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Monday, October 13, 2008
Washington DB Branden Smith holding off on Clemson decision
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Booker T. Washington cornerback Branden Smith, who is ranked as the state’s No. 1 prospect by numerous recruiting publications, told the AJC that he is undecided on if he will take his official visit to Clemson on Nov. 29.
Smith said he is waiting to hear from Clemson representatives before deciding to keep, postpone or cancel the recruiting trip. Tommy Bowden stepped down as Clemson’s coach on Monday.
“Coach Bowden was a major reason in why I liked Clemson, but not the only reason,” Smith said. “I’m open to [listening] to any school, so we’ll see how it goes.”
Smith, who took his first official visit to Florida this past weekend, will also take trips to Tennessee on Oct. 25, Auburn on Nov. 15, and Georgia (undetermined). Smith said he “really enjoyed” visiting Florida, but maintained that he does not have any favorites.
Clemson’s interim coach is Dabo Swinney, who was promoted from assistant. Swinney and fellow Clemson assistant Chris Rumph were in charge of recruiting Smith for the Tigers.
Smith said he did not hear from any Clemson representatives on Monday.
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UGA commit Fontaine attends first game at Sanford Stadium
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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The frustration of a delayed flight from Providence, R.I. to Atlanta on Saturday didn’t spoil the experience of an official visit to Athens over the weekend for Georgia commit Arthur Fontaine.
It was the third trip this year to Athens for Fontaine of Dartmouth (Mass.) High, who is rated as the fifth-best tight end in the nation by Scout.com. It was his first game day experience between the hedges.
“My flight was delayed, but I was still able to make the whole game,” said Fontaine, who returned home Sunday evening. “It was a good visit. The atmosphere was unbelievable.
“Sanford Stadium is amazing. I got to meet with all of the coaches. I had a real good time.”
Fontaine, and the two relatives who accompanied on his visit, met with Georgia coach Mark Richt at 2 p.m. on Sunday.
“He’s a real nice guy,” he said. “We didn’t talk much about recruiting, just about other things.”
Following the Dogs’ 26-14 victory over Tennessee, Fontaine spent time with several Georgia players.
“I hung out with Tripp Chandler, Mohamed Massaquoi and Joe Cox at their houses,” he said. “I asked questions about the school and what to expect.
“I can’t wait to get down there.”
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McEachern’s Mitchell playing the waiting game with Clemson
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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McEachern tight end Terrell Mitchell planned to visit Clemson next month. Those plans are on hold for now as he evaluates the direction of the coaching staff following Tommy Bowden’s decision to step away from the program.
“I got a scholarship offer from Clemson three weeks ago, then found out today that the head coach got fired,” Mitchell said.
“I was excited about going to one of their games next month. Now, I’m going to wait and talk to my recruiting coach.”
Mitchell also has offers from programs such as Arkansas, Central Florida, Kentucky, Michigan and UAB.
He admitted to being somewhat shocked when he received the news from a friend.
“I said ‘are you serious?’ I guess that last loss probably did it,” Mitchell said.
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Georgia State lands first-ever commitment in football
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Eduardo Curry of Charleston, S.C., made history when he became the first-ever commitment for Georgia State’s football program.
Curry is a 6-foot-2, 280-pound defensive lineman from West Ashley High, and he picked Georgia State over Howard, Hampton and South Carolina State.
“It feels great, it’s such a blessing to be the first [commitment] at Georgia State,” Curry said. “There are thousands of players who play this game, and to be be first for Georgia State is really special.”
Curry said he didn’t intend on being the college’s first recruit, but decided to go ahead and commit this past weekend after praying about it. After Curry announced his decision, he talked over the phone for around 45 minutes with Georgia State coach Bill Curry (no relation).
“Coach Curry said ‘Congrats on being part of history, we have great plans for you here,’” Eduardo said. “I’m excited about being in Atlanta, there are so many business opportunities after college. It’s just a real good deal.”
