SEC-W Recruiting Updates

[jbcarol]

John Talty ‏@JTalty  1h
Wow. Arkansas fans want Breeland "@ImKoolLike_THAT: iight!!!!!

http://instagram.com/p/j2wkLCh_3Z/ "


From The Catfish Hole #3

Retweeted by Breeland Speaks
Marcellus Speaks ‏@TheCoachSpeaks  3h
Catfish Hole is where it's at!!! NW AR #AITE

[jbcarol]

AL.com sports ‏@aldotcomSports 15m
5-star cornerback Marlon Humphrey commits to Alabama http://ow.ly/t4SRf

Fruit PUNCH@marlon_humphrey
Coach K rocking the Duck Dynasty hat and the new smile I taught him 😃 pic.twitter.com/h6uwPaqLcc



Lessons in humility for the former Vol head coach who tried to replace the Tennessee traditions with USC traditions.

[jbcarol]

Marcellus Speaks ‏@TheCoachSpeaks  10h
Being back in Arkansas, gets ya thinking about a lot of great times and memories #Gottaloveit

[jbcarol]

Andrew Bone ‏@AndrewJBone  54m
#Alabama lands commitment from Four-star 2015 WR Daylon Charlot 

Cecil Hurt ‏@CecilHurt  45m
Local star RT @AndrewJBone: #Alabama adds commitment No.2 of the day in 2015 4-star OL Lester Cotton from Central High School in Tuscaloosa.

[jbcarol]

Central-Tuscaloosa offensive lineman Lester Cotton knew last summer he wanted to go to Alabama, but he held off on his commitment. His coach at Central, Dennis Conner, said they agreed to delay a decision to avoid affecting the rest of the team during the 2013 season.

Now, with the season over and the four-star 2015 prospect on campus for Alabama's junior day on Saturday, Cotton said the time was right to commit.

"I felt like it was the perfect time," said Cotton, who committed to the Crimson Tide on Saturday. "Everything was right, my mind was right -- just go ahead and be done with it."

Cotton (6-3, 309) said Saturday that Mississippi State, Ole Miss and LSU have been to visit him recently, and he may still take a trip to MSU, but his mind was set on Alabama.

Short trip.

[jbcarol]

'15 Louisiana wide receiver Daylon Charlot committed to the Tide after receiving an offer from the Tide coaching staff this morning. Charlot, a 5-foot-11, 180-pound receiver, is rated a 4-star prospect by the 247Composite ranking and holds early offers from Arizona State and Mississippi State.

video highlights at link

[jbcarol]

Bama and Auburn have engaged in some heated recruiting battles throughout the years, but the battle for five-star Rashaan Evans has taken the two coaching staffs to a unusual recruiting battleground: the dance floor.

According to Evans' father, Alan Evans, coaches from both Alabama and Auburn attended the five-star athlete's grandfather's 80th birthday party on Saturday night at a hotel in Auburn along with nearly 200 other friends and family members.

"When we got to the party about eight o'clock it was a packed house at the hotel," Evans told AL.com. "We walked in and the first people we saw was the entire Auburn staff standing there on our left and to my right was Kirby Smart and the Bama staff. I was like 'This has never happened in Auburn before and probably never will again.'

"As we went in, we were pulled left and right all night from Auburn to Bama. The coaches shook hands and talked but you could tell they were there for one thing and one thing only. Then the live band started playing and the Alabama and Auburn coaches hit the dance floor. It was unbelievable. I just couldn't stop laughing."

As the coaches battled for the attention of the family, Evans said family members and friends at the party began to jokingly cheer for either Alabama or Auburn.

"Gus was obviously attracting a lot of attention as well and had a line of people waiting to take pictures with him all night."

Reuben Foster, the former Auburn high player who got an Auburn tattoo and signed with Bama was there as well.

Recruits are making them dance and sing in their last days having "hand". Is there a better way to capitalize than making these coaches dance to amusement of your family and friends?

[jbcarol]

Mississippi State landed three verbal commitments Sunday on its last official visit weekend before signing day. The Bulldogs landed Holmes Community College defensive back Tee Shepard, Clarksdale safety J.T. Gray, who is ranked No. 16 in The Clarion-Ledger's Targeted 22, and Clarksdale offensive lineman Elgton Jenkins.

— all fill some needs for Mississippi State.

[jbcarol]

John Talty ‏@JTalty  5h
Ole Miss commit Charles Standberry has flipped to Louisville today per @SteveJones_CJ.

[jbcarol]

Shea Dixon ‏@Sheadixon  6h
Two 2014 Dutchtown standouts. RT @dutchtown1 Corey McBride and Torrance Mosley commit to play football at TCU next year.

