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Sigler eying three in SEC

January 19, 2011
Filed In Feature Stories, Football Recruiting

Entering the final stages of his recruitment, BC Rain outside linebacker/defensive end Devaunte Sigler took another step in the process last weekend. Having already visited Auburn officially, the 6-foot-4 and 250-pound Sigler took a trip to Mississippi State over the weekend.

“It was good and I had a really good time,” said Sigler. “I wasn’t really focused on their football program because I already like their football program. I wanted to see more of their environment and they have a great environment.”

Sigler, who will officially visit LSU this coming weekend, also had good conversations with the MSU coaching staff, he added.

“Those were some good talks,” noted Sigler. “And their coaches can talk to you on a football level and also talk to you on a friends level. I appreciated that and it showed me they care more about you than just the football aspect of things. I had a great talk with Coach (Chris) Wilson and honestly, I like their whole staff.”

With National Signing Day approaching, Sigler said he will conclude his visits following his trip to LSU. Once that occurs, Sigler said he plans to announce his college intentions on signing day.

“I am just going to take my time,” said Sigler. “It is still between Auburn, Mississippi State and LSU and all of them are even. I don’t want to make my decision until signing day. I am just going to sit down and get away from everybody. I am just going to look at which program made me feel at home the most.”

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Rough week for Johnson

January 10, 2011
Filed In Football Recruiting

Just a couple of weeks ago, Philadelphia linebacker C.J. Johnson was eying the Army All-American game as a great experience. As far as the game went, the 6-foot-2 and 22-pound Johnson did enjoy playing against the “best of the best”. But the circumstances before and after the game were not as pleasant.

Last week, Johnson found out the news that his position coach at MSU (Manny Diaz) was leaving to take the defensive coordinator opening at Texas. Then once the weekend came to a close, Johnson had to battle weather difficulties to return home to the Magnolia State.

“Man, it was the worst weekend,” said Johnson. “I got stuck in Houston and our flight got cancelled with the weather and all. Then my cousin is a captain in the Army and he was assigned to fly in to Jackson. I was going to fly with him to Jackson but that got cancelled, too. Then they could not transfer my luggage and it got stuck on a plane and then I also lost my wallet.
“Luckily, my sister and other family was still in Houston so they were able to drive me back home. Man, what a week!”

Concerning the game, Johnson made a few tackles to help the East squad come away with a victory.

“It was alright,” said Johnson. “I had four or five tackles even though I sat out most of the third quarter. It was a good experience. You got to see a little bit what college football will be like with all that talent on the field.
“But I didn’t like hearing some of the guys on our team start crying and whining about not playing that much. They should have just been having fun and enjoying when they did get on the field.”

When Johnson announced his plans to de-commit from MSU and take time to evaluate the situation, he noted he heard from numerous other schools. He will also begin his visits’ tour this coming weekend with a trip to Mississippi State.

“When I de-committed, a few more schools had me get in contact with them,” said Johnson. “Coach Oregeron from Southern Cal, Coach Caldwell from Arkansas, Coach Chizik from Auburn were some of the schools and Coach Nutt from Ole Miss, too.
“I am going to visit Mississippi State this weekend. Then I will visit Ole Miss, Arkansas and LSU if I can fit them in.”

And looking ahead to this weekend, Johnson said he is just looking to get that “comfortable” feeling again with the Bulldogs.

“I talked to Coach (Chris) Wilson and Coach (Dan) Mullen some last week and that helped some,” said Johnson. “I know they will come to see me this week, too. At this point, you just have to make sure and check out every situation. It is just a matter of me getting comfortable again with Mississippi State and seeing how that process goes this week.”

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Anthony rates UF vist a perfect 10

January 9, 2011
Filed In Feature Stories, Football Recruiting

Wadesboro, N.C. (Anson HS) linebacker Stephone Anthony played in the Under Armour All-America game this week and then traveled to Gainesville for an official visit.

Anthony said he enjoyed the Under Armour experience in Florida. The 5-star linebacker played in Wednesday’s game in St. Petersburg after practicing at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista.

