Today’s interviewee is Rusty Mansell, who will provide color commentary for tonight’s Buford-Douglas County game on Peachtree Sports Network. Mansell is a recruiting analyst for On3 and owner/publisher of DawgHQ.
1. We’re going to bet this game has more major D-I players than any you’ve ever covered as a color commentator. What are you most looking forward to about it? “I was on this game as quick as I could book it. I knew without a doubt, this would be as physical a football game as you get. I know both coaches, I know the pride of both of them. It is going to be a buckle your helmet the moment you get off the bus. This game reminds me of the Buford-Lee County state final a few years ago. I knew it would be fast and physical. I expect this to be a four-quarter game. Talent-wise, I am not sure the exact amount of D-I kids, but I have the Stephenson-M.L. King Blake Tibbs game in mind as far as talent. That game lived up to every ounce of hype. I still remember the energy of that entire night. This one needs no hype. This is one of the best football games in the country for a reason.”
2. By GHSF Daily’s count, this game features 19 juniors or seniors who are either ranked in the top 400 nationally in their class or who have committed to Power 4 Conferences. Could you name perhaps one off each team that you’d say really makes the team go? Might not be the best prospect, but a guy that really impresses you as a high school football player/baller? “For me with Douglas County, it is James Johnson. He impacts the game in all three phases. He is a weapon. Johnny White compares his impact on the field to Eric Berry. That tells you a lot. [Johnson recently committed to Southern Cal.] With so many high-level prospects on each team, I love the old-school play of Buford middle linebacker Mantrez Walker. He is a downhill linebacker that has to take on the o-line and be the glue in the middle for the Wolves. They have other players higher rated on their team, but to me they start with No. 8. He makes them go on defense because he is seeking contact the minute the game starts.” [Walker is committed to Colorado.]
3. This is our annual question to you: Who is the most underrated prospect in the state this season, and why do you think that? “I always love this question and wish I could give you five or six players, but I will give you two. BreShun Hall from Callaway is a 6-4, 230-pound defensive end/tight end. He got his first offer this week from UAB, but it will not be his last. Big jumbo athlete that can move. I think his best position may be tight end on the next level. Sam Wooten, a 2025 linebacker/tight end from Pepperell, is another young man that is picking up interest. Middle Tennessee, UTC and others have had him on campus early this season. I worked him out this spring a couple times in a 6-foot-2, 215-pound frame. I think he ends up at linebacker on the next level. Neither are ranked in the industry, but they will be before this cycle is done.”
4. You do a weekly feature with On3 called Ask Rusty. If you had to Ask Rusty a question that would be informative to your typical audiences (prospects, parents, UGA fans), what would it be? And how would you answer it? “I always answer it with ‘tape is worth more than anything else.’ Getting verified, height, weights are so important for colleges. If you want your son to have a chance at any school, you need to get him in front of that staff in a summer camp setting. Rusty Mansell or Chad Simmons can put eyes on him, but at the end of the day, you need to make sure you work out for a staff. If you are a senior, it is not time to panic. It is time to put together a great tape from this season. Recruiting is basically dead until late to mid-October. As a parent, tell your son to worry about his school and his team and put the best sample size of good film so colleges can look at that when it picks back up. Biggest thing to take in as a senior parent is that recruiting is almost at a snail’s pace. When it starts back in October, it will be quick all the way into December.”
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