Archive for the ‘Florida’ Category

Three members of Georgia Tech’s 2010 recruiting class were selected this week to play in the Offense-Defense All-America Bowl.

AJC Super 11 quarterback/athlete B.J. Bostic of Jefferson County, DT Shawn Green of Grayson and DT Denzel McCoy of Northview were invited to play in the high school all-star game Jan. 2 in Myrtle Beach, S.C. The game, in its third year of existence,  pits nationally-ranked high school all-stars from the East against others from the West. It competes with the UnderArmour (Jan. 2, Orlando) and U.S. Army (Jan. 9, San Antonio) All-America games.

Now for some other news and notes:

• Word is that Union Grove athlete Jordan Akins is about to land a scholarship offer from Georgia. Akins is a 6-foot-3, 190-pound multi-skilled athlete who plays quarterback, wide receiver, defensive back and kick returner for the Wolverines, depending on where they need him when. He received a scholarship offer from Georgia Tech last week and holds offers from Ole Miss, UConn, …

Continue reading 3 Tech commitments invited to national All-Star game »

It seemed a simple-enough question.

I asked Da’Rick Rogers, whose name I had heard pronounced a half-dozen different ways and had said at least a few different ways myself, “what is the correct pronunciation of your first name?”

Da'Rick "Da Freak" Rogers poses outside Phil Reeve Stadium in Calhoun. The 5-star wide receiver says he's "rock solid" on his commitment to Georgia. (Photo by Jason Getz)

“I really don’t know if anybody says it right or not,” Rogers says with a laugh. “My mom (Deborah Rogers), she says it was supposed to be like  David and Rick together, so she says DAY-rick. But I really don’t know how to pronounce it I’ve heard it so many different ways. I just know it’s everything but Derrick. Anything else is fine.”

Well, I asked, what do you say when you answer the phone?

“I say DAY-rick,” he told me. “But a lot of people want to say duh-REEK, because it rhymes with my nickname, ‘Da Freak.’ So I hear that a lot. It kind of depends on where somebody’s from. …

Continue reading No matter how you say it, there’s only one Da’Rick »

Apparently Chad Simmons of Scout.com and I are on the same wave length.

The respected Southeast region recruiting analyst put up a report this morning on Calhoun wide receiver Da’Rick Rogers, a five-star prospect, AJC Super 11 selection and a University of Georgia commitment.

It just so happens that I am heading up to Calhoun this afternoon to talk to Rogers, quarterback Nash Nance (a Vanderbilt commitment) and coach Hal Lamb in a previously arranged meeting. My father lives in Calhoun — starred for the Yellow Jackets in the mid-1950s — so I’d planned for a while to get up there and meet in person this phenomenal football player.

Simmons didn’t really steal my thunder, though. Rogers told him what Coach Lamb told me last week, that he remains “solid to Georgia” despite continued intense overtures from Tennessee, Florida and Southern Cal. Hopefully I’ll be able to glean a few more insights from Da’Rick today.

If there are some specific questions you’d like me to ask Rogers, …

Continue reading Checking out Da’Rick Rogers, and other fun stuff »

Georgia coach Mark Richt and Florida coach Urban Meyer have been asked a lot about the impact of this week’s game on recruiting. I, for one, am not sure the outcome has much of a bearing on that.

How else can you explain Georgia’s recent success in the Sunshine State? The Bulldogs have infamously lost 16 of the last 19 in the series with Florida, including 49-10 last year. Yet they were able to pluck a pair of five-star recruits (according to Scout.com) in quarterback Aaron Murray and tight end Orson Charles and a four-star recruit in wide receiver Rantavious Wooten, right out from under the Gators’ noses.  Florida offered each of them, so it’s not like they were simply unwanted by the defending national champions.

Same thing this year. Georgia currently has commitments from seven players out of Florida:  OT Brent Benedict, Jacksonville; LB Demetre Baker, Orange Park; DE B.J. Butler, Kissimmee; DB Marc Deas, Kissimmee; DB Derek Owens, Jacksonville; DB Nickell Robey, …

Continue reading Georgia-Florida rivalry intensifies on recruiting trail »

Georgia appears to have eased the concerns of cornerback Nickell Robey.

Defensive coordinator Willie Martinez and running backs coach Bryan McClendon hustled down to Frostproof, Fla., this past Friday after word spread last week that Robey was having second thoughts about his commitment to the Bulldogs. Last week, Robey said rumors that Martinez’s job might be in jeopardy were of great concern and had him considering offers from Tennessee and South Florida.

“They met with Nickell and Nickell’s family for quite a while, for about an hour and a half, and had a good visit,” Frostproof coach Brad Metheny said. “I think all went well. Nickell still feels pretty good about Georgia and thinks that’s where he wants to play college football. All and all I think it was a good visit and good timing for the coaches to come down and talk to him. It went well. Eased his mind a little bit.”