“It was awesome man,” Anthony said. “It was really fun. I had a great time down there. I got to compete against the best players in the nation and we just had fun.”

The highlight of the Under Armour experience wasn’t on the field for the prize recruit.

“The highlight was going to Disney,” Anthony said. “I had never been there.

“Man, it was kind of one of those trips where you just go to get a feel for things. Me and my parents took it slow and got a feel for things all over again. We got to see how things are down there now. We really enjoyed ourselves. Coach (Will) Muschamp is a great guy. The staff seems to be the way he wants it and everyone is very excited about the future.”

How did the All-American rate the Florida visit on a scale of one to ten?

“I would probably give it a 10 because my parents really enjoyed it,” Anthony said. “Everything seems okay down there with the new staff. Everybody is really excited about the change.”

What was the highlight of the visit?

“It was just being around the guys and seeing how they fell about it,” Anthony said. “With the coaching change nobody left or transferred. Everybody is excited about the future.”

The 5-star linebacker will take an official visit to Clemson next weekend.

“I just want to go up there and have a good time,” Anthony said. “I want to see some things I haven’t seen yet. I want to get around the guys and see how they feel about things.”

When asked when he will make his decision, Anthony responded, “It will still be on signing day, February 2.”

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Steward plans to visit Gators

January 9, 2011
Filed In Football Recruiting

SAN ANTONIO — A torn ACL didn’t keep St. Augustine (Menendez HS) linebacker Tony Steward from attending the U.S. Army All-America Bowl on Saturday at the Alamodome.

Unable to compete in the game after tearing his ACL in his final high school game, Steward watched on crutches from the sideline less than a month after having surgery on his knee.

“It was a good experience meeting some of the other players, meeting pretty much the best athletes from around the country,” Steward said. “It was good to bond with them and everything. It was different, I’ve never been to Texas before.”

Steward’s East team won 13-10 despite the absence of the five-star defender who is ranked No. 1 by ESPN for all inside linebackers in the Class of 2011.

“It was a real exciting thing, I wish I could have been able to play,” Steward said. “The East pulled it out like I thought they would.”

Steward arrived on Thursday, four days after the rest of the players.

“I enjoyed being out here,” Steward said. “It would have been better if I would have been able to play, but it was good to be out here representing my school, my family and the East.”

Bradenton (Manatee HS) running back Mike Blakely, a verbal commitment to Florida, sat next to Steward for most of the game.

“I talked to some of the players,” Steward said. “We thought that it might be cool to go to school together, but I guess we’ll see at the end of the process.”

Steward listed Florida State, Clemson, Florida and UCLA as the schools he in considering.

With less than a month remaining before National Signing Day on Feb. 2, Steward plans to make at least three visits to potential colleges.

“I have a visit set up for Clemson next week and Florida State the week after,” Steward said. “I’m maybe going to find a way to put Florida in for a few days.”

Florida head coach Will Muschamp has already begun recruiting Steward.

“He’s a defensive guy,” Steward said about Muschamp. “He came earlier this week and talked to me. He’s trying to get me on campus with the new coaches and the new system. Hopefully we’ll be able to get that done.”

Steward said he would have to make a mid-week visit to Gainesville because his remaining weekends are full.

Florida State has been considered the front-runner for Steward.

“Everybody buys into one cause, it’s pretty much one voice,” Steward same about the Seminoles. “Hopefully, I’ll be able to make a decision soon.”

Being such a highly-recruited player has it’s benefits, but also means that the player will hear the same rhetoric from the numerous college coaches that contact him.

“I’ve heard what I hear from everybody, it’s the same old,” Steward said. “I’m just going to get down there and see.”

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Jarrett solid with Clemson after visit

January 8, 2011
Filed In Football Recruiting

Thursday afternoon two Clemson coaches made the trip to Covington, Georgia to visit with Clemson verbal commitment Grady Jarrett.

“Coach Steele and coach Scott came by to see me. They just wanted to check on me. They were telling me about the plans moving forward. They wanted to see how I feel about the situation,” said Jarrett.

How does the Georgia standout feel?

“I was sad that coach Rumph left, but I am still with Clemson. I am solid,” replied Jarrett.