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Baldwin LB Corico Hawkins sticking by Clemson — for now
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Baldwin linebacker Corico Hawkins remains firm in his commitment to Clemson despite the Tommy Bowden’s resignation.
“It definitely leaves things in the air, but he is not changing anything right now,” Baldwin coach Jesse Hicks said Monday. “It’s definitely on his mind, but he is concentrating on school, football and winning ballgames at Baldwin.”
Hicks said Hawkins, an AJC The Georgia 150 selection and the state’s only Clemson commitment, just has to “wait out the storm and see what happens.”
“The next guy that comes in might not like Corico, but you can’t blame the coach for that,” Hicks said. “Corico liked Coach Bowden, but it was [assistant coach] Chris Rumph who made an impression.”
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney has been named interim coach for the rest of the season.
Northside-Warner Robins linebacker Eric Fields, who backed off an early commitment to Clemson to consider the Tigers and Georgia, was unavailable for comment.
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Northview’s Brock Sanders backs off commitment to Stanford
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Northview’s Brock Sanders, a member of the AJC’s The Georgia 150, said he plans this week to take back his commitment to Stanford University, in light of the school’s concern over his academics.
Sanders, Northview’s defensive end, said the Cardinal notified him of their concern about his grade of C in trigonometry and that they wanted to see if he brings that up to a B or higher by December, then potentially accept him. Sanders said players without grade issues are being accepted now, but those with even minor issues like his run the risk of being left out in the cold in January, too late to find a roster spot elsewhere.
“I don’t want to take the chance of waiting for Stanford and them wind up not letting me in,” said Sanders, who takes AP courses, all of which he says are otherwise Bs and As. “I want to be considered by schools that might be passing up on me because they think I’m committed.”
Although his Titans are 0-6, Sanders said Tulane is one school recruiting him heavily. Like Stanford, to which he verbally committed in April, Tulane likes his 1190 SAT and 26 ACT scores.
“I’m open to anything right now,” Sanders said.
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How It Went: Tucker’s Jonathan Davis shows up at UGA
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Tucker linebacker Jonathan Davis, an AJC Super 11 selection, was a surprise guest at Georgia’s game against Tennessee on Saturday.
Could this develop into a head-to-head battle between the Bulldogs and Georgia Tech over arguably the state’s top player?
Tucker coach Franklin Stephens confirmed on Sunday night that UGA recruiting coordinator Rodney Garner had called earlier in the week to both request senior film of Davis and offer recruiting tickets.
“[Garner] said they were evaluating Jonathan, and didn’t mention anything about a scholarship offer,” Stephens said. “I have no idea what Georgia is going to do … if they are going to offer him late or whatever. We’ll have to see how it all plays out.”
Davis has family connections at UGA, with his uncle Mitch Davis a former All-SEC linebacker for the Bulldogs. Davis has always expressed a strong interest in playing for Georgia, too.
The 5-foot-7, 205-pound Davis has offers from Georgia Tech, South Carolina, Boston College, Oklahoma State, Alabama-Birmingham and Middle Tennessee.
Stephens said Davis has yet to set up any official visits.
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LaGrange LB Merritt will commit to Kentucky
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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LaGrange linebacker Demetri Merritt, a member of the AJC’s The Georgia 150, said he is ready to committ to Kentucky after taking a visit to Lexington for the Wildcats’ game against South Carolina this weekend.
“I’m going to do it after our [high school] game Friday,” said Merritt, who would be the third LaGrange player to committ to Kentucky. Teammates Qua Huzzie and Tristan Johnson, who made the trip with him, had already committed. Kentucky has three former LaGrange players on its roster.
“Everybody in Kentucky likes me and likes LaGrange,” said Merritt, who also has an offer from Alabama-Birmingham. “It’s so many hours away, and I got up there and still felt like I was at home. The gameday atmosphere was incredible. It was a lot of people and I’m ready to play in front of them.”
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