Chris Simms (Franklin Lakes, N.J.), the nation's top-ranked quarterback, has chosen Tennessee.

	Chris Simms chose Tennessee over Texas.

It was the finish of a whirlwind week for Simms.

Just last week, Simms was scheduled to visit Ohio State, but he changed his mind at the last minute. Instead of spending his weekend in Columbus, Ohio, he spent it in State College, Pa., visiting Penn State.

However, the Nittany Lions were not chosen.

On Monday, Chris Simms was in New York as one of the 21 high school invitees from the New York Area for the High School Heisman breakfast at New York's Downtown Athletic Club.

"We don't know what he's going to do," his father, Phil, said earlier this week before a decision had been made. "His mother and I are being supportive, but he's the one making the decision. He knows more about these schools than we do."

ACC
North Carolina hosted several official visitors over the Dec. 11 weekend, and three of them committed to the Tar Heels.

Receiver Jamal Jones (Hyattsville, Md.), lineman Greg Woofter (Oak Ridge, Tenn.) and lineman Chris Kocaj (North Bergen, N.J.) pledged to the Tar Heels.

Woofter had previously committed to Clemson.

"I just thought North Carolina, academically and athletically, would be the best place for me. It's nothing against Clemson. I just liked Carolina a whole lot better," explained Woofter.

Florida State hosted two prospects -- safety Brandon Ward (Dallas) and lineman Bryce Bishop (Miami).

Ward has visits remaining to Nebraska and Ohio State before he plans to make a decision. Bishop has no other visits scheduled and is favoring the Seminoles.

In the words of ESPN announcer Stuart Scott, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets "must be butter, because they're on a roll."

The success and good fortune of the football team has carried over into recruiting.

Already the Yellow Jackets have 15 commitments and received four last week. Receiver Anthony Lawston (Baltimore) heads the group of recent Yellow Jacket commitments.

Big East
As would be expected, the media attention and surprising win for Miami over UCLA should be somewhat of a boon to recruiting. The Hurricanes hosted several players for official visits for the game and several others for unofficial visits.

"That's was a big-time game. I mean it had everything -- drama, suspense, a ton of offense. It was great to be able to see that," said junior college All-American Ivan Mercer, a 6-7, 230-pound receiver.

"There couldn't have been a better time to visit them (Miami). I almost committed just in the thrill of the moment."

Alas, Mercer didn't commit. But he is favoring the 'Canes, with visits remaining to Ohio State and Tennessee. He's already made an official visit to Texas A&M.

Lineman Leo Bell (Cincinnati), spurned by Tennessee, committed to Boston College.

Bell actually orally committed to Tennessee while attending the Volunteers' game against Kentucky. However, Bell was not aware that Tennessee was no longer "actively" recruiting him and had planned on rescinding the scholarship offer.

"I called their bluff and it backfired on me," said Bell, whose Moeller High coach was notified of the situation by a Tennessee assistant the day after Bell publicized his commitment to the Vols.

But Bell isn't bitter.

"I'm just so happy Boston College is an option. I think I was just caught up in the moment when I was at Tennessee. Boston College has better academics, so everything probably turned out for the best."

Moeller High is home to a player who will be one of the more heavily recruited prospects in the country next year. Anthony Munoz Jr., the son of Anthony Munoz, one of the NFL's all-time great offensive linemen, is a junior at Moeller and, like dad, is a talented offensive lineman.

Big Ten
Ohio State and Michigan hosted several visitors over the Dec. 11 weekend.

Lineman Courtney Morgan (Los Angeles) was rumored to have committed to Michigan, but there has been no confirmation yet.

Morgan's Westchester High teammate Charles Drake, a running back-defensive back, also made the trip to Michigan. Also in Ann Arbor for the weekend were prep All-Americans running back Paul Arnold (Seattle), linebacker T.J. Duckett (Kalamazoo, Mich.) and quarterback Chris Massey (Spiro, Okla.).

Ohio State's star-studded list of visitors included quarterback Gary Godsey (Tampa, Fla.) and lineman Sean Milligan (Lilburn, Ga.).

The 6-foot-8, 255-pound Godsey is an interesting story. Up until his senior, Godsey had seen most of his action at tight end. This year, he moved exclusively to quarterback and college coaches have taken notice.

The Buckeyes, Georgia Tech, Miami and Alabama are all recruiting Godsey and they're giving him the option to play either quarterback or tight end.

After the visit to Columbus, Godsey is favoring Ohio State.

Milligan says he plans to visit Georgia, UCLA and Michigan before reaching a decision. Milligan has already visited Notre Dame and says the Irish are the team to beat.

Big 12
Who will Baylor hire as its new head coach?

While the administration is mulling over candidates, one recruit knows who he would go after.

