News on recruiting the all-important SEC defensive linemen

[jbcarol]

Richard Davenport ‏@ArRecruitingGuy  8m8 minutes ago
Daniels reopens his recruiting: Arkansas defensive line target Chris Daniels has reopened his recruiting after... http://bit.ly/1T6PYt1

[jbcarol]

'16 Allen 4-star WDE Levi Onwuzurike gave a verbal to Georgia.

[jbcarol]

https://twitter.com/King_Kongbo/status/690409383834947584

Michael Carvell ‏@Carvell_AJC 5h5 hours ago

Nation's No. 1 junior college player suddenly eliminates Alabama from consideration http://sec.news/1OBdsn0

[jbcarol]

https://twitter.com/HamiltonESPN/status/690578463963615234

[jbcarol]

Michael Carvell ‏@Carvell_AJC 3h3 hours ago

Arkansas target narrows down to two schools, cancels SEC visit http://sec.news/1OD2opf

Allen Cater

[jbcarol]

SportsTalk ‏@sportstalksc 7h7 hours ago

#STRecruiting: DE Allen Cater is down to UNC & ARK, said he felt relationship with those two was stronger than with USC.

[jbcarol]

Wes Rucker ‏@wesrucker247  23m23 minutes ago
We have a Ray Kasongo sighting.

#Vols fans absolutely giving Doug Sirmons the business during this timeout. Not the smartest strategy. Provoke him and it can get worse.

[jbcarol]

'16 6-4 Ft. Lauderdale 3-ster WDE Jaquwan Nelson gave a verbal to UK.

[jbcarol]

AL.com sports ‏@aldotcomSports  9m9 minutes ago
One week after commitment status comes into question, DT Raekwon Davis visits #Alabama: http://ow.ly/XsT3V 

A week after he took an official visit to Mississippi State, Raekwon Davis was on Alabama's campus.

The 6-foot-7, 310-pound Davis committed to Alabama before his junior season, but conflicting reports about his commitment status surfaced last weekend.

Davis is a defensive tackle from Meridian, Miss.

Davis told AL.com in a text message that he was on an unofficial visit to Alabama Saturday and plans to make his official visit to Alabama next weekend.

Gather tips on which JuCo to attend.

[jbcarol]

Kobe Jones ‏@IAmKobeJones  2h2 hours ago
This weekend was unforgettable! #RollTide 🐘

[jbcarol]

Michael Carvell ‏@Carvell_AJC  11m11 minutes ago
Four-star defensive tackle Raekwon Davis remains committed to Alabama http://sec.news/1JvMKNU

[jbcarol]

SportsTalk ‏@sportstalksc  39m39 minutes ago
#STRecruiting: DL Rashan Gary still at Michigan due to snow, gets home Monday, mom says still no decision on final official CLEM or ALA.

[jbcarol]

 Richard Davenport ‏@ArRecruitingGuy 6h6 hours ago

Guidry all Hog despite visits: Defensive lineman Briston Guidry, an Arkansas commitment, made an official visi... http://bit.ly/1QvoFYF

[jbcarol]

Antonneous Clayton sticks with Florida

Despite a late push from Auburn and Florida State, Antonneous Clayton will be only be taking one official visit this month.

And that was to Florida over the weekend.

Clayton, the nation's No. 2 weakside defensive end according to 247Sports, Rivals and ESPN, has shut down his recruitment and ruled out other trips.

[jbcarol]

Tommy Lopez ‏@TommyNLopez 2h2 hours ago

Alabama head coach Nick Saban is in Macon today at Noxubee Co. HS, where five-star DE Jeffery Simmons is.

[jbcarol]

Nick Roush ‏@RoushKSR 7h7 hours ago

A Michigan defensive end de-commit could be a much-needed late addition to Stoops' 2016 class #BBN http://kentuckysportsradio.com/main/uk-offers-former-2016-michigan-commit/ ...