[jbcarol]

Who has pull? Mississippi State's Tony Hughes is the best at recruiting in-state

Dan Mullen won't walk into the home of a Mississippi prospect without Tony Hughes.

Hughes, a native Mississippian, has served as the point man for Mullen, a Northerner, in building relationships in the state. The Mississippi State recruiting coordinator has well-established connections throughout the state and frequently plays a major role when the school signs a highly regarded in-state player.

"If you were Notre Dame and wanted to recruit Mississippi, you would go after Tony Hughes," one national recruiting expert said. "He's synonymous with Mississippi recruiting."

If only by a hair, Hughes ranks as our top college coach at recruiting in-state players.

Hughes, Ole Miss running backs coach Derrick Nix and Ole Miss offensive line coach Matt Luke were the three most popular choices on who recruits Mississippi best.

What also separates Hughes from others, according to experts, is his evaluation skills. He was among the first believers in Jamie Collins, the Southern Miss product who just finished a promising season with the New England Patriots. He "knew there was something special" about Jameon Lewis, who at the time was a 5-foot-9 quarterback for Tylertown High School.

"I've always felt I can see raw talent and I can take a kid, develop his skills and help him be a top-line player," Hughes said. "Sometimes I see things that other people don't. I've just been blessed."

As Hughes is to Mississippi State, Nix is to Ole Miss.

High school coaches in the Jackson area raved about Nix to The Clarion-Ledger, highlighting his ability to relate to kids. Nix's two biggest gets, however, were beating Alabama for Conner last year and flipping C.J. Johnson from Mississippi State in 2011.

Said one recruiting expert: "He can put a chew in his mouth, go out in the country and get a kid. He can dress up and get preppy kids. ... He's the most versatile recruiter."

"One of the biggest things that's helped me is just being myself and being down to earth," Nix said. "I'm a country kid from Alabama. I've been in a lot of situations as ... recruits. I came from the same kind of neighborhoods."

"In the simplest way, it is a war," Nix said. "Basically, we are all going after the same kids."

http://www.clarionledger.com/interactive/article/20140202/SPORTS05/302020081/Who-has-pull-Mississippi-State-s-Tony-Hughes-best-recruiting-state

Link also has a color-coded map showing the locations of State, Ole Miss, and So. Miss. recruits, the overlap, and one location in Arkansas.

[jbcarol]

Just a couple of days ahead of National Signing Day, Tee Shepard confirmed to Rivals.com that he has committed to continuing his FBS playing career at Mississippi State.  Shepard had played at Holmes Community College in 2013...

The Irish announced back in March of 2012 that Shepard was no longer enrolled at the school, two months after he enrolled as an early signee as part of Notre Dame's 2012 recruiting class.  The stated reason for Shepard's decision at the time was the desire to be back closer to his family in Fresno.

Shepard, a four- or five-star player depending on the recruiting service, was rated as the No. 4 corner in the country in the Class of 2012 and the No. 11 player at any position in the state of California...

http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/02/03/ex-irish-corner-tee-shepard-commits-to-miss-st

[jbcarol]

AL.com sports ‏@aldotcomSports  10m
Alabama lands commitment from No. 1 JUCO tight end Ty Flournoy-Smith http://ow.ly/tfBWw

Bama has added a commitment from the nation's top junior college tight end prospect. Georgia Military College star Ty Flournoy-Smith committed to Alabama on Monday, giving the Crimson Tide 26 commitments for their 2014 recruiting class

[jbcarol]

AL.com sports ‏@aldotcomSports ·17 mins
Safety Chris Williams flips commitment from Alabama to UCF (report) http://ow.ly/tgKJD

[jbcarol]

AL.com sports ‏@aldotcomSports ·11 hrs
Alabama among top five for 4-star 2015 TE Will Gragg http://ow.ly/tfL08

Ole Miss, LSU, Louisville and, of course, Arkansas included on that tweet.

[jbcarol]

http://espn.go.com/blog/sec/post/_/id/79121/closing-the-deal-in-the-sec

Included are JoJo Robinson and @Kenny Younggg.

Focus is on ESPN300 candidates.

[jbcarol]

http://espn.go.com/blog/sec/post/_/id/79136/final-sec-recruiting-scorecard

Final b/4 signing day using ESPN ratings.

[jbcarol]

Xavier Lewis, a four-star cornerback prospect from East St. John, has de-committed from LSU, his high school coach said.

Lewis' coach at East St. John, Phil Banko, confirmed the news Monday. Lewis tweeted the news earlier in the day.

Lewis, a 6-foot, 175-pounder, committed to LSU in August. He has offers from Notre Dame, UCLA, Florida and Arizona State among others.