After feeling uneasy earlier in the week with the news of the coaching changes, the talented defensive lineman is at ease.

“I feel a lot better about things now,” said Jarrett.

The Clemson staff will get another opportunity to make sure Grady is comfortable with his future at Clemson when he makes his official visit.

“I am coming to Clemson for the visit in the next couple of weeks. I am not sure about the date yet because of wrestling,” said Jarrett.

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Jackie Sherrill: The Recruiting Season

January 7, 2011
Filed In Feature Stories, Football

This time of the year, you have recruiting going full steam ahead. But you’ve actually been recruiting for the whole year and also for the next class for 2012. I’ve always said that recruiting is like shaving – if you miss a day you don’t look very good. So it is a 365-day affair if you are going to recruit well.

If you look at the schools that win, they approach recruiting as very, very important and they spend a lot of time and energy to stay on top of things. They are always trying to find the best way to contact kids and evaluate kids, especially when those kids come to campus for visits.

At this point of the year, you have some kids that have not made that final decision. And even if a kid has committed, other schools are still calling and recruiting them. That is why I have always been in favor of an early signing period like basketball has in their sport. That way a kid that knows can go ahead and sign. Then you can spend your energy on other recruits instead of constantly having to babysit your commitments. You always have to babysit and make sure you don’t lose a kid that has already chosen your program and that is just as important as getting new recruits.

But I always felt if a kid gave a commitment and you then lost him, then he likely wasn’t going to come to your school anyway. I never got overly concerned or over reacted when a kid didn’t decide on our school and it goes back to the way I was recruited and also how I recruited as a coach. We are professional salesmen and head coaches can get a kid to say ‘yes’. But that may not be what the kid wants in the long run.

When I was in high school, Coach (Bear) Bryant never asked me to come to Alabama. He just talked about the school and their players. I did the same thing as a coach. I felt if you recruit that way then you would rarely lose any kids because it was truly their own decision.

Because of the internet and high-profile sites, there is a lot of mis-information out there and a lot of information that is planted by these sites. That causes coaches to constantly chase their tails in recruiting. You may read something a kid said but he was also mis-quoted. It may turn out to be false but you still have to chase it and put out the fires. Again, you end up babysitting kids that have committed.

You also now have other kids that will go down to the last week or last few days before National Signing Day. And sometimes those late additions will make a big difference on your football team. So the intensity and buildup to signing day because a 24-7 ordeal. With obviously the head coach and the assistant coaches, you want to be involved with all of your recruits, committed or not. You are stretched from one player to the next as a head coach. That is why it is so important to have coaches on your staff that are good recruiters. You evaluate each year what coaches bring in what players and of course that changes from year to year. You also note every year on a list what assistant coaches signed who so to give you a good evaluation of your assistant coaches and their recruiting abilities.

Now, switching gears a bit but staying with recruiting. I’ve always felt if you have a successful football program, you’re gonna lose assistant coaches because a lot of people will come after them. That is the reason Texas came after Manny Diaz because of how impressive our defense was this year. So coaches will always be in demand. A year ago Manny was at Middle Tennessee State and then comes here and now is at Texas in basically a year span.

But it’s not necessarily how good a coach is but also how good your players are, too. And we have a lot of good defensive players back for the next few years. And in recruiting, you have to be wise in how you handle losing coaches. If a kid picks a university then he is picking your program. If they are choosing your school because of an assistant coach then they are picking a school for the wrong reason. There is never a guarantee that an assistant coach ever stays for their entire careers.

So as a head coach, you tell these guys their choice was the university. Sure, coaches might change but your program is still here. The head coach is the one who sets the program. There are a ton of assistant coaches out there but not many head coaches. But it is the head coach that designs the program and puts the stamp on the program. So you assure those recruits that everything in the past on the field will continue and nothing will change.

During my years of coaching, it was more important to find good football players and we found a lot that not many other schools wanted. David Stewart from north Alabama is a good example. He was in the area of Alabama and Tennessee but they didn’t know how good of a football player he would be. Sometimes when coaches go to evaluate, saying looking at a wide receiver, they see his growth pattern that may not allow him to be a wide receiver. He may turn into or grow into a tight end or defensive end. We saw that with his size, David Stewart was not going to stay at defensive end or linebacker. But we knew he had all the tools to be an offensive lineman and a good one at that.

