AJC > Sports > Highschools > Blog > Archives > 2007 > April > 05
Thursday, April 5, 2007
Gwinnett’s Biggest Recruit
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Who’s the most sought after football recruit in Gwinnett?
Last year, it was Caleb King, hands down. He was the top-rated running back on numerous recruiting sites and had more than 60 scholarship offers. A broken leg midway through his senior season reduced the hype, and King would end up passing on national powers like USC and Florida and settling on Georgia.
By the end of the season, an argument could have been made that the Ohio State-bound Cameron Heyward, was the most sought after recruit out of Gwinnett. Brookwood’s Rennie Curran belongs in the argument, too, but he committed to Georgia way before the season, which diminished the talk.
This year, the title of Gwinnett’s biggest recruit is up for grabs. Norcross receiver Brice Butler and Buford defensive tackle Omar Hunter appear to be the frontrunners, although Notre Dame’s courting of Duluth running back Alex Hunt has raised some eyebrows.
But, at least in terms of national publicity, no one in that threesome is close to where King was last year. In fact, no Gwinnett County player is listed in the top 100 to watch on either Scout.com or Rivals.com. That should change when the first official 2008 recruiting rankings are released in June.
Butler, a physical, playmaking wide out, has already secured more than 30 scholarship offers, including ones from Southern California, Florida and Notre Dame. Hunter is equally in demand and has approximately 40 offers. Buford coach Jess Simpson called the 6-foot, 300-pounder the most sought after prospect since Darius Walker.
So, right now, who’s the biggest recruit in Gwinnett?
Permalink | Comments (1) | Post your comment | Categories: David Purdum
Mixing the young and the old
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia high school baseball isn’t just about upperclassmen sharpening their skills for a leap to Division 1 or, possibly the pros. Freshmen and sophomores play a vital role and several teams have been able to win with a mixture of both young and old.
The senior class has carried East Coweta (11-4 and 3-0 in Region 4-AAAAA). Starter Rico Reid, fresh off a complete game, two-hitter against Mundy’s Mill, is 4-2 with a 1.70 ERA and both of his losses were of the one-run variety. Reid’s nine strikeouts against the Tigers gave him 43 whiffs in just 37 innings pitched.
At the plate, infielder Ben Inman and catcher Chris Ramos lead the team with 15 RBI each; outfielder Jeremy Capshaw is hitting .400. But it’s freshman hurler Cam Bedrosian (son of former big leaguer and current East Coweta pitching coach Steve Bedrosian) who’s raising eyebrows on the mound.
Bedrosian followed Reid’s gem with a one-hit shutout of Tri-Cities and is 2-0 in his varsity season.
“He’s a freshman pitching on a Class AAAAA varsity team,” said East Coweta coach Franklin DeLoach. “We’re very pleased with how he’s done.”
Northview (11-3, 3-1 Region 6-AAAAA) has a nice mix as well, incorporating senior ace Ryan Roberts (two of three region wins) and senior second baseman Brian Hacker (team-leading .450 average) with sophomore catcher Drew McWhorter (4 HR). The four seniors (David Nakano and Ryan Holland are the others) went through difficult times in the Titans’ first two varsity seasons, including last year’s 9-15 team that won only one game in league play.
Meanwhile, McWhorter leads a sophomore class that’s played together for two years.
“All those guys suffered through the last couple seasons,” coach Chan English said of his seniors. “[But] they put in a lot of effort in the offseason; got bigger, stronger, and they helped motivate a lot of the younger guys. And last year we let our sophomores stay together; they played on the junior varsity [as freshman] and they learned how to win.”
Riverwood is 10-4 and riding seniors Tyler Thornburg (.564 with 23 RBI; 3-0, 2.05 ERA) and Jonathan Arogeti (18 RBI). On the mound, sophomore Ian Shaw is 3-1 after a complete game shutout of Forsyth Central. Raiders’ coach Mike Santuro loves the senior-sophomore combo.
“[Thornburg’s] probably the best athlete in our school,” said Santuro. “And [Shaw’s] giving us some real big innings.”
If Santuro’s bunch is to make a deep run in the Class AAA playoffs, other pitchers will have to step up. Thornburg and Shaw are a combined 6-1 with a 2.15 ERA; the rest of the staff if 4-3 with a 10.69 ERA.
