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Monday, July 10, 2006
Claytor: No Tech commitment yet
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Nick Claytor’s one of the biggest recruits in coach Chan Gailey’s plan, figuratively and literally, but the mammoth offensive tackle told me Monday night he’s not about to commit to Georgia Tech.
Or Ohio State, or Auburn, or Florida State, or any school. Not yet, anyway.
Claytor, the 6-foot-6, 320-pounder from Gainesville High was rumored on some websites Monday to be nearing a college decision, with Tech sitting pretty according to some reports.
My guess is the reports began circulating for one reason - he called Gailey Monday with a list of “big” questions.
“I’m just starting to call [college] coaches and ask some of the tougher questions,” said Claytor, who is ranked as the No. 8 offensive tackle in the nation by rivals.com among rising seniors. “You kind of tip-toe around when you’re visiting [those schools], but you have to ask.
“I asked Tech outright today, coach Gailey, are they going to win? Are they going to be consistent. I went straight to the source. I just want to let people know I didn’t make a commitment.”
From the sound of it, Claytor - who’s from Ohio, with much of his family, including his father, still in Toledo - is down to Tech, Auburn and OSU, with Florida State on the edge.
He went to a seven-on-seven camp last month at Georgia, which has offered fellow Gainesville tackle C.J. Wood a scholarship. Claytor did not, however, go to one of Georgia’s full camps. “I took that time [at the seven-on-seven camp] to debate it and see if I really wanted to go there, and put forth the effort to try to get an offer,” he said.
And he opted against that effort. “This is one of the toughest decisions I’ve ever had to make, and that would have been added pressure,” he said, adding that he did not blow off Georgia, but rather never said he’d attend full camp in the first place.
As for a timeline, Claytor, whose father started on Kentucky’s 1978 NCAA championship basketball team (his mother ran track in college), is looking down the road. “In football season, or closer to it, maybe September or October,” he said, when asked when he expected to commit to a college program.
This is recruiting, where the world changes daily.
This much is real, though: Claytor strikes me as very bright, and said of Gailey’s answers to his questions: “I thought they were pretty impressive. I can see how he wants this to happen, and he has a vision for Tech. I’m just making sure I’m asking the harder questions.”
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Gailey fixating on Midwest recruits
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I’m not sure if it’s an intentional pattern or a coincidence, but Georgia Tech’s making noise in the Midwest this year in football recruiting.
Gailey and Co. recruit the Midwest every year, obviously. But I wonder — with the early commitment from QB Steven Threet (Adrian, Mich.), not to mention recent camp visits by two prospects from Indianapolis and one from Detroit (in addition to others) — if the Jackets are focusing more energy in that region than in previous years.
I hope to speak with Coach Gailey this week, and I’ll ask. I’m curious. At any rate, we’re going to try to keep the flow of recruiting information up, a little moreso than in recent years.
Practice begins Aug. 3, I believe. That’s three weeks from Thursday. It’s coming fast.
