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Sunday, February 15, 2009
Georgia Tech’s Paul Johnson not backing down with state’s 2010 prospects
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson said the state of Georgia is his first recruiting priority and that the Jackets are willing to compete with any school for local prospects.
“It makes no sense to me to fly to California to recruit a guy when there’s six of them just like him in the city limits [of Atlanta],” Johnson said recently. “And I don’t care if Southern Cal isn’t recruiting those six. We look at the tape, and if we think they’re good players, I’m fine with that”
“If I look at it and my staff looks at it and we think he’s a good player, I don’t care who’s recruiting him.”
This past year, the Jackets signed the most in-state players since 1992. Tech recruiting coordinator Giff Smith says its a matter of tapping into the state’s rich talent pool. He has assigned nine coaches to Georgia.
“I really believe it goes back to the process of having more [coaches] in the state and being able to evaluate and get them on your campus more,” Smith said.
“We’re not waiting on a kid to come from out of state on an official visit. We’ll have a local kid on campus five or six times before the end of the summer. The official visit is almost a reward kind of deal after you’ve committed.”
Got a recruiting item? Please send an email to jhood@ajc.com
Here are briefs on the day’s top recruiting stories. Click on the headline of each story to read more.
You just want to read about UGA? Click here to go directly to all the UGA recruiting stories
You just want to read about Georgia Tech? Click on this link to go directly to all the Georgia Tech recruiting stories
Do you want to talk about UGA and Georgia Tech recruiting? Or have questions about the state’s top prospects? Then go to the AJC’s “Inside Georgia Recruiting” forum with Michael Carvell
Permalink | Comments (95) | Post your comment | Categories: Tech
UGA “slow to offer” state’s juniors, compared to out-of-state schools
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Georgia is very cautious and calculated about recruiting the state’s top juniors. UGA recruiting coordinator Rodney Garner explained the reasons:
“We try to do a very thorough job of evaluating every kid in this state that we feel like has the opportunity to be a D-I player,” he said.
“And we really try to double-check and re-check just to see how they may fit into our [scholarship] numbers and our system. We’re slow to offer, compared to the out-of-state schools. Those schools don’t come back every year. They only have to show up when there’s a great player.”
“So we’re going to make sure when we pull the trigger and offer a kid, if that kid commits, then we’re going to be committed to him and not pull back the scholarship or anything like that. We have to be more thorough, and it forces us to be a little slower sometimes.”
Got a recruiting item? Please send an email to mcarvell@ajc.com
Here are briefs on the day’s top recruiting stories. Click on the headline of each story to read more.
You just want to read about UGA? Click here to go directly to all the UGA recruiting stories
You just want to read about Georgia Tech? Click on this link to go directly to all the Georgia Tech recruiting stories
Do you want to talk about UGA and Georgia Tech recruiting? Or have questions about the state’s top prospects? Then go to the AJC’s “Inside Georgia Recruiting” forum with Michael Carvell
Permalink | Comments (30) | Post your comment | Categories: UGA
Georgia, Georgia Tech target Luella DB Bonner
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Luella junior cornerback/wide receiver Detrick Bonner, who recently claimed a scholarship offer from Central Florida, is receiving interest from Georgia, Georgia Tech, Maryland, North Carolina and Virginia Tech.
The 6-foot, 170-pound Bonner attended Junior Day at Georgia Tech last month. And he’s been invited to Georgia’s upcoming Junior Day.
“Georgia Tech [coaches] told me to keep doing what I’m doing,” Bonner said. “When I went to Junior Day [at Tech on Jan. 31] it was exciting. I had never been on a college campus. It was interesting and exciting.”
If the Jackets offer Bonner, look for his Luella teammate, Roderick Sweeting, try to persuade him to sign with Tech. Sweeting signed a letter of intent with the Jackets earlier this month.
“He likes Georgia Tech. In fact, he loves it,” Bonner said. “I’m thinking about going there [if offered].”
Got a recruiting item? Please send an email to jhood@ajc.com
Here are briefs on the day’s top recruiting stories. Click on the headline of each story to read more.
You just want to read about UGA? Click here to go directly to all the UGA recruiting stories
You just want to read about Georgia Tech? Click on this link to go directly to all the Georgia Tech recruiting stories
Do you want to talk about UGA and Georgia Tech recruiting? Or have questions about the state’s top prospects? Then go to the AJC’s “Inside Georgia Recruiting” forum with Michael Carvell
Permalink | Comments (7) | Post your comment | Categories: Tech, UGA
Delino DeShields leads trio of Woodward’s 2010 prospects
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Categories
Woodward Academy will be one of the state’s most popular stops for college scouts looking for 2010 prospects.
The Atlanta private school has three juniors with early offers: Tailback Delino DeShields, son of the former baseball player, with Georgia Tech and Central Florida; Tailback Juwan Thompson with Duke, Stanford, Central Florida and N.C. State; Defensive end Henry Anderson with Maryland, Stanford, West Virginia, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, Virginia, and Central Florida.
Got a recruiting item? Please send an email to mcarvell@ajc.com
Here are briefs on the day’s top recruiting stories. Click on the headline of each story to read more.
You just want to read about UGA? Click here to go directly to all the UGA recruiting stories
You just want to read about Georgia Tech? Click on this link to go directly to all the Georgia Tech recruiting stories
Do you want to talk about UGA and Georgia Tech recruiting? Or have questions about the state’s top prospects? Then go to the AJC’s “Inside Georgia Recruiting” forum with Michael Carvell
Permalink | Comments (1) | Post your comment | Categories: Tech
Collins Hill RB knows what “commitment means” from Georgia Tech’s Paul Johnson
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Categories
Collins Hill tailback Charles Perkins, Georgia Tech’s first 2010 commitment, is aware of the story of Dontae Aycock, a Tampa quarterback who committed to Tech and then saw his scholarship yanked after he was warned against taking a last-minute visit to Auburn.
