Archive for the ‘LSU’ Category

East Paulding High School tailback Kamani Thomas is compared to Alabama star Trent Richardson by his coach, and that’s not a stretch.

Alabama may be thinking the same, as Crimson Tide running backs coach Burton Burns showed up at East Paulding last week to scout Thomas, who is considered by some to be Georgia’s No. 1 prospect at running back for 2013 (he’s a junior).

“He reminds me of the Richardson kid at Alabama,” East Paulding coach John Reid told the AJC. “He’s got big legs, all the muscles, and the quickness, the power and speed. He’s really quick once he gets his shoulders squared up.”

2013 RB Kamani Thomas of East Paulding HS

The 5-foot-9, 190-pound Thomas will be the featured player when East Paulding plays North Paulding at 7:30 tonight in Thursday Night Football. The game can be seen live on WSB-TV digital channel 2.2 or at wsbtv.com.

Thomas, who rushed for nearly 2,000 yards last year as a sophomore, has early scholarship offers from Vanderbilt, Mississippi State, …

Continue reading RB Kamani Thomas gets comparisons to Alabama’s Trent Richardson »

UGA target Jordan Watkins, a DL from Woodward Academy. has narrowed down to UGA, Florida and Stanford (Photo by Rusty Mansell/247Sports.com)

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And then there were three.

Jordan Watkins, one of the state’s top college football prospects at defensive tackle, started off the recruiting process with 35 schools. The Woodward Academy football product narrowed it all the way down to three on Wednesday.

Which schools are the finalists? It’s UGA, Florida and Stanford.

Scratched off the shortlist are Miami, Alabama, LSU, Notre Dame and Oklahoma.

“It’s those three because they are all great schools athletically and academically,” Watkins told the AJC. “That helped them stand out among the top eight. Of course, with some of the other schools dealing with NCAA allegations (Miami), that made it a little easier to get to three.”

UGA fans have been vocal about feeling pretty confident about their …

Continue reading DT Jordan Watkins narrows down to 3: UGA, Florida and Stanford »

Cameron Fordham, who was granted his release from LSU’s football team after one season, has decided to transfer to NC State.

The 6-foot-4, 295-pound offensive lineman from Northview High School picked the ACC school after making official visits to both NC State and Central Florida this past weekend.

“I chose NC State because I felt like it was the best place for me both academically and athletically,” Fordham told the AJC. “I felt like there was a lot of integrity in the program at NC State. The coaches are all about the right things, and they really wanted me — which made me go for it.”

Fordham will have to sit out this season at NC State, per NCAA transfer rules, and then have three years of football eligibility. Fordham briefly considered the possibility of staying closer home at UGA, saying “I talked to Georgia a little bit but I think they are full at this time.”

When asked about the circumstances surrounding his decision to transfer from LSU, Fordham said, “I’m going to …

Continue reading Ex-LSU offensive lineman Cameron Fordham transfers to NC State »

Cameron Fordham, who played at Northview High School, said he both requested and received a release from the LSU football team. Fordham, who is a redshirt freshman offensive lineman, declined to take questions but released a statement:

“I want to begin by thanking Coach Miles and his staff for affording me the opportunity to be a part of the LSU football program.“

“I’ve grown tremendously because of the time and experience that I’ve had at LSU and for that, I’m grateful. I will sorely miss my teammates and all those that make it work behind the scenes for the program.”

“I also want to extend to the fans and the people of Louisiana my personal appreciation for all of the support they provided to me from day one.”

“This was a personal decision that I made that best fits my current and future career.”

WE’VE MOVED!!! Visit the AJC’s NEW Recruiting page by clicking here or going to ajc.com/sports/recruiting

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Continue reading Cameron Fordham, ex-Northview standout, to transfer from LSU’s football team »

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Mark Richt has seen a lot in his 10 seasons as UGA’s football coach.

He’s never had a recruiting moment like Friday night.

Four players committed at the same time at UGA’s “Dawg Night” prospect camp (This was a “package deal” unlike any other … four players from four different high schools, from three different states).

John Theus, a 5-star offensive lineman from Jacksonville, and a trio of 2013 recruits — Camden County QB Brice Ramsey, WR-DB Tramel Terry of Goose Creek, S.C., and RB Derrick Henry of Yulee, Fla. — all huddled around Richt and pledged at the same time (and a fifth one committed later in the night).

Four? Maybe four on the same day. Maybe. But four at the same time? What?

Ramsey explained how it went down:

He said Theus was one of the first people he saw after reporting to UGA on Friday. ”Theus talked …

Continue reading UGA’s Mark Richt gives ‘group hug’ after 4 commit together at Dawg Night (UPDATED) »

Alabama-bound LB Dillon Lee (left) with his older brother, UGA OL Dallas Lee (AJC photo by Michael Carvell)

Buford High School linebacker Dillon Lee, who has committed to Alabama, proved that he is among the nation’s top athletes over the weekend.