And then there were the obvious ones. We knew Eric Moulds would be a great player. Then we saw Dicenzo Miller and Keffer McGee, both from small towns, and knew they would be very talented performers. Dicenzo was not as highly recruited as Keffer but we knew he had all those certain attributes to be an outstanding player.

You could also go down a long list of guys we signed that turned out to be productive, guys that were not recruited highly by other programs. Those were guys like Wayne Madkin and Cornell Menafee.

To break it down, you really have four types of players or recruits. You have the player that is good but knows he is good. He has been spoiled for a long time and he may be a five-star player that has already reached his own level of maturity and development. Then you have good players that don’t know they are good, guys like Menafee, Stewart and more recently, like Chris White. Those guys you just give them time to develop and grow and you have great players.

Then you also have a player who is average but doesn’t know he is average, and lastly, you have guys that are average and they know they are average.

You can win with No.2 and No. 3 but you don’t win with No. 1 and No. 4 in those types of players. The No. 1 group are high maintenance and spoiled and not necessarily team players that will grow and improve. I always wanted coaches that could go find football players. Anybody can pick up a sheet of paper and see where the high-profile guys are. But I wanted our coaches to find football players.

As a head coach, I could care less how many stars a guy had beside his name. All of those stars are just for school to stick out their chest and say ‘we have the best recruiting class’. It means absolutely nothing in the big picture. Like Bob Davie used to say at Notre Dame, there are two seasons – the real season and the recruiting season. The recruiting season is sometimes more important to some but those that often follow recruiting are not the ones going to the games or involved with your program.

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Seckinger still solid with Tigers

January 7, 2011
Filed In Feature Stories, Football Recruiting

The dismissal of Coach Napier and Coach Powell has caused a lot of turmoil in Tiger nation. Like Clemson fans, many recruits were very surprised by the news, including 6’5” 200 lbs. WR Stanton Seckinger.

“With me being a receiver I knew Coach Napier pretty well. He is a great guy and I looked forward to talking to him every time I came to Clemson. He is a great coach and quality guy but I’m sure the Clemson coaching staff thought they made the best decision for the future. I’m not going to argue about it they had a lot more information and they know what is best for the program,” said Seckinger.

Fortunately, Stanton and many of the recruits have not swayed from their commitment.

“I heard from the receiver coach, Coach Scott he put me at ease. It will be interesting to see what happens but ultimately it has not affected my commitment,” said Seckinger.

Why has his commitment still solid?

“I have been told that Coach Scott spot is secure, that is real important to me and really put me at ease. I have a great relationship with Coach Scott, I know him the best out of all the coaches. I will also have a chance to talk more to talk with some of the coaches this Thursday when they come to visit my house,” replied Seckinger.

Stanton plans on taking his official visit the 14th of January. Has he discussed the changes with other recruits?

“As of right now I haven’t talked to many other recruits, I think everyone is fine but I haven’t talked to that many,” said Seckinger.

What is the playmaker from Charleston looking for in a new offensive coordinator?

“Obviously I would love to see a coach that runs the spread offense it will be interesting to see, something tells me they will get a coach that runs more of a spread. It would be good to utilize all the skill players we are bringing in to the program,” said Seckinger.

Stanton just finished playing in an all-star game that may draw similar interest as the Army All-American game and Under Armour All-American game in the future.

“This past week I was at the NUC All-World Gridiron Classic. They put together an All-American invitational, and they are trying to make it the 3rd big high school all-star game. I participated in it this week. Kids from across the nation and even some from Canada and Croatia participated. It was a lot of fun. It was tough playing with a bunch of people you haven’t jelled with, but it is always a tough situation in these all-star games. I had one pass thrown to me way over my head but overall it was still a good experience.”

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Curtis Grant not in a hurry

January 6, 2011
Filed In Feature Stories, Football Recruiting

SAN ANTONIO — The Gators have made another Final Four.

