The last week or so has been a whirlwind along the Georgia recruiting trail, as numerous top recruits have taken their names off the market while another local prospect opened his recruitment back up.
At Sunday’s Under Armour All-America game, which I will discuss in more detail a little later, Washington defensive back Branden Smith—arguably the state’s top recruit and the nation’s fourth-best cornerback according to Rivals.com—announced his intentions to play his college ball at the University of Georgia. The 5-foot-11, 171-pound athlete chose the ‘Dogs over Florida, Florida State, Tennessee and Alabama, among others, and has the skill, athleticism and overall explosiveness to play both ways on the college level.
Another top Georgia recruit used the Under Armour game to make a major recruiting announcement, as Lowndes athlete Greg Reid, the state’s player of the year each of the last two seasons, announced that he has decommitted from the University of Florida. After listening to a speech delivered by guest speaker and former Auburn head coach Tommy Tuberville, Reid decided to give the decision more thought after feeling he rushed into his initial commitment. While Florida still remains the leader for Reid’s services, his decommitment can only mean good things for the hometown Dawgs.
The Yellow Jackets also received good news over the last few weeks, receiving a verbal pledge from Flowery Branch defensive end Izaan Cross. The 6-foot-3, 253-pound lineman chose Tech over offers from Maryland, Clemson, North Carolina, and South Carolina among others, and cited comfort as the main reason.
“Georgia Tech, they’ve stuck with me through the whole recruiting process,” Cross explained in a recent interview with Jacketsonline.com. “They were my first offer. It’s close to home. I’m very familiar with the coaches and things like that.”
SO LONG
Over the last two weeks, three local prospects have decided to take their games across Georgia lines, starting with Wheeler offensive tackle Nick Klemm’s decision to suit up for the Eagles of Boston College over the coming years. The 6-foot-6, 280-pound Klemm, a two-star recruit according to Rivals.com, also received interest from Purdue and Syracuse.
Joining Klemm in the ranks of committed was another offensive tackle, this time Woodstock lineman Duran Christophe. The 6-foot-6, 275-pound athlete chose the Wolfpack of N.C. State over offers from Tulane, Louisville, Indiana and South Carolina. According to Rivals.com, Christophe is a three-star recruit and the 80th-ranked offensive tackle in all the country.
Finally, Georgia Military College cornerback Taikwon Paige used last Saturday to announce his own college destination, electing to attend Minnesota over offers from Oklahoma State, Rutgers, East Carolina, Western Michigan and UAB. Among junior college recruits, Paige is a four-star prospect and the 25th-ranked overall player.
PEACHES SHINE
Under Armour held its second-annual All-America game at Disney’s Wide World of Sports last Sunday and a whole hoard of Georgia recruits were in attendance, with many of them participating at a particularly high level. Henry County receiver Jamal Patterson joined Buford guard Dallas Lee, Northside-Warner Robins defensive tackle Abry Jones and linebacker Eric Fields, Lowndes’ Reid, and Norcross defensive back Prince Kent on the Black squad. On the White team, Emanuel County running back Washaun Ealey and linebacker Dexter Moody, along with Washington’s Smith, represented Georgia.
On the night, some recruits impressed more than others, beginning with Reid, who was sensational in practice all week before being named his team’s MVP in the game. Reid recorded two interceptions in somewhat limited action, returned a kickoff 38 yards, and was impressive in coverage all game long. During the week of practices leading up to Sunday’s action, NFL coaches singled Reid out as the one player that has “it,” as far as the professional game is concerned. An underrated recruit due mostly to his lack of size and position, Reid proved throughout the week that he has the toughness, speed and ball skills to hang with the biggest and best receivers in the nation as well as the rare explosive ability to change games with interceptions and special-teams returns.
As for the other top performers from the State of Georgia, Stanford commit Jamal Patterson showed decent speed, good route running ability and excellent hands as a receiver, while Fields displayed impressive sideline-to-sideline speed and an affinity for stopping the run. In pass coverage, Smith looked steady throughout most of the night (though he was beat by Gator commitment Andre Debose for a 94-yard touchdown pass) and showed the speed and athleticism that has helped him earn the reputation of a two-way star.
Janovitz can be reached at sjanovitz@scoreatl.com.
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