|
|
|
||
|
|
|
|
|
High School |
| |
||||||
| Wednesday, July 16 |
||||||
| Football recruiting buzz By Jeff Goodman SchoolSports.com | ||||||
|
Kelly Baraka's father didn't give him much of a choice. The elder Baraka set the date for his son, and the Portage Northern High (Mich.) running back had to make up his mind about which college he would attend next year.
After much deliberation and switching from Notre Dame to Michigan numerous times, the speedy runner opted to attend Michigan. "I woke up and it seemed like Michigan was the place for me," said Baraka, who actually lives about a half hour closer to the Notre Dame campus. "It played a big part in my decision that (running back) Anthony Thomas is leaving Michigan and Notre Dame still has a few backs. I want to go to a place where I can show what I can do right away." Baraka is a sprinter who also plays basketball. His other finalists were Purdue and Michigan State. "He's a complete back," said Portage Northern football coach Pete Schermerhorn. "Obviously, being a state champion sprinter, he has outstanding speed. But he's also one of the strongest kids and combines great speed with power."
FSU Finally Gets Its Man The 6-foot-5, 195-pound Henshaw chose FSU over Clemson. He is the son of Tennessee Titans assistant coach George Henshaw, who was on Bowden's staff at Florida State in the 1970s and '80s. Henshaw threw for more than 4,600 yards and tossed 39 touchdowns in two seasons at Brentwood and will likely redshirt next year.
Vol-Back Plan The 6-foot, 195-pound Williams rushed for 1,729 yards and 23 touchdowns this season and won Alabama's "Mr. Football" award. Williams chose Tennessee over Auburn and Alabama. Houston originally committed to Arkansas, but he changed his mind and picked the Vols over Michigan State, Arkansas and Miami. The 6-foot, 205-pounder finished with 1,724 yards and 35 TDs this past season.
Still a Trojan Leinart, who was interested in Oklahoma before a new staff at USC was announced, didn't act quickly enough and Evangel Christian Academy (La.) signal-caller Brent Rawls snagged the Sooners' final QB scholarship. "Oklahoma offered me and Rawls and said whichever committed first they would take," said Leinart. "At first I was really mad for a few days, but then I got over it and decided that USC was close to home and offered everything I needed." Leinart eventually chose USC over Arizona State and informed the coaching staff Sunday morning at breakfast.
Keeping Up With Jones Jones, arguably the nation's top runner, is still deciding between the Hokies and Penn State. He basically crossed Tennessee off the list after a weekend visit. "(Vick) leaving really doesn't change anything at all. If I were him, I would have done the same thing," Jones told SchoolSports.com on Monday. "I just came back from Tennessee and will probably make a decision sometime next week."
The Next Quincy? North Clayton High (Ga.) quarterback D.J. Shockley told new Georgia coach Mark Richt, who recruited Shockley while the offensive coordinator at Florida State, that he would be heading to Athens, Ga., next season. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound Shockley chose Georgia over North Carolina. He had a sub-par senior campaign, throwing for 1,861 yards and 11 touchdowns and running for 864 yards and seven TDs.
There's No Place Like Home While many reports had Huckeba deciding between Arkansas and Florida State, the senior said it was actually between the Razorbacks and Division II Harding University, where his father is the defensive coordinator. "I was raised in a real close family," said Huckeba. "And while FSU was my favorite team as a kid, when it came down to it, I don't think that being 12 hours away was going to make me happy even if I did have a national championship ring. "The 13 Saturdays would be an awesome experience, but I'm not so sure about the rest of the time."
Rare Move The 6-foot-2, 200-pound York committed to Mississippi State over pass-happy Louisiana Tech and Kansas, and his reasoning is simple. "I was set on finding a college that offered an atmosphere, rather than just a football program or academics," said York, who scored 1,160 on the SAT and has a 3.85 GPA. "I wanted a place that if for any reason I couldn't play football, I'd still be happy for the next five years." York cancelled his visit to Kansas and informed Mississippi State coach Jackie Sherrill of his decision on Sunday morning.
Done Deals Oklahoma also secured the services of Valley High (Iowa) linebacker Gabriel Toomey and Washington High (Okla.) linebacker Mike Wilson. ... McArthur High (Fla.) quarterback Jermell Williams committed to UConn over Georgia Tech, Iowa and Iowa State. ... Conway High (S.C.) 6-foot-5, 235-pound linebacker George Gause chose South Carolina over Clemson. ... Hillcrest High (Texas) quarterback Ryan Gilbert committed to LSU. The 6-foot, 180-pounder had originally committed to Texas Tech. ... La Porte High (Texas) offensive lineman Quintin Outland chose Baylor over Texas A&M. ... Mize High (Miss.) linebacker Derrick Duckworth committed to Tennessee. ... Moss Point High (Miss.) quarterback Demarius Bilbo and Hacienda Heights High (Calif.) defensive end Travis Parker will both attend Georgia Tech next year. ... The University of Mississippi got three commitments from one high school this weekend. Madison Central High's (Miss.) trio of offensive lineman Chris Spencer, running back BoBo Brown and wide receiver Mike Espy all pledged to Ole Miss. ... Seattle Kennedy High (Wash.) running back Cory Jones picked Notre Dame over Georgia Tech. ... Bear Creek High (Colo.) receiver Gerren Crochet committed to Stanford. He caught 69 passes for 1,410 yards and 14 touchdowns during his senior campaign and chose the Cardinal over Colorado, Cal and Kansas.
Still Debating Troy Henderson High (Ala.) lineman Von Ewing is down to Alabama and Tennessee. ... De La Salle High (Calif.) linebacker Kevin Simon, who was injured in last month's National High School Football All-Star Game and will have knee surgery, returned from Tennessee this past weekend. He is also looking at UCLA, USC, Texas A&M and Miami.
Material from SchoolSports.com.Visit their web site at www.schoolsports.com | |
|||||
|
|