While that remains to be seen for Billy Donovan’s men’s basketball team, Florida football coach Will Muschamp is the Gators’ head coach in the latest quartet.

Four-star Richmond, Va. (Hermitage HS) linebacker Curtis Grant said after his team’s practice for the U.S. Army All-American Bowl on Thursday that Ohio State, Virginia, North Carolina and Florida are the four schools he is considering attending.

Grant (6-3/222) made a trip to Columbus, Ohio to visit the Ohio State University in mid-December.

“I had a great time up there,” Grant said. “It was my first time up there, it was a great place.”

Grant has also listed in-state University of Virginia in his top-four, based on his relationship with Cavaliers’ head coach Mike London. Prior to coaching at Virginia, London was the head coach at Richmond, in Grant’s hometown, during the 2008-2009 seasons.

“I already knew the coaches before they even got to Virginia, so I had already built a relationship with them before they even got there,” Grant said. “That’s why I like them a lot.”

The North Carolina Tar Heels are also among the four schools Grant is considering.

“I’ve been to North Carolina a whole bunch of times,” Grant said. “I just like the way they operate down there.”

Florida and Muschamp are making a push to land Grant as well.

“The Gators are still in my top four,” Grant said. “I’m still getting to know coach Muschamp and the rest of the new staff that he’s hiring, so they are still up there too.”

Grant said that he likes the experience Muschamp brings to UF after coaching at Texas, Auburn, LSU and the Miami Dolphins.

“I looked at his track record,” Grant said. “He has a pretty good track record. He’s won a few championships and he’s put a lot of players in the (National Football) League.”

Grant said he plans to make an official visit to UF on Jan. 13.

Florida verbal commit Mike Blakely (RB – Bradenton/ Manatee HS) is a teammate of Grant on the East team.

“He’s recruiting me,” Grant said. “Blakely, me and him are real cool right now. We’re still getting to know each other and talking about things, but other than that we’ve just been chilling.”

Grant will wait until National Signing Day, Feb. 2, to announce his decision.

Grant was named one of six finalists for the U.S. Army player of the year award, which will be announced Friday evening.

The U.S. Army All-American Bowl will be played on Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Alamodome and will be broadcast on NBC television.

“Everybody out here is good, having a great time and we’ve come to play ball,” Grant said. “I’m looking forward to showing up, having a great time and balling.”

Many of the U.S. Army All-Americans watched the Under Armour All-America game on television last night.

“I only watched a little bit of it, but it was alright,” Grant said.

Could Grant’s East team beat either of the teams from the Under Armour All-America game?

“Yeah, we could,” Grant said.

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Ray Drew weighing options

January 6, 2011
Filed In Feature Stories, Football Recruiting

SAN ANTONIO — Five-star defensive end Ray Drew always has a lot on his mind.

As a licensed minister, Drew regularly speaks to youth groups and has been preaching at Paradise Missionary Baptist Church in his hometown of Thomasville, Ga. for more than two years.

As the No. 3-ranked overall in the ESPNU 150, Drew (6-5/253) has collected more scholarship offers than most people could attempt to count while playing at Thomas County Central High School.

Drew has a clear definition of what he is looking for in potential college suitors.

“For me, personally, it’s going to come down to academics because football’s not going to last forever,” Drew said. “Secondly, I would say it is going to come down to relationships and if I feel comfortable at that school with who’s going to be coaching me, that type of deal. Thirdly, it would be playing time because I’m a player. If you love football the way you say you do, you would rather be on the field than the sideline any day.”

When it comes to making a decision about where he will play college football, Drew suddenly has other considerations to make. Recent coaching changes at Clemson and Florida have left him conflicted about which college will get his letter of intent National Signing Day.

“As a recruit, it weighs on you,” Drew said on Tuesday after his East team practice for the U.S. Army All-American Bowl. “It get down this close to making your decision and all these things that play factors into your final decision just blow up and go all out of place. You just sit down and think about stuff again, all over.”

Less than four weeks remain in the recruitment period. Most top players sign on Feb. 2, but occasionally players wait longer.

