AJC > Sports > Football Recruiting > Blog > Archives > 2008 > October > 02
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Road Trip: Tech commit Luallen to breeze in and out of ATL on Saturday
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Categories
How passionate is Jordan Luallen about the Georgia Tech football program?
Consider that the Greenwood, Ind. quarterback will travel into and out of Atlanta on the same day to watch Tech host Duke on Saturday.
“My parents, [Center Grove teammate] Luke Swift and I will catch a 6 a.m. flight [on Saturday] to Atlanta,” Luallen said. “Hopefully, we’ll get to meet my sister [who lives in Atlanta] at the game.
“Then we’ll fly back home later that day.”
For Luallen, who plans to take his official visit to Tech this winter, spending a few hours at Bobby Dodd Stadium on gameday far outweighs any snags associated with a hectic travel schedule.
“I just love to get closer to the program,” he said. “I want to see everything there is about the school. I just love Tech and everything about it.
“I’ll be just imagining myself in that offense.
“And I just enjoy attending college football games. It’s one of my biggest passions.”
Click below to see the following:
Permalink | Comments (9) | Post your comment | Categories: Tech
Alabama, Florida try to sway Tennessee LB recruit
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Categories
Stephenson linebacker Nigel Mitchell-Thornton says he doesn’t mind inquiries from other schools, even though he has committed to Tennessee and plans to enroll early at Knoxville.
Alabama, Florida and Stanford are among the schools still contacting the 6-foot-3, 225-pound linebacker, but he’s still “pretty solid with Tennessee.”
He said recruiters from those schools told him they’d be interested in possibly offering him a scholarship if his relationship with Tennessee changes.
“I’m pretty much OK with them calling,” Mitchell-Thornton said. “You never know how things might end up.”
Mitchell-Thornton has been to two Tennessee games (vs. UAB and Florida), but won’t take an official visit there until perhaps December. He also has reached out to other Tennessee recruits via phone and text messages to get to know them better.
He hasn’t decided if he’ll attend Tennessee’s home gamne against Northern Illinois this Saturday.
Click below to see the following:
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment | Categories: Alabama, Florida, Tennessee
Northside’s Eric Fields: ‘We’re gonna win’ vs. Lowndes
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Categories
Northside-Warner Robins linebacker Eric Fields, who says he is leaning toward Clemson over Georgia, had some strong things to say to Scout.com about Friday’s showdown with Lowndes.
Fields told the website, “They [Lowndes] haven’t really played anybody. A lot of the teams that they played had big opportunities, but didn’t come through. It has made them [Lowndes] look better than they actually are.”
“I haven’t seen a defense like ours yet. I think we’re gonna shut the run down. Then they’ll have to start passing. We’ll shut that down, too. I see us making a big upset. We’re gonna win.”
Fields made the comments at the end of Scout story about his unofficial visit to Georgia last Saturday.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Clemson, UGA
Georgia Tech offers Miller Grove WR Stephen Hill
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Categories
Miller Grove wide receiver Stephen Hill was walking between classes today when his coach said there was a phone call waiting for him.
It was Georgia Tech assistant Brian Jean-Mary on the other line, who offered a scholarship from the Yellow Jackets. Said Hill: “He said they had watched the Tucker film, saw me do a lot of good things, and that they would love to have me at Georgia Tech.”
The 6-foot-5, 190-pound Hill, who is one of the state’s hottest prospects, said Tech was the first college he ever visited, taking in Junior Day last spring. “I’ve always followed them, it’s exciting to be offered by your hometown college,” he said.
Hill said he will return to Tech on Saturday to make an unofficial visit for the Duke game.
Boston College and Ole Miss offered Hill last week, and Alabama assistant Lance Thompson watched his game on Friday. The Crimson Tide, Georgia and Tennessee may be close to offering Hill, who made an early commitment to Central Florida and has scheduled an official visit with the Knights for Nov. 1.
Against then-No. 1 Tucker last month, Hill had a 99-yard kickoff return and 67-yard punt return for touchdowns.
