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Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Georgia still in Butler hunt; Sylvester down to six
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Georgia has made the first cut of the nation-wide recruiting battle for Norcross star wide receiver Brice Butler, who narrowed his list of college choices to 10 Thursday.
Butler said he’ll decide between Southern Cal, Florida State, Notre Dame, LSU, Arizona State, Florida, Penn State, Oregon, Oregon State and Georgia.
“I wanted to cut down my list because I’m planning on committing in July,” Butler, who has more than 40 scholarship offers, told the blog. “I want to get it over with so I can focus on the season and winning a state championship.”
He receives approximately 15 letters from colleges and more than 20 text messages each day.
The 6-foot-1, 175-pound son of former Falcons defensive back Bobby Butler has visited each of the schools on his list, except Oregon and Oregon State.
He plans to visit the Ducks and Beavers later this month, before ending his search.
Before this spring, Brice Butler had never traveled further west than Louisiana. Now, he seems to have become quite fond of West Coast’s climate.
“The climate out there is crazy,” said Butler of his visit to USC. “There’s no humidity. When it’s 90 degrees here, it’s kind of sweltering. There, it’s nice.”
USC’s Pete Carroll, Florida’s Urban Meyer and Alabama’s Nick Saban were among the numerous coaches that visited Norcross’ spring practice to check out Butler.
Saban’s Crimson Tide did not make the list.
When asked if USC was the favorite to land Butler, Norcross coach Keith Maloof said, “I try to stay out of it, so I don’t have to lie to anyone.”
Sylvester trims list to six
Union Grove linebacker Steven Sylvester has trimmed his list to Alabama, Georgia, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, N.C. State or South Carolina.
The 6-foot-2, 220-pound Sylvester has visited each campus, with the exception of N.C. State and South Carolina. He plans to travel to Raleigh and Columbia later this summer.
He’s also set a self-imposed deadline to commit.
“I plan on getting it out of the way in July so I can focus on football,” Sylvester said.
Sylvester assesses the contenders:
On Alabama: “I really click with their coaching staff,” Sylvester said. “[Coach] Nick Saban deals with the defense and that’s what I’ll be playing.”
On Georgia: “I like Georgia because they’re close to home,” Sylvester said. And coach Mark Richt is a great guy. They have a good tradition there, too.”
On Georgia Tech: “Just like Georgia, I like Georgia Tech because they’re close to home,” Sylvester said. “And with Calvin Johnson going so high in the draft, pro scouts are going to be coming back to Tech for years to come.”
On North Carolina: “I like basically their whole program,” Sylvester said. “I got a chance to go up there and spend time with the linebackers coach. It hasn’t been too good up there, but things are moving up now.”
On N.C. State: “I haven’t been there or met the head coach,” Sylvester said. “But I’ve talked to the recruiting coach and they just seem to be going in the right direction.”
On South Carolina: “I really like coach [Steve] Spurrier,” Sylvester said. “I got a chance to meet him once. He’s seems like a nice guy. He knows his football.”
Buford’s Pridemore leans on dad’s wisdom
Buford linebacker T.J. Pridemore has scholarship offers from Georgia Tech, Duke, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Central Florida, South Carolina, N.C. State, South Florida, West Virginia and Maryland.
The 6-foot-2, 230-pound Pridemore, who has no clear front-runner, is looking to his dad, former Atlanta Falcon Tom Pridemore, for answers during the process of choosing a college.
“Most of the advice he’s given me has been from his experience,” T.J. Pridemore said. “He really just tells me to look at what I want out of each school before I eliminate them.
“And he hasn’t pushed me toward any school. He wants it to be my decision.”
A graduate of West Virginia, Tom Pridemore has been hesitant to steer his son toward the Mountaineers.
“Surprisingly, he hasn’t [pointed me toward West Virginia],” T.J. Pridemore said. “And I think it’s a surprise for everybody that he hasn’t pushed me.
“I do think he’d be pleased if I go there. But he doesn’t want to make the decision for me.”
Taking a cue from his dad’s wisdom, Pridemore said there’s no reason to commit in June.
“I’m not in any big hurry to commit right now,” Pridemore said. “If I’m not 100 percent sure at the start of the season [at Buford], then I’ll just take a few more visits.”
Love focuses on five offers
Mountain Brook (Ala.) offensive lineman Tyler Love took in the sights and sounds at Alabama on Tuesday. He plans to do the same on Saturday when he travels to Tallahassee to visit Florida State.
Though he’s narrowed his choices to five offers, the towering 6-foot-7, 285-pound tackle said he’ll likely wait until the fall to commit.
Love analyzes his five candidates:
On Alabama: “Tuesday [in Tuscaloosa] was good,” Love said. “It was kind of low key. I talked to players and walked through the campus. I got to watch the camp that was taking place. And I love coach Saban. He’s a great coach. He knows how to win, which is very important to me.”
On Florida: “I love the coaches and how they run things down there,” Love said. “I like the environment and the relationship the coaches have with the players. And it’s a great place to get an education.”
On Florida State: “They’ve got one of the greatest coaches ever [in Bobby Bowden],” Love said. “That impresses me a lot. I like their coaching staff overall. And they send great players to the NFL.”
On Georgia: “I love coach Richt,” Love said. “And I like the fact he’s a great Christian man. There’s just a bunch of good guys over there. And I like the campus too. I plan on visiting there in July.”
On Oklahoma: “They’ve won I don’t know how many games and gone to a lot of BCS bowls,” Love said. “And they send a lot of players to the NFL.”