“I’m not sure if I’m going to visit (Florida) or not,” Drew said. “I threw them out of the running with everything that was going on.

“What I’m looking at with Florida right now is, as a defensive player there are really four people that you need to get to know: your head coach, your position coach, your strength and conditioning coach and your defensive coordinator.”

Drew announced he had eliminated UF from consideration following the resignation of Urban Meyer as the Gators’ head coach.

“At the time, when coach Meyer announced his resignation they didn’t have a defensive coordinator in place, they didn’t have a defensive line coach in place and I only met the strength and conditioning coach maybe once or twice,” Drew said. “It would kind of be like me going into a program blinded. Also, even though it has nothing to do with me, the offensive coordinator left as well. You really don’t know what to expect from them now.

“With everything going on this late in the recruiting process, if they were going to get back into the hunt with me, it would have to be something very drastic. It would be hard for them to get back in it.”

Florida head coach Will Muschamp will have to fight an uphill battle to sign Drew, but that hasn’t stopped the new coach from making the effort.

“I’ve talked with him twice,” Drew said. “One time, when I was up in New York I had to cut the conversation short because I was busy, but I called him back.”

Drew was in New York City as part of a promotion tour for Saturday’s game (1 p.m. NBC).

“I talked with him for a little while, he was talking about what he plans to do as far as defensive schemes and the people he planned to bring in,” Drew said. “He said he couldn’t really name them at the time because he was going to wait until after the (Outback) bowl to name anybody.”

The day after the Gators’ 37-24 win against Penn State, Muschamp announced the hiring of assistant coaches Aubrey Hill as receivers coach and Travaris Robinson as defensive backs coach and that announced that linebackers/special teams coach D.J. Durkin, tight ends coach Brian White and running backs coach Stan Drayton will be retained from Meyer’s staff. White had been responsible for leading the recruitment of Drew.

“(Muschamp) wanted me to keep a close eye on the program,” Drew said. “He said that the people he was going to bring in were going to be top-notch people who had knowledge of the game and they knew exactly what they would be doing.”

A day after the first wave of coaching announcements, Muschamp announced the hiring of Charlie Weis as the Gators’ offensive coordinator, Frank Verducci as the offensive line coach/ running game coordinator and Dan Quinn as the defensive coordinator/defensive line coach.

Drew has said he prefers to play weakside defensive end, as opposed to linebacker.

“Everywhere he’s been, they’ve run a 3-4 defense,” Drew said. “He said that right now, with taking over another program, he’s going to base the defensive scheme off of the players. If he has a bunch of players who seem like they can fit the 3-4 scheme better, then he’s going to move to a 3-4. If they fit the 4-3 scheme better, then he’s going to stay at a 4-3 for now. I think his ultimate goal is to get to a 3-4 there at Florida.”

Former Clemson defensive end coach Chris Rumph recruited Drew to sign with the Tigers, but Rumph took a similar position with Alabama on Tuesday morning. Drew learned of Rumph’s departure from Clemson after practice.

“I just found out, maybe three minutes ago, that coach Rumph was going to Alabama,” Drew said. “I can honestly say that coach Rumph was one of the coaches that I had a close relationship with there at Clemson. He was the one who recruited me from there.

“There’s just a lot going on, but that’s the nature of the game. You have to look at what’s going on with Florida, what’s going on with Michigan with coach (Rich) Rodriguez being fired, you’ve got coach Rumph going to Alabama, people moving around, but that’s the game.”

Drew lamented the changes in college coaching so close to national signing day, but accepted it as something he can’t control.

“It’s the nature of the business,” Drew said. “You can’t really fault the coaches for moving around whereas opportunity might lie elsewhere for them. You’ve gotta look at John Chavis, who was at Tennessee forever and now he’s with LSU. When I talked with him he said he plans to be there forever, but you never know. An opportunity presented itself to Chris Rumph, the money might have been better, with the economic times, for his family. It’s not just about him, it’s not that he’s being selfish, he has something other than himself to look out for. He has a wife, Miss Kila, and his two sons, Chris and Elijah. You can’t blame a man for wanting to take care of himself and his family.”

