Archive for the ‘Video’ Category

Tyren Jones, who is considered by some to be the state’s No. 1 prospect at RB, recently made an unofficial visit to UGA.

That normally wouldn’t be a big deal – except for the fact that Jones has been committed to Alabama since last February. The 5-foot-9, 195-pounder from Walton High School picked the Crimson Tide over UGA and Clemson.

UGA is still chasing hard after Jones, who was the leading rusher in the state’s largest classification last season.

Why did Jones visit to UGA? He hasn’t talked much about it, perhaps not wanting to worry Alabama fans. But he finally revealed the reasons to the AJC in the above video.

Jones also talked about his high school teammate, offensive lineman Brandon “The Finisher” Kublanow, who is committed to UGA.

Are they trying to form a “package deal” to go to Alabama or UGA? Jones also addresses that in the video.

UPDATED: No disrespect to the one and only Robert Nkemdiche, but Tyren Jones may have been the most outstanding performer in …

Continue reading Top Alabama football recruit explains why he visited UGA »

Robert Nkemdiche, the nation’s No. 1 overall college prospect, was clearly the star of the Corky Kell luncheon at the Georgia Dome on Wednesday.

When the 6-foot-5, 270-pound defensive end from Grayson High School entered the Dome, he was swarmed by the media, event staff, players from other teams and their parents, and opposing coaches. All in the day’s work for the 5-star defender.

“A lot of my coaches help me stay humble, they do a great job,” Nkemdiche said. “And I practice being humble. Some people try to be humble but I practice being humble. A lot of it also has to do with my spirituality. I’m a big Christian, and I want to glorify God.”

To Robert’s credit, as he was pulled in every which way but loose on Wednesday, he was happy to give everybody who asked a few minutes of his time.

Grayson’s athletics director stood a few feet away as Nkemdiche made the rounds on Wednesday, helping him facilitate through the time demands. Grayson coach Mickey Conn told the AJC …

Continue reading Robert Nkemdiche: The pressures of being No. 1 »

Want to see another side of Robert Nkemdiche? Click on the video above.

Nkemdiche leads the 2011 AJC’s Super 11 team, as the first Georgia high school senior to be ranked as the nation’s No. 1 overall college prospect. Not only that, Nkemdiche is the consensus No. 1 (a rarity) with the four major recruiting services – Rivals, Scout, ESPN and 247sports.com.

What’s the latest with Nkemdiche’s recruiting? He’s 100-percent committed to Clemson, will go see his older brother play at least one game for Ole Miss this season, is unsure if he will take official visits to any other schools, and if he does it may be USC and Oregon, according to multiple reports.

Back to the Super 11: It’s one of the AJC’s biggest traditions and events of the year. The list is compromised of the state’s top 11 high school football players – not college prospects. We’ll have our own AJC recruiting rankings out later this fall.

Here’s some of the AJC Super 11 links to read more:

• Breakdown of the AJC …

Continue reading Robert Nkemdiche … superhero? (and more) »

“Flipping” is the popular sport of recruits switching their commitments between colleges, and it’s a winter sport that usually happens in January.

However, there’s a new trend emerging: With prospects being offered earlier and earlier by colleges, flipping is now becoming a summer sport, too.

WR Tramel Terry de-committed and re-committed to UGA (247sports)

There have been several flips from longtime commits over the summer, including LB Reuben Foster (from Alabama to Auburn) and RB Derrick Henry (from UGA to likely another school this month). Both Foster and Henry had been committed to their first school for nearly a year.

We’re six months away from signing day and UGA has already had three de-commits. Along with Henry, there’s WR Kyrin Priester (who remains undecided) and WR Tramel Terry – who committed to UGA, de-committed and pledged again to the Bulldogs.

Georgia Tech convinced LB Nigel Bowden to flip from Vanderbilt but then he switched back to the Commodores. He’s a …

Continue reading INSIDER: The powerful influence of Robert Nkemdiche »

Last year, no out-of-state school recruited the state of Georgia worse than Clemson.

This year, no school is recruiting the state better than the Tigers.

One year after pitching a shutout, Clemson has seven Georgia commitments (and counting), including the grand prize, Grayson defensive end Robert Nkemdiche, the nation’s No. 1 overall prospect.

Should we go ahead and award Clemson as "best out-of-state school to recruit Georgia in 2013?" (AP)

“Clemson has traditionally recruited the state of Georgia very well, and last year they just missed out,” Scout.com’s Chad Simmons said. “But obviously Clemson has come back much more aggressively this year. They’re getting back to what they want to do – and that’s recruit strongly in the state of Georgia.”

No name speaks louder than Nkemdiche. But there’s more than just the 5-star. Elbert County High School’s Tyshon Dye is one of the Southeast’s top running backs, while Lassiter High School’s Ryan Jenkins and Peach County High …

Continue reading INSIDER: Clemson goes from worst-to-first with Georgia recruiting »

The No. 1 college football prospect in the nation says his commitment to Clemson is a “done deal” if the Tigers offer one more of his Grayson High School teammates, safety Ryan Carter.