News and Notes • Say one thing for the Cedar Grove Saints: they can run. The Saints have had trouble winning games and getting outs (team ERA of 7.10), but four players are in the top 10 on DeKalb County’s stolen base leader board. Junior Xavier Avery, who leads the county in hitting at .677, has stolen 31 bases; senior Armani Grant has 26; junior Trence Harvey and senior Robert Milton have 14 each.
• In Camden County’s last four Region 3-AAAAA games, all shutout wins, the pitching staff has thrown three no-hitters and a one-hitter.
Pitcher of the week: Cam Bedrosian, East Coweta. Bedrosian threw a complete game, one-hitter (an infield hit), beating Tri-Cities, 7-0 and kept the Indians unbeaten in Region 4-AAAAA.
Permalink | Comments (4) | Post your comment | Categories: Metro
Dodge County still a force
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
With Dodge County, opponents have not had the luxury of picking their poison, and the Indians’ opponents may feel as if they’re facing a bunch of clones.
Only two of them have the same last name, but in rolling to a 15-1 record, the Indians have four hitters sitting above .400. Dodge was not expected to be as dominant after losing Division I signees Ross Smith (Auburn) and Matt Smith (Mississippi) to graduation.
“When we went to the park with them we expected to win,” said Dodge coach Ray Hardin. “This year, we didn’t know what to expect.”
Leading the charge are twin brothers Justin and Josh Huff. Justin shares the team lead in hitting at .453 (tied with second baseman/pitcher Jared Reaves) and leads the club with five homers. He’s also 4-1 on the mound with a 3.62 ERA.
Josh, a strong-armed catcher who has allowed just two stolen bases, is hitting .431. Reaves, meanwhile, leads the team in RBIs and is 4-1 with a 1.55 ERA. He has 38 strikeouts with one walk in 27.1 innings of work. Senior Spencer Butler is also a two-way threat, hitting .405 and striking out 39 in 27 innings pitched.
Unbeaten: Entering the middle portion of the season, Calhoun is pushing its ungodly statistics to even higher levels when most teams find their numbers leveling off.
The Yellow Jackets (14-0) have pushed their team batting average from .401 to .429 over the past two weeks. Pitcher/third baseman Brodie Pullen belted four homers in a win over Temple last week, and has 14 homers and 36 RBIs through 14 games.
He’s one of three Yellow Jackets hitting .500 or better, led by Charlie Culberson, who has raised his averaged from .529 to .595 the last two weeks. Senior left-hander Josh Smoker, meanwhile, has allowed just one hit in his last two starts, including a no-hitter against Armuchee March 27. … . Heritage has scored 10 runs or more nine times in 13 games, but the real story is the Patriots’ pitching. Their team ERA is 1.46 spread among seven different pitchers. Three of them, Chase Ware, Tyler Austin and Tim Eisenman, have yet to allow an earned run. Eisenmen is hitting .542 … .Harris County carried a 13-0 record into Wednesday’s showdown with Region 2-AAA power Columbus. …. .Savannah’s Calvary Day has used the pitching of Brad Hutson and Mike Allegretti en route to its 14-0 record. Hutson is 6-0 with 41 strikeouts, just two walks and a 1.20 ERA, while Allegretti is 5-0 with a 0.48 ERA.
Once-beaten: Schley County, tucked away in the southwest portion of the state, might have flown under the radar, but the Wildcats are proving to be a force.
Their only loss is a 4-3 setback to defending state champion Eagle’s Landing Christian, and Georgia Southwestern signee Bud Fuller and Brian Devereaux have anchored the rotation. Fuller, a right-hander, is 4-1 with a 1.12 ERA, while Devereaux, a transfer from Lee County, is 3-0.
Jeremy Royals, who is 27-3 since the beginning of the 2005 season, is 3-0 this spring with a 1.90 ERA and is hitting .370.
On the mend: Lee County started 4-5 but has won three straight, riding hot hitting from the middle of its batting order. Thomas Nichols, Jack Posey and Colt Glover combined to go 9-for-10 in a blowout win over Bainbridge Tuesday. Nichols and second baseman Matt Bacon are both hitting .500.
The young ones: Gainesville freshman third baseman Sloan Strickland is hitting .538 and went 6-for-7 in his first two starts … Jones County sophomore catcher Tyler Roberts is hitting .459 with three homers and 14 RBIs …
Permalink | Comments (2) | Post your comment | Categories: Baseball