Rumph reportedly earned a raise from Clemson to $180,000 in May. His predecessor at Alabama, Bo Davis, earned $270,000 last year according to the Tuscaloosa News.

“With the whole coach Muschamp deal, if you have the opportunity to go from being a defensive coordinator to the head of your own program, more than likely you’re going to jump at the opportunity,” Drew said. “That’s the deal with coach Rumph. Even if he was going to be in the same position, if the monetary side of it was better — a lot of people say it’s not about the money; in reality, it really is.

“Whenever they bring people in on scholarship, they’re paying for you to go to that school, it’s an investment. It was a difficult decision for him, I know, more than likely. He played at South Carolina, he coached at their rival, he has the best of both there. Having to leave the state of South Carolina t go to Alabama and having to uproot his family and move them over and everything, there’s a lot that plays into it.”

Is Drew happy for Rumph?

“I am,” Drew said. “If that’s what he feels is his best fit, you can’t fault him for it. If that’s the best move for him and his family then he has to do it.”

Drew said he plans to contact Rumph this week.

“I talked to him not long ago,” Drew said. “Before, when I set up my official visit to Clemson, none of this had come into play. I will talk to him about it and see what his reasons were for it. Whether they were good or not, I have no say in it. It’s not like my opinion is going to change anything.”

Drew is still giving Clemson a great deal of consideration despite Rumph’s departure.

“Clemson is a nice place,” Drew said. “It’s a very humble feeling there, not only with coach Rumph, but coach (Kevin) Steele and coach (Billy) Napier, who’s no longer there.

“Coach (Dabo) Swinney, I’ve seen a lot of similarities between him and coach (Mark) Richt at Georgia and coach (Gene) Chizik from Auburn. All of them have about the same worries as far as what they want to base their programs around. With them being the type of people they are, they are going to do what’s best for the program, they are going to get in the type of people that are going to move that program forward.”

* * *

Drew plans to major in communications in college so he can utilize his natural disposition and ability to speak in public.

“I love to talk, I talk all the time anyway, I might as well get paid for it,” Drew said. “Getting the chance to talk about something I love, which is football and talking about sports, that makes it even better.”

Despite being in high school, Drew is already building a potential network for employment.

“Michael Strahan is my mentor,” Drew said. “He does a thing with Fox Sports, I’ve talked with some people from NBC about some stuff. If I could do something like SportsCenter or Fox Sports, that would be great, that’s my plan after football.”

Perhaps colleges interested in Drew should invite him to tour the journalism and broadcasting facilities instead of the trophy room?

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Future stars shine in UA AA game

January 6, 2011
Filed In Feature Stories, Football Recruiting

ST. PETERSBURG — News and notes from an exciting Under Armour All-American football game, won 24-22 on a last-second field goal by Team Click-Clack (Red) kicker Taylor Bertolet.

The contest took place Wednesday night in front of an announced crowd of 23,259 at Tropicana Field.

GATOR GET: The biggest news for the Gators came in the first quarter when Miami Monsignor Pace defensive back Jabari Gorman committed to Florida.

Gorman listed his finalists as UF, Miami and Ohio State, but the Hurricanes had fallen back a bit after the coaching change from Randy Shannon to Al Golden. Gorman visited Gainesville on the weekend of Dec. 10. He took in Ohio State the weekend of Sept. 24.

Recently hired Gator receivers coach Aubrey Hill was in charge of Gorman’s recruitment to Miami, so any familiarity there certainly didn’t hurt. However, a source close to the situation said it was new coach Will Muschamp who “sealed the deal.”

At 6-foot, 180 pounds, Gorman worked out at cornerback and safety during practice for the game and showcased outstanding tackling ability.

Gorman said his goal at UF is simple.

“I want to win a national championship, and I think I have a great chance of doing that at Florida,” said Gorman, who finished the game with two tackles.

As expected, two other prospects who listed UF as finalists committed to other schools.

Soon after the Gators got Gorman’s commitment, Miami Jackson safety Robenson Therezie picked Auburn over UF and Alabama. He will be joined on The Plains by Lagrange (Ga.) Troup running back Quan Bray, who also considered Florida, Georgia and Alabama. Bray said he still plans to visit Florida on Jan. 15.