▲Shad▲
‏@R_Weaver80

Received first SEC offer from Kentucky #BBN

3-star defensive Rashad Weaver became the second long-time Michigan commit to re-open his recruitment over the last two weeks.  After being committed for almost seven months, Jim Harbaugh and his staff ceased their communication with Weaver, leaving the writing on the wall.

[jbcarol]

Courtney Cronin ‏@CourtneyRCronin  4m4 minutes ago
STORY: 4-star Dandy Dozen DT Raekwon Davis set the record about where he's committed http://www.clarionledger.com/story/sports/recruitingreport/2016/01/27/raekwon-davis-breaks-silence-where-hes-committed/79438598/ ...

It's been nearly two weeks since Raekwon Davis' commitment to Alabama was brought into question following his official visit to Mississippi State.

On Wednesday night, Davis spoke out on Twitter for the first time regarding his commitment and reaffirmed his pledge to Alabama.

Most likely going JuCo.

[jbcarol]

'16 6-5 3-star Edgewood Academy (Al) DE Kelvin Lucky gave a verbal to Vandy.

[jbcarol]

Jonathan Kongbo III
‏@King_Kongbo
@UTCoachJones @UTCoachBobShoop @UTCoachG @UTCoachStrip #Vols #VFL

[jbcarol]

Ben Roberts ‏@NextCats 9h9 hours ago

On the blog: Under-the-radar defensive end T.J. Carter is UK's 25th commitment for the class of 2016 http://bit.ly/1P12chB

[jbcarol]

Yancy Porter ‏@YancyPorter  37m37 minutes ago Oxford, MS
DL Tyriq Reyes @TyriqReyes is expected to walk-on at #OleMiss next fall. His the son of former OM player Tutan Reyes @TutanReyes.

[jbcarol]

Bruce Feldman Verified account@BruceFeldmanCFB

Which 2016 recruit will make the biggest impact in college FB in this year? 35 college coaches gave their answer: http://foxs.pt/20gZ9ww

The top vote-getter in our survey was New Jersey DT Rashan Gary, who is still undecided on where he will go to college and reportedly is deciding between Michigan, Auburn, USC, Ole Miss, Clemson and Alabama. The Wolverines are considered the favorite for Gary. It certainly hasn't hurt Michigan's chances that one of Gary's former high school coaches, Chris Partridge, was just recently promoted to special teams coordinator after arriving in Ann Arbor as director of player personnel.

"This is a really good defensive line class and he is head and shoulders above every other D-lineman in this class," one longtime college coach said. "He's 300 pounds and he moves well enough, he can play end. He's great with his hands. He's strong. He's been very well-coached and has had a great high school D-line coach. Rashan Gary is the Leonard Fournette of this class."

Said one in-house recruiting coordinator who has worked at two Power 5 conference schools: "He's a 300-pounder who moves like he's 240. He is special."

Another veteran Big Ten coach was a little more guarded when asked to ID his 2016 impact freshman, but went with Gary. "He's so quick and so twitchy. He's a very, very good player. He's getting so much attention though, and some of that I do think is because he's taking (his recruiting process) right to the end to Signing Day."

Ed Oliver, a 6-2, 280-pounder defensive tackle committed to Houston, received the second most votes with four. "He's so quick off the ball and just so explosive with his hips and his hands — he's jacking people up when he strikes," a veteran Big 12 coach said. "He's also got great lateral movement. He does have short arms, but in that conference (the AAC) he will be hell on wheels."

"He is explosive as (bleep) and he's going to be going up against a lot of very average offensive linemen," said another college assistant, who recruits in Texas a lot. "I think he'd be a problem for a lot of SEC linemen. In that league he's going to be scary."

[jbcarol]

Defensive end Cecil Stallings out of Tucker High School in Atlanta will not sign with South Carolina, his high school coach Bryan Lamar told The State on Friday.

Stallings committed to USC in July but did not hear a lot from the Gamecocks' new coaching staff. He took an official visit to Mississippi State the weekend of Jan. 15.

