2013 year in sports - College football recruiting

Sports

2013 year in sports - College football recruiting

The 13 moments that defined 2013, as told by AJC's Michael Carvell.

Former Troup High School linebacker Reuben Foster, despite having an Auburn tattoo, flipped from Auburn to Alabama shortly before signing day. It even caught the attention of the President Obama, an avid watcher of ESPN Sportscenter. Foster decided against altering or removing the tattoo, saying it would be honor the memory of a late family member who played at Auburn.

Hard as it is to believe, Robert Nkemdiche was the first-ever No. 1 prospect out of Georgia. Nkemdiche committed to Ole Miss on signing day to play on the same college team as his brother.

Former Milton High School defensive end Carl Lawson, who was Georgia’s best 2013 prospect not named Nkemdiche, stuck to his original decision and signed with Auburn, despite the firing of Gene Chizik. Ironically, Lawson was recruited to Auburn by new defensive line coach Rodney Garner, who passed on Lawson when he coached at UGA.

Not only did former Dooly County High School defensive tackle Montravious Adams decide at the last-minute to take an official visit to Auburn on the last weekend before signing day, he also ended up signing with the Tigers. It broke the hearts of fans from UGA, Clemson and Alabama. Much of the credit goes to Rodney Garner, the newly-hired Auburn assistant from UGA.

Nothing gets UGA and Georgia Tech fans stirred up in recruiting like when one archrival steals a prospect from the other. That’s what happened with Aquinas high school’s Brendan Douglas, the longtime Georgia Tech running back commit who switched to Georgia a week before signing day. Douglas was UGA’s third-leading rusher as a freshman.

In these days with social media, you can’t get away with anything. Central Gwinnett High School’s Trey Johnson, while committed to Ohio State, denied he was on an official visit with Tennessee. But photographic evidence proved otherwise, and Johnson fessed up. He still ended up signing with Ohio State.

On the eve of signing day – at the worst possible time imaginable – UGA defensive coordinator Todd Grantham interviewed for an NFL job. Understandably, it caused panic among Bulldogs fans. Fortunately, it didn’t appear to cost UGA any recruits on signing day.

Taking advantage of a loophole in the SEC’s rules, UGA finished with 33 signees in February – Mark Richt’s largest class as coach of the Bulldogs. Thirteen of the recruits enrolled early at UGA, allowing the Bulldogs to “back-count” at least 10 toward the previous year’s scholarship numbers.

How did Ridgeland’s Vonn Bell decide between Ohio State, Tennessee and Ohio State? Bell later admitted that, in a dream, that “God said, ‘I want you to go to Ohio State.’” It broke the hearts of Tennessee’s new coaching staff, as Bell grew up in the state as the die-hand fan of the Volunteers.

One of the state’s top prospects for 2015, Creekside’s De’Antre Turman, died after sustaining injuries while making a tackle in a scrimmage. Creekside, which reached the Class AAAAA state championship game, dedicated this season to the fallen star.

Georgia Tech got off to a hotter start than normal this year due to better resources and new strategy. The Yellow Jackets expanded their recruiting staff to three assistants, including former Heisman runner-up Joe Hamilton. Georgia Tech has also decided to focus a little more on private schools and out-of-state kids.

UGA’s Mark Richt made history by becoming the first college coach to publicly comment on prospective student-athlete (at least permissible comments), under a new NCAA rule. Richt spoke about Josh Malone, who had signed financial-aid agreement with the Bulldogs, Tennessee, Clemson and Florida State. The other coaches also followed and spoke publicly about Malone, who is committed to Tennessee.

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Former Troup High School linebacker Reuben Foster, despite having an Auburn tattoo, flipped from Auburn to Alabama shortly before signing day. It even caught the attention of the President Obama, an avid watcher of ESPN Sportscenter. Foster decided against altering or removing the tattoo, saying it would be honor the memory of a late family member who played at Auburn.

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