AJC > Sports > Football Recruiting > Blog > Archives > 2008 > April > 28 > Entry

Georgia-bound RB fully-recovered from ankle injury

Emanuel County Institute coach Milan Turner had a few anxious moments earlier this spring after learning that prized junior running back Washaun Ealey had injured his ankle while playing baseball.

“Initially it was like ‘the kid never gets hurt,’” Turner said. “It swelled up a little bit, but it wasn’t really that bad.

“But you’re not going to slow Washaun down. He works extremely hard. And the ankle healed up as fast as any I’ve seen before.”

The 5-foot-11 Ealey managed to bulk up to 210 pounds during the winter and early spring despite nursing a sore ankle for several weeks.

“He’s already lifting weights again,” Turner said. “He’s benching well over 300 pounds now and is really strong. He’s running at full strength. He’s going to be special.”

Opposing coaches continue to ask if Ealey and ECI teammate Dexter Moody, who has also committed to Georgia, might be wavering on their commitment to the Dogs.

“Coaches from Florida and Ole Miss were in my office just today asking that question,” Turner said Monday evening. “I don’t see it happening.

“They haven’t visited anywhere except Athens.”

The Class A program will likely wind up with at least four players on its roster this fall who go on to play football on Saturdays.

ECI defensive lineman J.C. Lanier has already committed to Georgia Tech. And teammate Mark Slott is starting to attract lots of attention from recruiters.

“Vanderbilt, Wofford, Georgia Southern, Western Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida and Ole Miss have asked about him,” Turner said. “He’s a 6-foot, 210-pound linebacker who transferred in from Screven County last year.

“He was our defensive player of the year last season after making 172 tackles. His film and statistics went out over the winter, so a lot of colleges are just now getting wind of him.”

Permalink | Comments (10) | Post your comment | Categories: UGA

Comments

By CarolinaJacket

April 28, 2008 7:47 PM | Link to this

Ealey will be fine come football time. We also expect to see Lanier have a great year. Good luck to both.

By Gary S.

April 28, 2008 7:53 PM | Link to this

Mr. Ealy is the next Hershel Walker! I’m so glad he’s going to be a dawg!

By Cro25

April 28, 2008 10:26 PM | Link to this

It’s Mark Flott and he should be getting some attention from the next level. His motor never stops.

By Haywood Jablowme

April 29, 2008 9:18 AM | Link to this

Let’s just stop it with the “Next Herschel Walker” tag. Don’t curse the kid before he sets foot on campus by subjecting him to that kind of pressure. Some of you are starting to act like Bammer fans, who have spent 25 years putting the “Next Bear Bryant” tag on every coach that followed.

By Haywood Jablowme

April 29, 2008 9:20 AM | Link to this

Let’s just stop it with the “Next Herschel Walker” tag. Don’t curse the kid before he sets foot on campus by subjecting him to that kind of pressure. Some of you are starting to act like Bammer fans, who have spent 25 years putting the “Next Bear Bryant” tag on every coach that followed.

By P Dawg

April 29, 2008 9:34 AM | Link to this

Looks like Ealey wants to play immediately the way he’s preparing himself physically. He knows he has a lot of competition at UGA. We’re loading up!

By Paddy

April 29, 2008 12:41 PM | Link to this

Looks as if the players that CMR is signing for ‘09 really have the determination to stamp this class as special. Now that momentum is building, other good players will want to be part of this special class.

By Tampa Dawg

April 29, 2008 3:09 PM | Link to this

Way to go coach Turner. Keep pumping UGA football through your players minds! Sic’em!

By Rabid Dawg

May 9, 2008 3:44 PM | Link to this

I saw Ealey in the dome and I have never seen a runningback who continues running and seems unaware that someone is trying to tackle him. He just keeps churning pays the defenders no attention. So happy to see him going to Athens.

By Bob

June 2, 2008 4:41 PM | Link to this

There will never be another Herschel Walker. I wondered about that when I saw Bo Jackson, but there has been no one as good as either since.

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