“I am waiting on Clemson to offer Ryan; when that happens, it’s locked … it’s a done deal … it’s over,” Robert Nkemdiche told the AJC.

Nkemdiche says the primary reason he picked Clemson over LSU and Alabama, among others, was because the Tigers already had commitments from his two his Grayson teammates, RB Wayne Gallman and DB David Kamara. Also, earlier this week, former Grayson QB Nick Schuessler decided to give up his football scholarship to Mississippi State to be a preferred walk-on at Clemson (Nkemdiche has lived with Schuessler’s family at times).

The only person missing in the Grayson-to-Clemson pipeline is Ryan Carter, according to Nkemdiche.

Robert Nkemdiche wants another high school teammate, Ryan Carter, in this photo, too (Note: This photo was owned and submitted by the Kamara …

Continue reading Robert Nkemdiche: No. 1 prospect hoping Clemson offers another Grayson teammate »

Three months ago, Georgia Tech didn’t have any commitments for its 2013 football recruiting class.

While some Tech fans were panicking, coach Paul Johnson maintained his cool — saying he “wasn’t too concerned” because it was so early in the process.

Fast forward three months and Georgia Tech has eight commitments. The Yellow Jackets were briefly ranked in the top 25 of the Rivals.com team rankings.

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“It’s the same now as I told you before: I felt like we were in pretty good shape,” Johnson told the AJC. “I wasn’t too worried about it. These things [commitments] don’t mean anything until they are signed. It’s just like anything else. I don’t get too hung up on them. There’s a long time between now and February.”

Does Johnson feel better now with eight commitments than when he had zero a few months ago? “I wasn’t feeling bad about how things were …

Continue reading How would you rank Georgia Tech’s 2013 recruiting class so far? »

It has been nearly a week since Robert Nkemdiche’s surprising commitment to Clemson and a lot of people – especially those from Alabama, LSU and Ole Miss – want to know:

Did it really happen?

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Yes, it did. The nation’s No. 1 overall college football prospect did commit to Clemson. It was surprising for many reasons, including the timing of it (Robert could’ve waited until it was time to report next summer).

Nkemdiche’s high school coach at Grayson, Mickey Conn, provided some insight on the situation. He actually drove Nkemdiche last Wednesday to Clemson for summer camp, and says he had “no idea” that Robert intended to commit.

“Oh no, I had no idea,” Conn said. “I drove him up there because he wanted to go. I thought he was going to commit in February and I didn’t know where. I had no idea he was going to do it last week.

“But then he decided that’s what he wanted to do. I think …

Continue reading Robert Nkemdiche to Clemson — Did that really happen? »

It has been a rough week for UGA.

UGA lost its second recruit of the week when WR Kyrin Priester backed off his commitment to the Bulldogs on Friday.

Earlier in the week, UGA’s top-rated recruit, 5-star tailback Derrick Henry, also decided to “re-open” his recruiting after being committed to the Bulldogs since last summer. He made a statement that you can read here, saying he rushed his decision — but claims he is still considering the Bulldogs.

What about Priester? He’s a Florida native who recently transferred from the Orlando area to Brookwood High School. A couple of months ago, the 6-foot-2, 185-pounder committed to UGA over Vanderbilt and TCU, citing UGA’s needs for wide receivers and his appeal to Mark Richt’s Christian beliefs (click to read story).

On Friday after playing with his Brookwood teammates in a 7-on-7 tournament. Priester confirmed that he was backing off his decision.

“I just want to see all my other options before I make a serious decision,” Priester …

Continue reading Rough week: UGA loses second football recruit in three days (UPDATED) »

Robert Nkemdiche, the nation’s No. 1 overall college football prospect, has committed to Clemson.

The 6-foot-5, 275-pound defensive end from Grayson High School made the unexpected announcement during a visit to Clemson on Thursday.

“It’s family man!” Nkemdiche said in a text message to the AJC, confirming his commitment to Clemson.

Robert Nkemdiche (No. 1 jersey) in Clemson gear with his Grayson teammates, sent out by Wayne Gallman on Twitter

There’s a lot of connections between Nkemdiche and Clemson that would make it feel like a football family: Two of his Grayson teammates, DB David Kamara (Nkemdiche’s best friend since middle school) and RB Wayne Gallman, have already committed to Clemson. There’s an extra level of trust with Clemson coach Dabo Swinney because he roomed together and played football at Alabama with Grayson coach Mickey Conn, who has helped Nkemdiche navigate through the recruiting process. Clemson is located only 100 miles away from Grayson High School, …

Continue reading Robert Nkemdiche: Clemson lands nation’s No. 1 recruit … “It’s family man!” »