"It would be great if they could get (Gene) Stallings," said lineman Eric South (Belleville, Texas). "He's won a national championship, and I think he would give the program a lot of credibility."

South has committed to Baylor, and says he is likely to sign with the Bears regardless of who is named as the new head coach.

Missouri head coach Larry Smith is keeping the Jefferson City High pipeline open. The Tigers recently received a commitment from Jeff City's best player, quarterback-defensive back Justin Gage.

Jeff City, a perennial powerhouse, routinely supplies the Tigers with talent. Defensive end Justin Smith, who started for Mizzou this year as a true freshman, is a former Jeff City grad.

The NCAA clearinghouse and Canyon (Texas) Randall High have come under scrutiny. The reason?

Jessie Hunnicutt, a Randall High graduate and Texas A&M signee for football last February, was ruled ineligible by the NCAA Clearinghouse because, they said, Hunnicutt lacked the appropriate core GPA.

Wrong. Hunnicutt had earned the minimum GPA.

But there was a clerical error on the behalf of either Randall High or the Clearinghouse which did not account for an algebra class he had taken. Therefore, he was ruled ineligible by the Clearinghouse.

"Randall says it's the NCAA's fault. The NCAA says it's Randall's fault. We can't get a straight answer out of anybody. And all I know is my son hasn't been in college, playing ball, like he should have," said Anita Hunnicutt, Jessie's mother.

With the algebra class now taken into consideration, Hunnicutt has been deemed academically qualified and will enroll at Texas A&M at mid-term.

Pac-10
"It just surprised me," explained running back Kerry Carter (Etobicoke, Ontario). "I didn't expect Stanford to be that nice. The academics, the whole program, really made me comfortable. At the same time I was excited about the opportunity to play very soon in my career."

While Stanford surprised Carter, Carter surprised nearly everyone by picking the Cardinal.

Carter had made official visits to Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State and Wisconsin prior to his visit to Palo Alto on Dec. 4, and Carter made no bones about the Buckeyes being his favorite team.

That is, until he visited Stanford and surprised us. Expect the talented, well-built Carter to log heavy minutes for the Cardinal next year.

Lineman Nate Steinbacher (Anaheim, Calif.) is leaning to Southern Cal. On consecutive weekends, Steinbacher has visited USC and Nebraska.

"Nebraska was a great place, but I just think USC's probably a little better fit for me," said Steinbacher. Steinbacher plans one more visit, to Washington on Jan. 8, before making a decision. He recently removed Arizona State from consideration, and says he will not take the Jan. 15 visit he had scheduled to Tempe.

Another player leaning to the Trojans is receiver Brad Pyatt (Arvada, Colo.). Pyatt had just returned from his Kentucky visit Dec. 13, and though he was very impressed with the Wildcats and their staff, he said, "SC is still the favorite, still the one I like the most. I don't what it is, I think I just connect with their coaches real well."

Pyatt, who has already visited the Trojans, says he will likely make a decision after a visit to Colorado this upcoming weekend.

SEC

Georgia landed at least three oral commitments from its Dec. 11 recruiting weekend.

Receiver Damien Gary (Athens, Ga.), defensive back Stanford Simmons (Hargrave, Va.) and Donatra Clements (East Coweta, Ga.) all pledged to the Bulldogs.

Gary did not play as a senior after tearing his ACL prior to the start of the season.

Simmons, a former Alabama prep player of the year who signed with Auburn a year ago, attends Hargrave Military Prep School and is roommates with fellow Georgia commitment, linebacker Charles Grant (Hargrave, Va.).

Official visits don't always have a positive effect on recruits. Take Dontae Walker (Clinton, Miss.), the South's top running back, for example.

Walker made an official visit to Southern Miss for the Dec. 11 weekend. But when he returned home on Sunday, he committed to Mississippi State.

Alabama earned a pledge from running back Santonio Beard (Nashville, Tenn.). But Beard is likely to spend at least his first year at a prep school in Milford, Conn. because of lagging academics.

Independents
Notre Dame secured two commitments from its banquet weekend.

Defensive lineman Cedric Hilliard (Arlington, Texas) chose the Irish over Texas, Texas A&M, Ohio State and Tennessee.

Also pledging to the Irish was little-known linebacker Pat Ryan (Billings, Mont.). Ryan helped West Billings High to consecutive class 2A state championships, registering 194 tackles in 11 games. Ryan also led the state in receiving, with 43 catches for 626 yards and four touchdowns.

Bobby Burton is editor of The National Recruiting Advisor. To subscribe, dial toll-free 1-888-TNRA-NOW or 888-867-2669 (seven issues for $59, plus regional newsletters for an additional $20 per region). For the latest on your favorite college, dial 1-900-933-7776. The cost is $1.59 per minute (must be 18 or have parents' permission).