Tuesday’s Biggest Recruiting Stories

Oh, nothing major ….  just one of Georgia’s top nationally-rated prospects leaving the state and even the SEC’s footprint to make sure Urban Meyer still can keep his priorities in line coaching college football at Ohio State.

What else went down? Here's the Morning Recruiting Review:

Archer junior Isaiah Pryor committed to Ohio State yesterday. (Michael Carvell/ AJC)

1)      Losing Isaiah – Archer junior Isaiah Pryor committed to Ohio State yesterday. That one will hurt. Put him down in Sharpie as an immediate contributor at any Power 5 program the minute he steps foot on campus.

The 6-foot-2, 215-pounder projects to either a safety or maybe even a linebacker at the college level if he keeps growing and adding good weight.

That’s a big loss. He says UGA and others are still in it. What does “in it” mean exactly? It means he might take a few more visits. That’s a major pull for the Buckeyes to come down to Georgia and take a 4-star prospect, the No. 2 safety in the land for his class and the nation’s No. 38 overall prospect for 2017.

Landon Dickerson (Student Sports)

2)      Landon in Athens – North Carolina OL Landon Dickerson took his second trip to UGA recently. That's significant. It was his second trip in a month to a major SEC program that got in late on his recruiting. He told the AJC that UGA line coach Rob Sale said he could play guard or tackle and the rising senior has a mature understanding of the game for his age.

Translation: Prospects don't come back twice in a month unless they really liked what they saw the first time. UGA is in the hunt for the nation's No. 10 tackle. Virginia Tech, South Carolina and Florida State are seen as the teams to beat. The de-commitment of Archer tackle E.J. Price means that UGA needs to add at least another 4-star recruit to 2016 class.

He's also young enough to be a high school junior and that helps when projecting his eventual ceiling in college football.  He's just 16 years old and already 6 feet, 5 inches and 297 pounds. His coach also noted his flexibility. What's next? Does he use power lines to shave?

3)   Chances for Gary going up? – Rivals.com's Mid-Atlantic Recruiting Reporter Adam Friedman had some Rashan Gary news yesterday. Gary told Friedman he wasn't worried about competition and his second visit to UGA gave him the chance to interact with more players and recruits.

UGAsports.com's Jake Reuse also delivered a thorough take on his mother's thoughts about UGA and Athens. She got to visit Athens another time and enjoyed her time downtime and even threw in an academic question or three.

Moms still matter more in recruiting than dining halls and indoor practice fields.

4) Keep an eye on Moore — Oklahoma offensive lineman Tramonda Moore is an interesting possibility for UGA. He picked up a UGA offer earlier this month and that distinction means something considering where the offensive tackle was at the end of his junior year.

The 6-foot-6, 330-pounder didn’t have any stars or any offers at the end of May, but then he decided it was time to do something about that. He want to camps at Oklahoma and Oklahoma State and showed off good agility and quickness for his size. The former basketball player now has a wealth of scholarship options (Alabama, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and UGA) and a lot of sorting out to do.

Zero to three stars in three months? That’s a pretty good summer.

5)  Marshall's Plan – Upson Lee defensive lineman David Marshall was committed to Auburn, but now favors Ole Miss. He de-committed from Auburn last month and Alabama's name is in the pot, but it sounds like the Rebels have his ear right now. Why? He told the AJC he favors the ability to slide up and down the front and play multiple positions on the defensive line.

Auburn’s Gus Malzahn (AP)

6)  Good recruiting weekend on The Plains – Some call it the Plain. Most call Auburn the Plains. What really matters was that two top prospects committed to Auburn over the last few days. The tripled the size of their 2017 commitment board with dual-threat QB Lowell Narcisse (Louisiana) and athlete Alaric Williams from Gadsden. Both prospects are four-star recruits.

Williams committed on Saturday and hails from the same area that produced former Auburn great Carnell "Cadillac" Williams. Both prospects are rated among the Top 150 players in the nation for 2017.

7)  Will Alabama counter that momentum today? – Dadeville 3-star DB Shawn Jennings is set to make his decision at 7 p.m. today. The pundits are pointing him to follow in his brother's footsteps. Anfernee Jennings is a freshman defensive lineman at Alabama.

That seems likely no matter who many of those “House Divided” license plates they sell in Alabama.

8)  Even more Character — South Carolina beat Auburn this weekend for the commitment of 4-star defensive back Marlon Character. That's because of the recruiting pitches. South Carolina's coaches presented him more playing options than their peers did at Auburn. The Tigers only wanted him at safety.

Where is his best spot in college? Former UGA defensive back Glenn Ford is his position coach at Grady and feels that cornerback is the better fit.

9) Big man in Brunswick  — Pryor's commitment shows that its never too early to start wondering which way the state's elite prospects are leaning. Brunswick offensive tackle D'Antne Demery told the AJC this summer that no school was recruiting him harder than UGA.

He’s 6 feet, 7 inches and 315 svelte pounds. Look for him to be a very big deal on the national stage over the next 18 months.

Demery is already rated as a four-star recruit and the nation’s No. 21 offensive tackle for the Class of 2017. He handled himself very well in drills when his team came to Athens for a Mark Richt camp back in June. He was the best offensive lineman of the day by far.

10) Brinson and the Big Orange —  Mays defensive back Monquavion Brinson committed to Syracuse last night. The 5-foot-10, 165-pounder rates as a three-star recruit and he's going to a very prestigious school. His skills had drawn recruiting attention from several SEC programs, but he seemed content with his decision on Monday night.

Jeff Sentell covers UGA recruiting for AJC.com and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Follow him on Twitter for the latest on who’s on their way to play Between the Hedges.

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