Lee finished in the top 10 of the SPARQ Rating National Championship at “The Opening” — Nike’s new summer training competition that features some of the country’s top college football prospects. In the SPARQ contest, the rising high school seniors are tested in the 40-yard dash, vertical jump, 20-yard shuttle, and throwing the power ball.

Lee led the entire field after two events, and ended up finishing 8th overall. In the preliminary round scores, Lee was clocked in the 40-yard dash at 4.66 seconds and had a 35.6-inch vertical jump.

Lee is the younger brother of UGA offensive lineman Dallas Lee, and committed to Alabama over Florida State and UGA (click on story link).

It’s always interesting to see how top-rated prospects perform …

Continue reading Alabama-bound LB Dillon Lee stars for Georgia at national camp »

Buford OL Vadal Alexander has Alabama, LSU and Auburn as his leaders and said he has been invited to visit UGA this summer (AJC photo by Michael Carvell)

Vadal Alexander, who is a candidate to be Georgia’s No. 1 college football prospect on the offensive line, is favoring three SEC West schools as his leaders.

“It’s LSU, Alabama and Auburn that I like the most,” Alexander told the AJC. “I’m trying to get to know Miami and North Carolina better. But the top tier would be LSU, Alabama and Auburn because I know them better — they would be my leaders.”

The 6-foot-6, 300-pounder from Buford High School had around 25 early scholarship offers, including both Georgia Tech and UGA. Alexander hasn’t had contact with Georgia Tech in a couple of months. He is considering an unofficial visit to UGA to meet with coach Mark Richt this summer but hasn’t set a date.

“I’ve been around Georgia since I was in the ninth grade because we’ve had some Buford offensive lineman go to …

Continue reading Georgia’s No. 1 OL prospect, Vadal Alexander, lists leaders: Alabama, LSU and Auburn »

Wayne County QB Greyson Lambert has nine offers, and may add a few more in July

Georgia’s No. 1 college football prospect at quarterback, Greyson Lambert, is nearly fully recovered from a leg injury that sidelined him for three months and is sprinting through schools on the recruiting trail.

Lambert made unofficial visits to South Carolina and N.C. State last weekend. He plans to make recruiting trips to Alabama, South Carolina, Florida, FSU — and maybe a few other schools — in July.

The 6-foot-6, 195-pounder from Wayne County High School said he has nine early offers: Alabama, South Carolina, Miami, N.C. State, Virginia, Louisville, Purdue, Boston College and Mississippi State. He also had early offers from UGA and Clemson which are no longer available (see below).

Nearly every elite quarterback commits before his senior season, but Lambert is unsure.

“That all kind of got pushed back with the whole leg thing; With not being able to visit many schools in June, I might wait …

Continue reading QB Greyson Lambert on mend, will visit Alabama, Florida, FSU and South Carolina »

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Jordan Watkins, who is one of Georgia’s most-heavily recruited football prospects, is really serious about his college major.

The 6-foot-6, 265-pound defensive tackle from Woodward Academy has a 3.7 GPA and wants to study Broadcast Journalism or Communications in college. Watkins started with around 30 offers, and has narrowed down to eight finalists, with his college major being an important factor: Alabama, Florida, UGA, LSU, Miami, Notre Dame, Oklahoma and Stanford.

Why UGA? “Just the fact you get the combination of two big things I’m looking for. You get a great education from one of the better known journalism schools in the country, and also at the same time the chance to play great SEC football. With the combination of those two, there’s no way Georgia couldn’t make the top eight.”

There were two surprises among …

Continue reading Jordan Watkins trims to 8: UGA, Alabama, Florida, LSU, Miami, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Stanford »

Storm Johnson was one of Georgia's top running backs in the 2010 recruiting class (AP photo)

One of Georgia’s top college football prospects from the Class of 2010 has decided on a new school.

Tailback Storm Johnson will transfer to Central Florida, reported the Orlando Sentinel on Friday. Johnson originally signed with Miami and played one season with the Hurricanes after starring at Loganville and Buford high schools.

“Yes sir, Storm committed today and he will start classes on the 22nd,” Wesley Johnson, Storm’s father, told the Sentinel. “It actually feels quite good just to get the pressure off and be able to resume his college career. He starts off with a clean slate. Coach [George] O’Leary met with us today and coach felt good about [Storm], and Storm felt good about being there.”

Johnson committed to Central Florida after touring the campus. He will sit out next season due to NCAA transfer rules, and have three years of eligibility remaining. Johnson also visited South …

Continue reading RB Storm Johnson transfers from Miami to Central Florida »