Metheny said the four-star cornerback reaffirmed his commitment to the Bulldogs. “That’s where he …

Continue reading Robey told Martinez not leaving, reaffirms UGA commitment »

Gainesville quarterback Blake Sims grew up dreaming of becoming a Georgia Bulldog but has been committed to Alabama since April. (AJC photo)

Georgia is making a major push to recruit Gainesville quarterback Blake Sims. And it has created a bit of a moral dilemma for the player and his family.

Sims, an AJC Super 11 selection and one of the early favorites for all-classification player of the year honors, has been committed to Alabama since April. But Bulldogs’ head coach Mark Richt, who has had a relationship with Sims and his family for four years, has taken a personal interest in changing Sims’ mind and convincing him to come to UGA instead.

“That was pretty cool,” Blake’s father, Sonny Sims, said of getting a phone call from Richt on Monday. “Coach Richt has been part of Blake’s life for a long time.  We’ve got pictures of Blake with Coach Richt as a 9th grader. That’s why we couldn’t understand why Georgia didn’t snag him early because he’d been groomed all his life for …

Continue reading UGA, Richt make major push for Bama commit Sims »

Georgia commitment Brent Benedict, one of the top offensive line prospects in the country, suffered what was described as a “catastrophic knee injury” in a game Friday night in Jacksonville.

Benedict, a 6-foot-6, 290-pound offensive tackle who stars for The Bolles School, reportedly injured the knee when he was simply running down the field to celebrate a touchdown during a 68-0 win over Yulee, according to a report in The Florida Times-Union. There was no contact on the play.

T-U reporter Carlon Hays quoted coach Corky Rogers:  “It seems to be about as bad as it can get. “It looked like somebody had shot him when he went down.”

Rogers said that Benedict is likely looking at 12-18 months of rehabilitation after surgery.

Neither Rogers nor Benedict could be reached Monday but I’ll update this post as soon as I hear back from them.

Benedict is one of the Bulldogs’ top recruits for 2010. He is ranked the fourth-, fifth- and sixth-best tackle in the nation by Rivals, ESPN and …

Continue reading Georgia O-line commitment Benedict blows out knee »

Another one-time Florida State commitment has landed elsewhere.

After decommitting to Florida State late last month, Lowndes County's Ed Christian committed to Auburn on Sunday. (AJC Photo by Jason Getz)

Lowndes offensive lineman Ed Christian, an AJC Super 11 selection, committed to Auburn after going there on an official visit this past weekend. The 6-foot-5, 280-pound tackle originally committed to the Seminoles way back in February, just a week after national signing day. He “decommitted” to FSU late last month when questions started to arise over the future of the program. He attended the Auburn-Ball State game on an unofficial visit that weekend.

Christian credited Auburn assistant coach Curtis Luper for reigniting his interest in Auburn. He said Luper called him out of the blue last month.

“I wanted to experience another college,” Christian told Auburn.Scout.com. “I gave them that chance and it was my overall best visit to a school. This school (Auburn) treats you the …

Continue reading Super 11 OT Christian picks Auburn after FSU spurn »

Anybody who thinks Lane Kiffin’s showy antics don’t make a difference in recruiting wasn’t listening to these players after the game. They were clearly impressed by Kiffin’s idea to chopper to the game with right-hand recruiting man Ed Orgeron.

The two Tennessee coaches landed on a soccer field just west of James R. Hallford Stadium in a red helicopter as the
Star Bangled Banner played before the nationally-televised the M.L. King-Stephenson game. They flew out at the end of halftime.

“That really felt good to me because I talked to him for a minute on the phone,” said Mike Thornton, Stephenson’s star defensive tackle. “He told me he was going to come in and show off a little bit and, sure ‘nough, he did his thing. I saw him leave out and come in but that’s it.”

Stephenson led 7-0 at the half.

Thornton, considered the top uncommitted D-lineman in the state, hadn’t mentioned Tennessee among his favorites (Auburn, Georgia, Penn State) before Friday. Asked after the game if  the …

Continue reading Kiffin’s antics impress Thornton, Brown, and lift Vols »

I’m getting ready to leave my office very shortly to head over to James R. Hallford Stadium for tonight’s mega-matchup between Martin Luther King High and Stephenson. I’m going to get there early and I’ll be there late — blogging throughout — so be sure to check back for updates and commentary from pregame to final whistle!

Remember, it’s a 6 p.m. kickoff tonight and it’s expected to be jam-packed so I’d suggest you get there early, too. It’s a beautiful night for football and it looks like these two teams, ranked 7 and 8 in the state’s highest classification, are going to encounter perfect conditions for the the competition.

Here are just a few things I’m looking forward to:

• MLK’s Mack Brown: This will be my second chance to see in action the top-rated back in the state. The last time was against Southwest DeKalb, which held him in check with 66 yards. Stephenson’s D may be even tougher.
• Mike Thornton: This will be my first opportunity to see tackle Mike Thornton live. …

Continue reading Towers blogging live from MLK-Stephenson tonight »