Click below to see the following:
Permalink | Comments (27) | Post your comment | Categories: Alabama, Tech, Tennessee, UGA
UGA observes Westside LB Julian Burnett in practice
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Categories
Where was UGA assistant John Lilly during the team’s off day on Wednesday?
He was at Westside-Macon, observing linebacker Julian Burnett, who appears to have rocketed to the top of Georgia’s recruiting board.
“Coach Lilly told my coaches that [UGA’s staff] looked at my film during a recruiting meeting, and they were going to start recruiting me hard,” Burnett said.
“It was great seeing [Lilly] at practice, knowing Georgia was serious about what they said. If Georgia offered me … I would definitely consider going.”
The 5-foot-10, 225-pound Burnett made an unofficial visit for Georgia’s game against Alabama. Two weeks ago, he attended Georgia Tech’s game against Mississippi State.
Burnett has offers from South Carolina, N.C. State, Wake Forest, Purdue, and Mississippi.
Click below to see the following:
Permalink | Comments (2) | Post your comment | Categories: Tech, UGA
Recruiting Q&A: Northside LB Eric Fields
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Categories
Northside-Warner Robins linebacker Eric Fields, an AJC Super 11 player, committed early to Clemson but is not considering both Georgia and the Tigers. He talked with staff writer Jay Stone about being recruited and being a star player.
— On what he looks for in a visit? “I went to Georgia-Alabama. I wanted to see the atmosphere and see how the crowd was into it. I saw that the other night and it made me fired up to play this week.”
— On what school have you always been a fan of? “When I first came in, I always wanted to go to Auburn. It kind of changed my 10th grade year, listening to coach [Billy] Napier from Clemson.”
— On what he would be if not a football player: “Probably be on the track team or just trying to get a job.”
— On his career goals: “I want to go into physical therapy.”
— On the most physical therapist-like thing he has done: “My brother got hurt at football practice one time and I was trying to operate on him … feeling the spot where he was hurt.”
— On one thing that’s a deal-breaker for him: “Probably if they say something about red-shirting, I wouldn’t want to go there.”
— On the first school to talk to him: “The very first school to talk to me was Auburn, my 10th grade year. They called me on the phone once or twice before.”
— On how many autograph requests he gets: “A lot. Everybody in the school has asked me to sign things. Kids after games want me to sign footballs and stuff. I got my own unique signature. It looks like a doctor’s signature.”
— On how many college games he has been to as a fan: “I’ve been to one game as a fan. My uncle took me to a Georgia game. The biggest thing I remember was my uncle telling me everything going on.”
— On how big of a factor a schools’ current depth chart is: “I would think it was a big factor, because a lot of schools need linebackers. That’s mainly what they’re looking for.”
— On how much of a factor the success of their season is: “If they’re struggling, I kind of think to myself, what if I was on the team? I believe I could come in and help make it better.”
— On what he learned from being around former Northside players Tijuan Green and Marquez Ivory: “When I was around them, it made me excited, because they were the leaders of the team. They were calm in situations in the game. They never panicked. That’s kind of how I am.”
Click below to see the following:
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment | Categories: Auburn, Clemson, UGA
Florida prospects treated like celebrities during UGA visit
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Categories
Highly-touted high school teammates Aaron Murray and Orson Charles of Tampa, Fla., were treated like rock stars during their visit to Georgia for the Alabama game last Saturday.
“It was wild and crazy at Georgia,” Charles said. “We were just two high school kids walking around campus on our own and people kept yelling out names. And it wasn’t like five people, but 20 or more.
“They kept asking for autographs and to have pictures taken with us. And they kept saying ‘Orson, come to Georgia so Aaron can be your quarterback in college, too.’
“It was surprising, because I didn’t think anybody in Georgia even knew me. We had a lot of fun with it.”
Murray is ranked as the nation’s No. 3 pro-style quarterback by Rivals and picked the Bulldogs over 53 scholarship offers. Charles is rated as the country’s No. 2 tight end and favors Miami over Florida, Florida State and Georgia.
The two arrived at Georgia around noon last Saturday to look around before meeting up with other prospects at Georgia’s athletic offices around 4 p.m.
Click below to see the following:
Permalink | Comments (6) | Post your comment | Categories: FSU, Florida, UGA