Lewis is ranked as the 18th-best cornerback prospect in the nation for the 2015 class

http://theadvocate.com/sports/lsu/8280099-123/lewis-de-commits-from-going-to

LSU back to five commits for '15

[jbcarol]

JC Shurburtt ‏@jcshurburtt  2m
#CrystalBall- #Aggies trending for LB Kenny Young ...

[jbcarol]

ESPN CollegeFootball ‏@ESPNCFB  4m
First LIVE announcement on @ESPNU will be Solomon Thomas at 8:10 AM pic.twitter.com/3tQG9696eE

[jbcarol]

Solomon Thomas picks ...

Technical difficulty

[jbcarol]

Thomas will play and graduate from Stanford University.

[jbcarol]

Kenny Younggg to UCLA.

[jbcarol]

Brandon Marcello ‏@bmarcello  14m
Nation's top outside linebacker Rashaan Evans picks Alabama over Auburn http://ow.ly/tjpve

[jbcarol]

Shannon B. Terry ‏@sbterry247  34m
#Alabama Kirby Smart moves into lead National Recruiter of the Year @247Sports #NSD  http://bit.ly/17LfPzd  pic.twitter.com/bX4eF1ajip

[NoNC4Tubs]

Brandon Marcello ‏@bmarcello  14m
Nation's top outside linebacker Rashaan Evans picks Alabama over Auburn http://ow.ly/tjpve

Boom, Baby! 

[jbcarol]

Demetrius Jackson ‏@F5_Jackson  32m
Miami got my letter

[jbcarol]

Adoree' Jackson to USC.

Picks the USC cap out of a box of goodies.

[jbcarol]

 Retweeted by jojo robinson
K.Edwards6⃣ ‏@Seis_GoDeep  32m
Me and @deuce_jojo is going to kill it up in Arkansas 🅰🐗💯

[jbcarol]

Tom Martin ‏@TomMartinKATC  1h
Baffling. RT @TDANarcisse For those who are asking and wondering, Tae Thibodeaux didn't receive an offer from the Cajuns.

Tom Martin ‏@TomMartinKATC  33m
Don't think we'll get one today. That's my hunch. Schools pressuring him to sign soon. RT @Chance_Scofield  @TomMartinKATC update on Tae?

Dux ‏@duxpup  4h
"@TomMartinKATC: Louisville & Arkansas want an answer from Tae Thibodeaux pic.twitter.com/zn1CEFohto"
Mulling a tough decision over kool aid

[jbcarol]

S John Smith chose USC.

[jbcarol]

Jake Trotter ‏@Jake_Trotter  4h
SEC schools signed the No. 1 players from the Big 12 states of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Iowa. Ouch.

[jbcarol]

In the 247 Team Recruiting Rankings, SEC West had four of the top six classes.

The lowest team ranking was State at 38th just behind Washington and just ahead of Mizzou.

[jbcarol]

Tom Martin ‏@TomMartinKATC  Feb 5
Glad to see Tae Thibodeaux will be able to visit Arkansas and Louisville. Beats having to choose a school through essentially Googling it.

[jbcarol]

RecruitingNation ‏@RecruitingESPN  Feb 7
The Lone Star State is always loaded with high school football talent→ ... pic.twitter.com/dIqX9kyom2



Interesting to watch this dynamic for in the next few years including the rest of the SEC.

[jbcarol]

Chris Low's projected Top 5 SEC impact true freshmen including Cam Robinson.

http://espn.go.com/blog/sec/post/_/id/79491/chris-top-impact-true-freshmen

[jbcarol]

AL.com sports ‏@aldotcomSports ·24 hrs
Four-star 2015 DE Michael Barnett de-commits from Virginia Tech after getting Alabama offer | http://AL.com  http://ow.ly/tBHGY

[jbcarol]

Success in Georgia may be key in 2015 for Alabama, Auburn recruiting (Mike Herndon)

For 2015, it appears to be a loaded year in Georgia, where five prospects in the Peach State are rated as five-star prospects according to the 247Sports Composite and another 26 carry four-star rankings.

Both the Crimson Tide and Tigers already boast 2015 commitments from Georgia, with four-star quarterback Tyler Queen committed to Auburn while Alabama has three pledges from east of the border - five-star linebacker Mekhi Brown, four-star defensive lineman Jonathan Ledbetter and four-star offensive guard Dallas Warmack.

Another five-star Georgia prospect, Atlanta-Mays defensive end Natrez Patrick, could be in the picture for both the Tide and Tigers. A teammate of Warmack, he counts both among his favorites.

As with many of Georgia's top prospects, however, outsiders will have to fight off the home-state Bulldogs for Patrick. Mark Richt and his staff have placed a greater emphasis on keeping Georgia prospects in Georgia in recent years, and Bulldog running backs coach Bryan McLendon was named the 2014 recruiter of the year by 247Sports.