All verbal commitments are non-binding. National Signing Day is Feb. 2.

ROBERSON & CHICKILLO: Two prospects UF didn’t appear to be frontrunners for just a month ago now have the Gators at or near the top of their lists.

Red defensive end Anthony Chickillo, who seemed to be seeking residence in the White backfield, remains committed to Miami. However, the Tampa Alonso product also said Florida is “gaining ground.”

Chickillo is scheduled to meet with Golden soon, and that will make a big difference in how seriously Chickillo takes any flirtation with UF and FSU (which has a commitment from Chickillo’s close friend, James Wilder, Jr.). Either way, Muschamp will get an audience with Chickillo (as well as highly coveted linebacker Stephone Anthony and 320-pound defensive tackle Shawn Underwood, among others) this weekend when the 6-3, 240-pounder visits Gainesville.

Chickillo earned Red MVP honors by finishing Wednesday’s game with four tackles, one-and-a-half sacks, a fumble recovery and a quarterback hurry. Jarvis Landry, an LSU commitment, was named the White MVP after catching eight passes for 70 yards and a touchdown.

Also, Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas defensive back Marcus Roberson has narrowed his list to Auburn, Florida, Texas Tech and Georgia. But it looks like it could be down to the Tigers and Gators for the 6-1, 170-pounder, who had an interception in the game.

Not only would Roberson be a good get for teams the next few years, it never hurts any coach to get in with Aquinas, arguably the nation’s No. 1 program. Coach George Smith, a Florida High School Athletic Association Hall of Famer, sent cornerback Cody Riggs to UF last season.

Roberson finished Wednesday’s game with an assist to go along with the interception he returned 20 yards for the White. He is scheduled to visit UF the weekend of Jan. 21, one week after he takes in USC.

Roberson already has visited Georgia (Sept. 17), Auburn (Sept. 24) and Texas Tech (Nov. 5), so Florida will be getting his final trip.

TRANSFERS?: The mother of a somewhat highly recruited defensive player in the Class of 2010 called a Gator staff member recently to inquire about her son transferring to UF.

She was told that while they thought her son was a fine player, there just were not enough scholarships available. No word on whether her son will stay at his current school (which is based in Florida).

(MUS)CHAMP RECRUITER: A source close to UF recruiting said Muschamp shares a similar passion for recruiting as his predecessor, Urban Meyer.

“Will is unbelievable,” the source said. “He has so much energy and enthusiasm. He hit the ground running with the kids we are going after, and he develops good relationships quickly. He’s really easy to get along with.

“We are going to get a lot of elite players in here because of him.”

OTHER SELECTIONS: In addition to Gorman, Bray and Therezie, Griffin (Ga.) defensive end Xzavier Dickson committed to Alabama over Georgia, Akron (Ohio) St. Vincent-St. Mary’s cornerback Doran Grant selected Ohio State over Michigan State, and Vero Beach offensive guard Marcus Jackson chose Tennessee over Michigan State and Miami (where he once was a commitment). Grant attends LeBron James’ alma mater. Also, Hollywood (Calif.) defensive end Greg Townsend, Jr. committed to hometown Southern California over Texas Christian, and Fontana (Calif.) athlete Devon Blackmon chose Oregon over USC and UCLA.

FUTURE GATOR STATS: UF quarterback commitment Jeff Driskel didn’t have the most efficient of games, but he was impressive for the Red.

Driskel completed just 2-of-8 passes for 18 yards, including a dropped potential touchdown and a tipped interception that was returned by Florida State safety commitment Karlos Williams for a touchdown. However, the Oviedo Hagerty product did lead all rushers with six carries for 80 yards, a game record. That total included a spectacular 63-yard touchdown (also a record) he concluded with a Gator chomp.

Receiving commitment Ja’Juan Story caught one pass for nine yards. Tight end commitment A.C. Leonard recorded a tackle on special teams, but did not catch a pass. He took perhaps the game’s hardest hit (from Williams) early in the contest on a ball Leonard could not hang onto.

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