Perkins said Tech coach Paul Johnson carefully explained “what commitment means” and asked repeatedly if he understood before accepting the early pledge.
USC was Perkins’ childhood favorite. What if that program offers?
“I would turn it down,” Perkins said. “USC is loaded with running backs, and Tech is where I want to be. That’s an easy decision.”
Got a recruiting item? Please send an email to mcarvell@ajc.com
Here are briefs on the day’s top recruiting stories. Click on the headline of each story to read more.
You just want to read about UGA? Click here to go directly to all the UGA recruiting stories
You just want to read about Georgia Tech? Click on this link to go directly to all the Georgia Tech recruiting stories
Do you want to talk about UGA and Georgia Tech recruiting? Or have questions about the state’s top prospects? Then go to the AJC’s “Inside Georgia Recruiting” forum with Michael Carvell
Permalink | Comments (19) | Post your comment | Categories: Tech
Former Buford RB Storm Johnson expecting great things at Loganville
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Storm Johnson, one of the state’s top tailbacks for 2010, began classes at Loganville on Tuesday. He transferred from Buford, where he helped the Wolves win last year’s Class AA championship.
“Loganville is great; they have really made me feel at home,” Johnson said. “You should count on great things from Loganville this season.”
Johnson was asked about leaving Buford. “My parents just moved onto a different situation,” he said. “[Loganville] is a better fit for me. We moved, and we’re starting fresh at another place. [Buford] taught me a lot of things. They worked me hard and made me a better person.”
Johnson has eight early offers, with his most recent from Florida State and West Virginia.
Got a recruiting item? Please send an email to mcarvell@ajc.com
Do you want to take a look at all recruiting stories around signing day? Click here for the lengthy rundown of all recruiting stories
You just want to read about UGA? Click here to go directly to all the UGA recruiting stories
You just want to read about Georgia Tech? Click on this link to go directly to all the Georgia Tech recruiting stories
Do you want to talk about UGA and Georgia Tech recruiting? Or have questions about the state’s top prospects? Then go to the AJC’s “Inside Georgia Recruiting” forum with Michael Carvell
Permalink | Comments (14) | Post your comment | Categories: Other schools
Roswell WR Chris Boyd talks with Georgia Tech
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Categories
Roswell’s Chris Boyd is still waiting on his first offer, but has generated a lot of interest.
The 6-foot-5 wide receiver has had contact with Georgia Tech, Florida State, Vanderbilt and Michigan State. Boyd has also been invited to Junior Day at LSU, N.C. State, Wake Forest and Dartmouth.
Got a recruiting item? Please send an email to mcarvell@ajc.com
Here are briefs on the day’s top recruiting stories. Click on the headline of each story to read more.
You just want to read about UGA? Click here to go directly to all the UGA recruiting stories
You just want to read about Georgia Tech? Click on this link to go directly to all the Georgia Tech recruiting stories
Do you want to talk about UGA and Georgia Tech recruiting? Or have questions about the state’s top prospects? Then go to the AJC’s “Inside Georgia Recruiting” forum with Michael Carvell
Permalink | Comments (5) | Post your comment | Categories: Tech
USC-bound Jarvis Jones says he “didn’t want to be close to home”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Categories
Carver-Columbus linebacker Jarvis Jones talked to the AJC about the recruiting process and why he chose Southern Cal over UGA, LSU, Texas and Florida:
Q. Why USC? A. It’s a great program, and I’m going to be coached by a great linebackers coach in [Ken Norton Jr]. He is one of the best to play the game. I’m going to learn how to play football at the next level. And being able to play under coach Pete Carroll is an excellent opportunity. I know they will be able to improve my chances of getting into the NFL, which has always been my dream. It’s every kid’s dream who plays football.
Q. What happened with UGA? A. I just didn’t want to be that close to home. I’m very thankful to UGA for offering me a scholarship and spending so much time with me. It was hard to tell them no because the coaches and I developed a great relationship. It got to a point where we didn’t even talk recruiting. We would just laugh about other stuff, but I knew I couldn’t go wrong at USC.
Q. What did you learn about yourself through this entire recruiting process? A. It was a great process. I stayed true to what I was going to do. I said I was going to take all my visits and I did. I stayed humble, and I got to meet a lot of good people. The support I received from my coaches, my principal and the people I met is one of the main reasons why it all went so well.
Q. What advice can you give to juniors who will be going through this process next year? A. Don’t get caught up in the hype. Everyone will tell you how good you are, but there is always room for improvement. Take all your visits so you make the best decision for you.
Q. Everyone gets homesick. Any fears of being 3,000 miles from home? A. I’m a lot different than other people. I’m focused on trying to do what’s best for me no matter how far I have to go.
Q. What are your future plans? A. Right now I’m focusing on my career in college. I want to study broadcasting and journalism, maybe even education. I would like to coach one day and give back to the kids like people have done for me.
Got a recruiting item? Please send an email to pgiltman@ajc.com
Here are briefs on the day’s top recruiting stories. Click on the headline of each story to read more.
You just want to read about UGA? Click here to go directly to all the UGA recruiting stories
You just want to read about Georgia Tech? Click on this link to go directly to all the Georgia Tech recruiting stories
Do you want to talk about UGA and Georgia Tech recruiting? Or have questions about the state’s top prospects? Then go to the AJC’s “Inside Georgia Recruiting” forum with Michael Carvell
Permalink | Comments (77) | Post your comment | Categories: Other SEC schools, Other schools, UGA