Stallings is rated as a three-star prospect by 247Sports and a two-star prospect by Rivals.

His departure from the class was not unexpected. Stallings in December told The State that coach Will Muschamp and defensive coordinator Travaris Robinson told him they weren't sure he's a fit for the system the Gamecocks will run.

He joins wide receiver Tre Jackson and linebacker JaCorey Morris as committed prospects who announced in the last week that they wouldn't sign with the Gamecocks.

Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/sports/college/university-of-south-carolina/usc-recruiting/article57240973.html#storylink=cpy

[jbcarol]

Richard Davenport ‏@ArRecruitingGuy 7h7 hours ago

Marshall flips commitment to Arkansas: Defensive end Jonathan Marshall, who was an Oklahoma State commitment, ... http://bit.ly/1VERqBF

[jbcarol]

AL.com sports ‏@aldotcomSports 11h11 hours ago

AL.com sports Retweeted Brandon Marcello

Defensive tackle Rashan Gary of Paramus (N.J.) Catholic has trimmed his list to Michigan and Clemson

[jbcarol]

Jonathan Kongbo III
‏@King_Kongbo

Officially committed to McDonald's University !

[jbcarol]

Michael Carvell ‏@Carvell_AJC 3h3 hours ago

Mother of nation's No. 1 prospect says Auburn hasn't been eliminated http://sec.news/1QYCHSU

Gary's mother, Jennifer Coney, told SEC Country on Tuesday that the Tigers have not yet been eliminated despite an earlier report that indicated he was down to Clemson and Michigan.

"Who said it was?" Coney said. "I said we really enjoyed our Clemson visit. Does that mean anything more than that?"

The five-star defensive tackle from Paramus, N.J., took an official visit to Auburn on Nov. 28

[jbcarol]

Christmas-Giles ‏@_DChristmas 1h1 hour ago

Tune in to channel 4 WWL, I will be announcing my commitment tonight at 10pm #HookEm #TooColdU #GeauxTigers 🤘🏾🐸🐯

[jbcarol]

D'Andre Christmas-Giles a four-star New Orleans prospect, committed to Texas over LSU and TCU on Tuesday night.

[jbcarol]

Jonathan Kongbo III
‏@King_Kongbo

Officially committed to McDonald's University !

JC Shurburtt ‏@jcshurburtt 15m15 minutes ago

Some #OleMiss trending for Kongbo this morning on #CrystalBall - should be Rebels or #Vols based on what I hear.

[jbcarol]

Shea Dixon ‏@Sheadixon 8h8 hours ago

Andre Anthony confirms he's sticking with #LSU after taking a visit elsewhere. Great pass rusher in this class. No. 9 WDE in the country.

[jbcarol]

3-star DT Aaron Thompson flips from Maryland to South Carolina

Thompson is the state of Florida's No. 94 overall prospect.

[jbcarol]

Raekwon Davis

School: Meridian (Meridian, Miss.)

Position: Defensive tackle

Height/weight: 6-foot-7, 330 pounds

Projection for 2016: Alabama returns star defensive lineman Jonathan Allen, Payne, senior Dalvin Tomlinson and former prized recruit Da'Shawn Hand. But the Tide's only other two returning scholarship defensive linemen are junior Josh Frazier and redshirt sophomore O.J. Smith. Neither played much last year...

Time will tell if Davis is a sign and place.

[jbcarol]

Courtney Cronin ‏@CourtneyRCronin 2m2 minutes ago

Mississippi State lands the state's top ranked player in 5-star DE Jeffery Simmons. HUGE get for the Bulldogs.


Robby Donoho@RobbyDonoho

Jeffery Simmons, y'all. Best dressed man this side of the Mississippi.

[jbcarol]

Rashan Gary
‏@RashanGary33

So proud to say I'm officially committed to THE University of Michigan 💙💛 #Livin #GoBlue #NSD2016


Trolled SEC along the way ... got his mom in on it too.

