Don’t count Georgia Tech out of the Demetris Robertson recruiting derby.
Why not?
Because Demetris Robertson, the five-star athlete from Savannah Christian, says so.
"I think people kind of underestimate my interest in Tech at this point," Robertson said last Saturday. "I really liked that visit a lot. I talk to those coaches a lot."
Robertson spoke with DawgNation colleague Jeff Sentell at St. Francis High in Alpharetta, where his basketball team lost to St. Francis in the first round of the state Class A private school state tournament. Both Robertson and his older brother and guardian Carlos Robertson indicated that Tech is a viable contender as he chooses between Alabama, Cal, Georgia, Notre Dame, Stanford and Tech. Robertson said something else that might indicate Tech's place in this recruiting battle that has extended three weeks past national signing day and will evidently extend into March.
“Everybody might think I’m lying about academics first and things like that but it is true,” Robertson said. “I really want my academics first because football isn’t going to last long. I think everybody is just seeing what they want to see. Fans want me to put football first but that’s not the reality of football. Football can bring me a lot of fame and attention and set me up but I also want to set myself up with my academics and a degree. If football doesn’t work out for me, then I am still all good.”
Tech coaches have sold their school as a “40-year decision” and like to tout the oft-repeated statistic that one in six Tech grads is a millionaire. In a recent interview with Rivals, Robertson affirmed that the school is the favored choice of his mother, who lives in LaGrange.
"She's like 45 minutes away and it's a good education," Robertson told Rivals.
For what it’s worth, according to U.S. News & World Report’s rankings, Stanford is tied for No. 4, Notre Dame is tied for No. 18, Cal is No. 20, Tech is No. 36, Georgia is tied for No. 61 and Alabama is tied for No. 96.
His evidently sincere interest in obtaining a good education would help explain his determination to achieve the baseline SAT score necessary for him to take an official visit to Stanford. In his latest attempt, Robertson fell 40 or 50 points short.
“I’m going to keep going and taking it until I get it,” Robertson said.
Another SAT exam is set for March 5. The website for the College Board, which administers the exam, indicates that scores won't be available until May 10. That could mean a decision may not come until then. (In the category of "Way more information than anyone should know about a high school student's college decision," the March SAT will apparently be the first time the College Board offers a redesigned exam that the Princeton Review called "the biggest change in 30 years" for the test. I'll leave it to recruit-niks to debate what this means for Robertson's chances to earn the necessary score, or, for that matter, how Stanford will interpret scores from the updated exam.)
Robertson does have an official visit planned for Georgia this weekend and he’ll have one remaining, either to Stanford or Alabama. An unofficial visit to Stanford is a possibility.
“I’m not trying to rush things," Robertson said. "I’m not trying to go somewhere I don’t want to go. I want to sit down and see everything a long way out because my academics are the most important thing to me. A lot of people might not believe it but that’s what I’m basing my decision off of. I know wherever I go I am going to ball out.”