McLendon was recently named UGa recruiting coordinator.

[jbcarol]

AL.com sports ‏@aldotcomSports ·16 hrs
Nation's No. 1 running back Damien Harris picks up offer from Alabama http://ow.ly/tIWiW

[jbcarol]

Patrick Magee ‏@EJCsports  3h
Pascagoula receiver Jaylen Smith has received his 1st scholarship offer from Ole Miss, 'Goula head coach Lewis Sims confirms.

[jbcarol]

Damon Sayles ‏@DamonSayles  5h
A nice recruiting trifecta today for #ESPNJr300 TE Hale Hentges (@HaHentges). Offers from #Bama, #GeauxTigers & #HookEm.

[jbcarol]

Danny West ‏@DannyWest1 ·4 hrs
#OleMiss has offered 2016 DL McTelvin Agim of Hope.

[jbcarol]

Michael Carvell ‏@RecruitingAJC  12h
Darlington (Ga) LB Robert Muschamp will visit MissSt this wkd. You know the uncle.

[jbcarol]

Keith Niebuhr ‏@Niebuhr247  23h
FREE: SEC recruiting rankings #WDE #Bama #Hawgs #LSU #TAMU #Rebs #MSU #UGA #UF #Gamecocks #Mizzou #BBN #Vandy #Vols http://ow.ly/tXJpp

[jbcarol]

Michael Bonner ‏@MikeBBonner ·16 hrs
Junior Day weekend, an awkward one, as Byron De'Vinner returns to Mississippi State | MSU football http://blogs.clarionledger.com/msu/2014/02/26/junior-day-weekend-an-awkward-one-as-byron-devinner-returns-to-campus-on-sunday/ ...

The man, who is one of the reasons Mississippi State is on probation, was in Starkville last weekend. Byron De'Vinner posted pictures from his Twitter account regarding the visit to campus.

De'Vinner coached current-MSU cornerback Will Redmond. De'Vinner told multiple media outlets he witness impermissible benefits given to Redmond by a booster.

The visit obviously seems awkward, but MSU stressed De'Vinner has not been banned from the university.

"We have recently had hundreds of kids come here on unofficial visits. This time of year you have a lot of kids. And these kids come with their parents, friends, coaches, there's whole bunch of people," MSU compliance director Bracky Brett said. "Unless we we're dealing with someone who has been dissociated from the university I don't think we're going to tell a recruit who brings them down on visit."

De'Vinner declined to comment on the visit. He did say the trip was to bring his nephew, Maurice Smitherman. Smitherman is three-star defensive back according to 247Sports.

[jbcarol]

Today, we take a look at how many known in-state offers each SEC program has put out thus far for the class of 2015. We counted only the prospects currently in high school -- not those in junior college.

HIGHEST PERCENTAGE OF IN-STATE OFFERS

1. Texas A&M -- 26 of 64 offers: 40.1%
2. Florida -- 58 of 147: 39.4%
3. Georgia -- 24 of 87: 27.5%
4. LSU -- 13 of 98: 13.2%
...
10. Tennessee -- 16 of 197: 8.1%
11. Alabama -- 11 of 145: 7.6%
12. Auburn -- 8 of 120: 6.7%
13. Kentucky -- 4 of 170: 2.4%

NOTE: The new Vanderbilt staff has only 17 offers out for 2015.

247

[jbcarol]

Way too early 2015 composite team rankings from 247

1 A&M
2 LSU
3 Bama
4 FSU
5 WVU
6 MissSt
7 PSU
8 Arkansas

http://247sports.com/Season/2015-Football/CompositeTeamRankings

[jbcarol]

Keith Niebuhr ‏@Niebuhr247  6h
RT @247CrystalBall: 2016 N.C. LB Keion Joyner now has #CrystalBall predictions for 2 #SEC West programs (FREE) http://bit.ly/1fYrlLz

LSU and Auburn

[jbcarol]

Hugh Kellenberger @HKellenbergerCL  1h 
RT @Jlane1400blk: Just committed to Ole Miss. #HottyToddy #Landsharks

Hugh Kellenberger @HKellenbergerCL  35m 
New Ole Miss blog post: 2015 cornerback Jaylon Lane commits to Ole Miss on.thec-l.com/1kCIVs6 #olemiss

5.5-rated Texas CB has offers from LaTech and USA.

[jbcarol]

Bruce Feldman ‏@BFeldmanCBS  1h
Huge for Kingsbury & Tech .. 5-star dual-threat QB RT @Jarrett_Stidham: I have officially committed to be a Texas Tech Red Raider! #GunsUp


Holds offers from over half the SEC-West