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Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Douglass RB Michael Patrick leaning toward Navy
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Running the football is pretty much the same, no matter which offensive lineup you use, at least in Douglass running back Michael Patrick’s estimation.
That’s part of the logic that comes into play for Patrick as he leans toward accepting an appointment to play football for the U.S. Naval Academy.
Patrick, a 5-foot-8, 190-pound running back who gained 900 yards in 2008, says gaining yards for a ball-carrier requires finding the holes and making defenders miss, whether that’s from the I formation he ran at Douglass or from Navy’s wing T.
The one thing he’s most impressed with from Navy: “No. 1 rushing team in the nation [292 yards per game],” he said. “That sounds good to me.”
Patrick also said he’s attracted to what a Navy education, and subsequent post-college commitment, will do off the field. He wants to pursue a career in mechanical engineering and likes the prospects of seeing the world.
He’s not ready to make a commitment, however. He wants to take an official visit - penciled in for the end of the month - first.
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Tucker LB Tevin Holliman could commit any day
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Tucker linebacker Tevin Holliman hasn’t made a commitment, but he’s sounding like he’s ready to.
The 6-foot-3, 230-pound linebacker said he has been impressed with how Western Kentucky has stood by him after he hurt the ACL in his left knee in Week 2 of Tucker’s run to the Class AAAA championship.
Holliman, who had 33 tackles and four sacks for Tucker, expects a visit from Western recruiters this week and will make an official visit there on Jan. 30.
“They stayed with me,” Holliman said. “I’ll probably end up making my commitment to them.”
He wants to wait until after the visit to make a commitment to make sure it’s the right one.
Akron, Buffalo, Ohio, South Alabama, Eastern Michigan. Iowa State and Central Florida have also offered.
Holliman’s injury is not considered serious.
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With Rodney Garner staying at UGA, Indiana DE quickly commits to Bulldogs
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Rodney Garner’s decision to remain as Georgia’s recruiting coordinator is benefitting the Bulldogs.
Defensive end Montez Robinson of Avon, Ind., called Garner on Tuesday to commit to Georgia over Auburn and Alabama. Robinson told the AJC he wouldn’t have made that same call if Garner had taken another job at Tennessee.
“I still might’ve picked Georgia in the end, but I wouldn’t have decided then [Tuesday], that’s for sure,” Robinson said. “Coach Garner has had a big influence on my recruiting, and it meant a lot to me when he said he was going to stay at Georgia.”
“That says a lot about [Garner], that other schools wanted him. That also says a lot for Georgia, that he decided to stay with a great program.”
What if Garner had left? “I’d still consider Georgia, but I would’ve wanted to know why [Garner] left. Then, like anyone else, I would’ve waited to see who they would’ve hired to replace him, and then make my decision from there.
“Fortunately [Garner] is staying and I don’t have to worry about it. It’s over, and I’m a Georgia Bulldog.” Garner also coaches UGA’s defensive linemen and will be Robinson’s position coach.
Ironically, Robinson has already taken an official visit to Georgia, but it was in late November when he was still committed to Auburn. Georgia coach Mark Richt didn’t put a lot of pressure on Robinson at the time, telling him “if you ever decide to change, we’ve got a place for you. And we’ll hold that scholarship until signing day for you.”
Robinson backed away from his Auburn commitment after the coaching change. Does he plan to visit Georgia again this month? “No, I saw all I needed to see when I was there last time. I’m going to stay here and focus on my grades.”
One final question: Why would an Indiana player be so interested in the SEC? It turns out that Robinson spent part of his childhood in Alabama. “I lived there for four years, but that was long enough to see that the SEC has the best college football in the world.”
Georgia also got some huge news on Monday when Lowndes two-way standout Greg Reid said he will take an official visit to Athens on Jan. 30.
Meanwhile, other Georgia recruits have been trying to recruit tight end Orson Charles.
Robinson is commitment No. 18 for Georgia, which is expected to sign no more than 20 players for its 2009 recruiting class. That number could change with attrition among Georgia players: Players leaving early for the NFL, players transferring to other schools, players quitting football because of medical reasons, etc.
Permalink | Comments (54) | Post your comment | Categories: Alabama, Auburn, UGA
Georgia Tech coach Johnson visits prospect in New Jersey
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson hit the recruiting trail on Tuesday and wound up in Princeton, N.J. to visit offensive lineman Nolan MacMillan of The Hun School.
The 6-foot-6, 285-pound tackle is considering scholarship offers from Georgia Tech, Iowa and Virginia.
MacMillan confirmed via text message late Tuesday that he still doesn’t have a front-runner.
“Coach Johnson and [Iowa] coach [Kirk] Ferentz both visited me today,” MacMillan wrote in a text.
“There are several schools I am still interested in.”
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TE Orson Charles recruited by other UGA prospects
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Troup offensive lineman Chris Burnette, who has committed to UGA, said he did his best to recruit Orson Charles for the Bulldogs.
Charles is ranked as one of the nation’s top tight ends, and just finished his senior season by helping Plant High win Florida’s Class AAAA championship. Plant’s quarterback was Aaron Murray, who is enrolling early at UGA.
Back to Burnette: He was roommates with Charles at the U.S. Army All-America Bowl and said he put in a few good words for UGA.
“Hopefully we’ll [UGA] be able to land him in the next few weeks,” Burnette said. “He really didn’t have any questions about Georgia, I think Aaron has done a good job of answering all of those.”
“Orson said that he was going to weigh out his options and pray about it. He wants to play somewhere that his mother could come see him play. That’s important to him.”
Charles has kept a low profile recently about his recruiting, but has been looking hard at Florida State, Georgia, Southern Cal, Florida and Miami.
Permalink | Comments (25) | Post your comment | Categories: FSU, Florida, Miami, UGA
