Here are five stories still in the news in the aftermath of national signing day:
Macon County linebacker delays signing
The state’s biggest recruiting drama could drag out for another week. Macon County’s Roquan Smith committed to UCLA over Georgia in front of ESPN cameras Wednesday. He also had Michigan and Texas A&M as finalists.
But the four-star linebacker delayed signing the official paperwork after reports surfaced that UCLA defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich agreed to join the new Falcons staff.
“It’s not an open recruitment really, it’s just the same four schools, and he’s going to take a week or so to decide,” Macon County coach Larry Harold told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Chip Towers on Thursday. “He’s going to take this weekend off, spend time with his family and relax, be a teenager. And then next week maybe he’ll start calling some coaches again and rehash it all.
“(The recruiting period) isn’t over until the end of April, so there’s no rush. You know, it is a big decision and he needs to take his time, especially in lieu of what happened with the coach at UCLA leaving. So there’s a lot for him to consider.
“These things happen. But he needs to do what’s best for him and his family just like coach Ulbrich did what’s best for him and his family. Everybody needs to do what’s best for their situation.”
Smith and his coach were tipped off by UGA’s coaches, who frantically sent text messages about the Ulbrich story. “They said, ‘RED ALERT: READ THIS,’” Harold said. “Somebody screen-shotted (the report), and it grew from there. It was crazy.”
Florida signing stalls
Smith’s situation closely resembles the soap opera of CeCe Jefferson, a five-star defensive end from Glen Saint Mary, Fla. Jefferson also went on ESPN on Wednesday, committing to Florida.
But Jefferson’s paperwork hadn’t been turned into Florida 24 hours later, and “it’s not going to (be),” his father told the Gainesville Sun on Thursday.
Leo Jefferson claims to be “die-hard Florida fan,” but wants his son to play farther away from home. He’s also concerned about reports that Florida’s defensive line coach may take an NFL job.
“Yes, we are holding out,” Jefferson said. “Florida (is) making too many coaching changes. This is not a game. It’s my son’s life.”
College future on a coin flip
Another wacky story was a Texas running back claiming that a coin flip caused him to sign with the Texas Longhorns over Washington.
In a ceremony in front of family and friends, Chris Warren took a coin out of his pocket, flipped it in the air, and let it land on the table. After a moment of silence, Warren revealed that he was signing with Texas.
He told the Dallas Morning News that the coin flip wasn’t a joke. “I’d be wearing purple and gold right now (if it had been tails),” Warren said, pointing to Washington gear hidden behind the podium.
Saban defends signing ex-UGA player
Alabama finished with the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class, but coach Nick Saban caught a lot of criticism for signing Jonathan Taylor, who was dismissed from UGA after he was arrested on a charge of aggravated assault/family violence last summer.
At a news conference Wednesday, the first question was why would Saban sign a player with pending charges for allegedly hitting and choking a woman. Saban called it a “university decision” and stated that it was a “decision that got made by a lot of people here,” according to the Anniston Star’s Marq Burnett.
“We recruited this young man out of high school, and we felt that from what we knew about him, what his high school coach said, what the people at the school that he was at said about him, and where he came from in junior college, that he was the kind of guy that deserved a second chance,” Saban said.
“But with that chance, we also have stipulations of things that he needs to do from a personal-development standpoint so that he won’t make any kind of mistake like this ever again.
“That’s an ongoing process with him, and that’s something that we continue to monitor, and he has done a very good job with.”
Even though Saban used the term “second chance,” Taylor’s domestic-violence charge was his second arrest in 2014. He also was one of four UGA players charged with theft by deception after they were caught double-cashing meal-reimbursement checks.
Saban stood his ground, claiming that Alabama doesn’t condone disrespect or violence toward women.
Longtime Auburn commit chooses K-State
It got overshadowed on a busy signing day, but longtime Auburn commitment Elijah Sullivan of Tucker surprisingly ended up at Kansas State.
“Some things came up with Auburn,” Sullivan said. “They wanted to grayshirt me. My parents and I talked about it. Some things didn’t sit too well with them. So I opened it back up. My coach got Kansas State in the picture, and I officially flipped and signed with them on Wednesday morning.”
Sullivan committed to Auburn around a year ago. However, after the Tigers changed defensive coaches (including Will Muschamp as coordinator), so did the outside linebacker’s standing with the team. He was asked to take a grayshirt, or delay his enrollment until next January.
“I was aware that Auburn wanted to grayshirt me about a month ago,” Sullivan said. “It happened right when coach Muschamp and the new staff came in. I talked to them about a week later after they got there, and the coaches told me that they wanted to grayshirt me because, uh, well … I’m not sure what it was really for, so I’m not going to speak on that. But yeah, they told me right after the staff meeting that they wanted to grayshirt me.”
Sullivan reluctantly agreed to the deal, but got a little antsy as signing day approached. He ultimately decided to follow a Tucker teammate to Kansas State.
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