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Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Georgia holds spot for Washington’s Branden Smith
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Booker T. Washington cornerback Branden Smith, one of the country’s top prospects, said Georgia is holding a spot for him while he decides which college to attend.
“When I last talked with [Mark Richt], we had a real good conversation,” Smith said. “He said they really wanted me, to take my time because they were holding a scholarship open for me, and to make a good decision.”
Smith is ranked as the nation’s No. 4 cornerback by Rivals. Georgia, Auburn, Florida, Clemson and LSU have drawn Smith’s interest, but he has declined to name favorites.
Georgia was the first college to offer Smith’s teammate, wide receiver Antonio Goodwin, who will be a rising junior this year at the Atlanta school.
Permalink | Comments (33) | Post your comment | Categories: Auburn, Clemson, Florida, LSU, UGA
Tucker LB Jonathan Davis gets another offer
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Tucker’s Jonathan Davis was offered by Oklahoma State on Tuesday.
“I just got the news,” he said. “We’ve been talking back and forth for a while, and they told me they were sending me a scholarship letter in the mail.”
The 5-foot-8, 205-pound Davis also has offers from South Carolina, Louisville, Central Florida, and Alabama-Birmingham.
Davis said Oklahoma State is recruiting him to play the “star” position on its defense, which is a hybrid safety/linebacker.
Permalink | Comments (4) | Post your comment | Categories: South Carolina
Clemson and FSU interested in Prince Avenue’s Van Halanger
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Prince Avenue center Matt Van Halanger has scholarship offers from Charleston Southern and West Georgia.
But with national signing day still six months away, the son of Dave Van Halanger, Georgia’s strength and conditioning coach, is content to play the waiting game and see if several other projected offers materialize.
“Clemson is interested,” the 6-foot-3.5, 275 pound Matt Van Halanger said. “If they have a scholarship open, they’d give it to me. And Navy said they will most likely offer.
“Florida State is pretty close too. They’re just waiting and seeing and being patient. I think FSU will offer. It just depends on how the season plays out.”
Van Halanger has attended camps this year at Appalachian State, Clemson, Furman and Georgia.
He hopes to have an opportunity to decide whether to accept an offer from the Tigers and become reunited with longtime friend Jon Richt, a freshman at Clemson.
“Jon is gone and I don’t get to see him as much,” Van Halanger said. “But I went to football camp at Clemson and saw him. So that was good.”
Permalink | Comments (1) | Post your comment | Categories: Clemson, FSU
Collins Hill QB Michael Box headed to Big East
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Michael Box hasn’t played a down for Collins Hill. He’s only played two years at quarterback, while he was at Duluth. But, with a slingshot arm, he’s shown enough to get the attention of major colleges.
The 6-3, 195-pound Box verbally committed to the University of Connecticut after a visit to the school late last month. Box liked the atmosphere, the academics and the coaches at UConn.
“It felt right,” he said. “The whole place was the best choice for me. “
Box also had an offer from Tennessee-Chattanooga and interest from other schools, including South Carolina, Virginia Tech, Ole Miss, South Florida and Vanderbilt. Box said it was “tempting” to wait out an offer from a more prominent football school, “but the Big East is on the way up,” as is the UConn program, he said. He also liked that UConn had the confidence in him and “pulled the trigger” with the offer. Box threw for 1,005 yards and three touchdowns at Duluth last season. Often forced to scramble, Box, a former receiver, also ran for 540 yards and two touchdowns.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Post your comment | Categories: Other schools, South Carolina
Top-rated TE may be Georgia’s next commitment
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Arthur Fontaine of Dartmouth, Mass., one of the nation’s top prospects, will arrive in Athens on Wednesday for his second unofficial visit to Georgia.
Fontaine, a 6-foot-5, 240-pound tight end, lists his four finalists as the Bulldogs, Boston College, Virginia and Maryland. Fontaine is ranked as the country’s No. 4 tight end by Rivals.
“I never really considered Georgia until I went down there the first time and was just blown away by the experience,” Fontaine said. “So my family and I want to go back and see if I feel the same way this time as I did the first time.”
When Fontaine was asked if he would consider committing if the Georgia trip met expectations, he said, “We’ll have to see what happens, how everything goes. I definitely plan on making a decision before my first high school game on Sept. 12, if not sooner.”
Fontaine said he plans to meet with some other Georgia commitments, including Oconee County quarterback Zach Mettenberger, and will watch practice on Thursday.
“During my first visit, we got to sit down and eat dinner with Georgia coach [Mark Richt],” he said. “He is such a great person. This time, I’ll get to meet some of the Georgia players. And I’ll get to see how the coaches interact with them at practice.”
Fontaine is excited to see the Bulldogs ranked No. 1 in the USA Today/Coaches poll.
“It’s like a dream come true to be recruited by the No. 1 team,” he said. “Recruiting has gone very well for me, but I never thought I’d be in this position, to be wanted by the No. 1 team.”
Permalink | Comments (25) | Post your comment | Categories: Other schools, UGA
LaGrange-to-Kentucky pipeline continues with Johnson
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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The LaGrange-to-Kentucky pipeline will be evident on national signing day in February after defensive end Tristian Johnson committed to the Wildcats.
Kentucky has four former LaGrange players on its roster and will add two more in February. Two weeks ago, Johnson’s teammate, Qua Huzzie, committed to the SEC school.
“Qua committing really helped in my decision,” Johnson said. “I wanted to go somewhere I wouldn’t be by myself. So what is new to him will also be new to me.”
It also helped that former Grangers Randall Burden, Braxton Kelley and DeMoreo Ford are on the Wildcats’ roster.
“It is sort of a LaGrange family up there,” said Johnson, who also considered East Carolina. “It is a great school, and they really welcomed me when I went up there. There are a lot of guys I played with and against up there.”
The 6-foot-3, 220-pound Johnson is on the AJC’s Georgia Top 150 list. He likely will move to linebacker.
“They said I’m not heavy enough to play defensive end on that level,” Johnson said. “I’m cool with that. There is a chance I could move to defensive end once I get a little bigger.”
Permalink | Comments (2) | Post your comment | Categories: Other schools
