eligwe (he’s another AJC Super 11 selection, and …

Continue reading Dillon Lee’s courtship with UGA is over »

QB Justin Thomas switched to Georgia Tech after being committed to Alabama for a year (Photo by 247sports)

Quarterback Justin Thomas, who had been committed to Alabama for around a year, switched from the Crimson Tide to Georgia Tech on Tuesday night.

It was a stunning turn of events – and good news – for Georgia Tech, which both lured away one of Alabama’s top recruits and added much-needed depth at the QB position.

Thomas is ranked as a 4-star prospect and the No. 19 all-purpose athlete in the country by Rivals.com. He could play multiple positions in college, including QB, WR or DB. Thomas recently led Alabama’s Prattville High School to the Class AAAAAA state championship.

“Alabama promised Justin on several different occasions that he would get the chance to play quarterback there,” the player’s father, Milton Thomas, told the AJC. “We did a lot of research. We know how Alabama uses their quarterbacks, and we know how Georgia Tech uses theirs. We just felt like …

Continue reading Justin Thomas flips his commitment from Alabama to Georgia Tech »

Walton RB Tyren Jones led the state's largest classification in rushing yardage (AJC photo by Michael Carvell)

The leading rusher in Georgia’s largest classification said he was offered a football scholarship by UGA on Tuesday.

Tyren Jones, a junior tailback at Walton High School, said he got the news when UGA running backs coach Bryan McClendon was at the school on Tuesday. Jones led Walton to an appearance in the Class AAAAA state championship, rushing for 2,375 yards and 38 touchdowns

“It feels good; it’s exciting,” Jones told the AJC. “I like the Bulldogs. They are close to home. I like Mark Richt. I’ve been to Georgia a couple of times. I’ve got some teams on my list, and Georgia is definitely on there.”

UGA has also offered another junior at Walton, offensive lineman Brandon Kublanow – who is leaning toward to the Bulldogs. Jones said he also has “verbal offers” from Vanderbilt and Duke, while adding Oklahoma State last week.

“Oklahoma State’s coach …

Continue reading RB Tyren Jones offered by UGA »

Alabama-bound K Adam Griffith (Photo courtesy of 247sports.com)

Adam Griffith, the Calhoun High School kicker who is committed to Alabama, could probably help out the Crimson Tide this year.

Alabama suffered a 9-6 loss to LSU in the regular season after Cade Foster and Jeremy Shelley failed to score on four of six field-goal attempts.

Griffith, who kicked a field goal to win the Saturday’s Class AA state championship for Calhoun High School, admitted it was tough watching Alabama’s loss to LSU. He will sign with Alabama in February and be eligible to play next season.

“Of course, I wish I could’ve helped the team in that game,” Griffith said. “The kicker, Cade Foster, he had a bad night. But those are hard kicks to make, especially when it’s cold outside and they are long field goals. I was nervous watching him. I don’t know.”

Griffith has been a kicking machine at Calhoun. He booted around 65 of 80 kickoffs into the end zone this season. He has a …

Continue reading Could Adam Griffith help Alabama with kicking this year? »

AJC Super 11 LB Dillon Lee (AJC photo)

Will Alabama LB commit Dillon Lee make a surprise official visit to UGA this weekend?

It’s one of the hottest topics on message boards, and there are legitimate reasons for the speculation:

The AJC Super 11 linebacker from Buford High School is the younger brother of UGA offensive lineman Dallas Lee. The younger Lee has gone with his parents (both longtime UGA fans) to just about every Bulldogs game this season to see his brother play, even after Dallas broke his leg in October.

While at the games, Dillon has had the chance to build a relationship with UGA’s coaches, including Mark Richt. For the record, Dillon says he’s committed to Alabama.

This is UGA’s biggest recruiting weekend of the year. Will Lee make an appearance in Athens? His mother told the AJC on Thursday that it won’t be decided until after Buford plays in the Class AA state championship on Friday.

Continue reading Will Alabama LB commit make surprise visit to UGA this weekend? »

South Carolina DB recruit Rico McWilliams (AJC)

Alabama is flirting with one of Georgia’s best cornerbacks, Lovejoy’s Rico McWilliams. He committed to South Carolina last summer.

The 6-foot-1, 180-pound McWilliams is considered one of the state’s top “cover corners” and has helped lead Lovejoy to the Class AAAA state championship game against Tucker at 8 p.m. Friday. McWilliams has prototype size, speed (4.4 in the 40), and athleticism for the DB position.

Lovejoy coach Al Hughes said he has been contacted by Alabama assistants Kirby Smart and Chris Rumph about his star defender.

“They made an ‘unofficial’ scholarship offer,” Hughes told the AJC. “They’ve want to sign three cornerbacks this year, and he’s one of those three. Alabama said that they know his focus is on the state championship game. They told him to think about things, and after the playoffs are over, they would continue to pursue him if he’s interested.”

McWilliams said, “Coach …

Continue reading Alabama flirts with Georgia DB who is committed to South Carolina »