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Saturday, January 26, 2008
Combine draws future college prospects
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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It’s 10 days before national letters of intent can be signed. Most players going somewhere know where by now. The drama, particularly in Georgia’s case, is over.
But in a nondescript office park off Boggs Road in Gwinnett County, the work has just begun. That’s where the next recruits were Saturday for the Kennedy/CES Combine.
These were the recruits who are looking for scholarships for 2009 or 2010. A full year, or in some cases two, before they can sign letters of intent, they were measured, weighed and clocked.
This was the first step in their journey to Division I-A.
“You want to come here and get your name out there,” said Connor Norman, a junior at Peachtree Ridge. “If you can put up some numbers, then maybe you can get some schools to look at you.”
Norman did just that. The cornerback had the third-fastest 40-yard dash time of the day, a 4.37. He also had a vertical jump of 37 inches and went through the L cone drill in 7.06.
Only a couple of the athletes put up numbers as good or better than Norman’s. Brandon Davis, a late addition who didn’t even make the official rosters of participants, stole the show with 6.78 in the L cone drill, 3.9 in the shuttle drill and 4.46 in the 40.
Like Norman, he doesn’t have any offers yet.
One player who should be getting an offer from Georgia in the next couple of weeks is Jonathan Davis of Tucker. The linebacker posted a 4.37 in the 40.
“We probably have close to 60 Division I-A players here,” said Scott Kennedy, the director of the combine.
They had at least 100 hopefuls. Some were not only racing the clock inside the facility but also racing another one to get here in time.
“I had to take the SAT this morning,” said Brendan Cross, a quarterback from Chattahoochee. “It was $21 to take the make-up test, and I asked my dad if I could do that. He told me no way. He said that was more important than this.”
Dad has a little bit of perspective. He is former San Francisco 49ers center Randy Cross.
The younger Cross made it in plenty of time and posted a solid time of 4.6 in the 40.
Now that those numbers have been posted by the athletes, they will be posted by Kennedy on Scout.com.
“Then any college in the country that might not know Georgia as well as Georgia and Georgia Tech, they’ll get a look at 100 guys this week,” Kennedy said. “So when they’re on the road in the spring, they can have a pretty good idea of who they want to come and see.”
The players also have established numbers they can work toward improving. Take Davis, for instance. He was part of the Scout.com combine in May on the campus of Georgia Tech, where he ran a 4.5 in the 40. He shaved .04 off at this event and will have another chance to lower the number May 3 at the Scout.com combine at Auburn.
“So it’s very important for these guys to get an early start,” Kennedy said. “Even though we’re taking times now, we have got some 16-year-old kids in here when we do this again in May whose times are going to change.
“They’re going to get bigger and faster and stronger,” he said. “This is just a starting point for them.”
This was the starting point for players such as Caleb King (Georgia) and Eric Berry (Tennessee), who participated in the event as sophomores.
Saturday there was a freshman in the group, James Vaughters, a linebacker from Tucker.
“Everybody is working to get noticed,” said Andrew Sachais, a linebacker from Buford. “You just want to let the coaches know that you are out there.”
Permalink | Comments (19) | Categories: Tech, UGA
Tucker’s Lipscomb leaning toward Auburn commitment
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Tucker defensive back Neiko Lipscomb is expected to commit to Auburn early next week.
Lipscomb had been considering Auburn and Georgia. But an official visit to Athens this weekend didn’t materialize.
“He didn’t [visit Georgia],” Tucker coach Franklin Stephens confirmed early Saturday morning.
“He’s probably going to commit to Auburn.”
Georgia apparently does not have a scholarship remaining to offer Lipscomb.
“I think that’s what has transpired,” Stephens said.
The first-year Tucker coach said there’s not much difference between the two programs.
“Auburn and Georgia are both in the SEC and have a similar situation to offer a kid,” Stephens said. “He’s choosing between two powers in the SEC.”
Permalink | Comments (99) | Categories: Auburn
