With February’s Signing Day quickly approaching, recruiting has begun to really heat up, especially in the State of Georgia where high school football talent is plentiful. The last two weeks in particular have seen a hoard of Georgia athletes announce their college declarations, beginning with Carver offensive guard Chris Hubbard. In the end, Hubbard chose the Blazers of UAB over offers from Middle Tennessee, Mississippi State, South Carolina, UCLA and South Florida.
According to Rivals.com, the 6-foot-3, 235-pound Hubbard is a three-star recruit and the 51st-ranked guard in the country. In a recent interview with BlazerSportsReport.com, it seemed overall comfort at UAB was the difference in Hubbard’s decision.
“I fit in really well with the guys I was around this weekend,” he said, “and I love coach (Corey) Barlow and coach (Neil) Callaway.”
Houston County athlete Justin Kitchens was the next recruit to fall, as the 6-4, 245-pound prospect chose the Purdue Boilermakers over offers from East Carolina and Mississippi. Kitchens, a two-star recruit according to Rivals, will most likely end up at defensive end on the next level.
“He’s 6-foot-5, 255, and runs a 4.7 40,” Houston County head coach Greg Robinson recently explained. “On our strength tests, he’s our No. 1 guy. He’s a rush (defensive) end. He has good size and good strength.”
Interestingly, Houston County also produced Brandon King, currently a senior defensive back for Purdue.
DAWGS JOIN THE FUN
While numerous schools were swooping into Georgia to stock their teams, the University of Georgia looked beyond state lines to improve its roster, landing a commitment from Avon, Indiana strongside defensive end Montez Robinson. At 6-5, 235 pounds, Robinson is a four-star recruit and an impressive looking prospect with an equally impressive offer list that includes high-profile programs such as Illinois, Louisville, Purdue, Alabama and Auburn, among others. In the end, though, Georgia had everything he wanted.
“Oh, it was the whole package,” Robinson explained. “The coaches, the players, the facilities, the education, add all that up with the future championship trophies, you can’t beat that.”
In Robinson, the Bulldogs are getting a good one; on film, he shows tremendous aggression to go along with developed pass rushing moves. Robinson could, however, stand to improve his overall agility and lateral quickness.
Not long after Georgia struck rich with out-of-state gold, an in-state diamond in the rough found a long-distance home in Kentucky. Former Georgia Southern commitment James Hervey finally declared once and for all where he would spend the next four years and the Hilltoppers of Western Kentucky won out in the end. The 6-2, 265-pound Sandy Creek defensive tackle chose Western Kentucky over offers from Louisiana Tech, Miami (Ohio), Middle Tennessee, Troy, East Carolina and, of course, Georgia Southern.
As for why the Hilltoppers outlasted Georgia Southern, Hervey had this to say: “I didn’t feel like [Georgia Southern] was the place for me, so I decommitted and committed to WKU. At Western Kentucky, everything was more upgraded. I felt like the coaches had the best interests for me. I believe that I have formed a stronger bond with the coaches at Western Kentucky than the coaches at Georgia Southern.”
EXODUS CONTINUED
The flood of Georgia recruits deciding to leave the state continued last week, as three more in-state prospects announced their plans to take their football games elsewhere. Tucker defensive tackle Deion Roberson was the first to go public, selecting to play for the Wolfpack of N.C State over healthy programs such West Virginia, Louisville, Maryland, Memphis and Michigan State, among others. According to a recent interview with the 6-4, 258-pound prospect, the Wolfpack simply made him feel most comfortable.
“I mostly had a good feel for the coaches, the environment, the school. I got a chance to hang out with the academic people, and that went well.”
On Sunday, two more local recruits joined Roberson on the list of committed athletes, as Brunswick safety Darius Slay gave his pledge to Mississippi State while Lithia Springs offensive center Bryan Davis gave Boston College some good news.
The 6-1, 180-pound Slay was the fourth player last weekend to join new head coach Dan Mullen and his Mississippi State Bulldogs and did so by selecting State over offers from Kentucky and Troy.
Davis, a 6-3, 280-pound, two-star recruit according to Rivals.com, chose BC over Georgia Southern and Alabama State.
Janovitz can be reached at sjanovitz@scoreatl.com.
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