[jbcarol]

Mike Farrell Verified account
‏@rivalsmike

I think #OleMiss recovers from Simmons with Kongbo, hearing dad wants #HottyToddy and might not even sign if #Vols was pick. Drama.

[jbcarol]

 Ben Garrett ‏@SpiritBen 2m2 minutes ago

Five-star DL Jonathan Kongbo has signed with Tennessee. Suffice to say, Ole Miss is going to target defensive linemen in 2017.

[NoNC4Tubs]

Kongbo to TN...

[jbcarol]

Michael Carvell ‏@Carvell_AJC 1m1 minute ago

BREAKING: UGA gets Auburn this time with another Signing Day flip http://sec.news/1R2TW5u

Flip.

David Marshall did just that on National Signing Day. The 6-foot-3, 272-pounder From Upson-Lee High School decided to bank on some strong late interest from UGA since Kirby Smart's arrival when making the decision where he wanted to play college football.

Marshall is rated as the nation's No. 21 defensive end prospect for the Class of 2016.

[jbcarol]

Matt Connolly ‏@MattatTheState 14h14 hours ago

4-star DT Karamo Dioubate will stay home and sign with Temple over South Carolina.

[jbcarol]

Matt Connolly ‏@MattatTheState 14h14 hours ago

4-star DT Karamo Dioubate will stay home and sign with Temple over South Carolina.

Was late to the ceremonial announcement:

SportsTalk ‏@sportstalksc 16h16 hours ago

SportsTalk Retweeted Kyle Gauss

Dioubate still not there, apparently changing a flat tire.


From the peanut gallery:

TRC ‏@RubrChickens 16h16 hours ago

Dioubate changing a tire. When he pulls out the spare it will have the logo of the school he plans to attend on it.

[jbcarol]

Kobe Jones ‏@IAmKobeJones 16h16 hours ago

I deleted all the accolades in my bio because I can't bring any of those into this new chapter of my life! I'm back at square one! #Hungry 💯


Michael Bonner ‏@MikeBBonner 20h20 hours ago

Kobe Jones chooses home over "pretty girls, palm trees" http://on.thec-l.com/1SXYsDE

Miss St DT

[jbcarol]

ATHENS — It probably wasn't set up this way, but it worked out well anyway for Georgia: Around 3 p.m. on signing day, five-star defensive lineman Derrick Brown confirmed that he was signing with Auburn, and not Georgia. A few minutes later, as already scheduled, reporters were invited to come speak to three of Georgia's early enrollees: Among them Julian Rochester, another defensive lineman ranked in the top 100.

The unintended message: Don't worry about the defensive line. Actually, head coach Kirby Smart had basically said that an hour earlier.

"I'm very pleased with where we are on the defensive line," Smart said. "We've got some good young players and we're trying to continue that."

[jbcarol]

Patrick Brown ‏@patrickbrownTFP 12h12 hours ago

Alabama and Denver proving you need an elite defensive line to win football championships in this day and age.

[jbcarol]

 Special Spaces ‏@SpecialSpacesUS 14h14 hours ago

@King_Kongbo Congrats on your journey 2 UT! We are a charity that helps kids battling cancer fight the good fight. Thanks 4 being role model


Jonathan Kongbo III
‏@King_Kongbo

@SpecialSpacesUS let me know if I can help in any way. Would love to meet these kids

[jbcarol]

Richard Davenport ‏@ArRecruitingGuy 3h3 hours ago

2017 Spotlight: Fayetteville's Byers: Fayetteville defensive lineman Akial Byers is one of several of the top ... http://bit.ly/1oppjfo

[jbcarol]

Richard Davenport ‏@ArRecruitingGuy  6h6 hours ago
Bama offers Fayetteville junior D-lineman: Alabama has offered Fayetteville junior defensive lineman Akial Byers. http://bit.ly/1Pmih3O

[jbcarol]

https://twitter.com/jaysonademilola/status/697588954661593088

Keith Niebuhr ‏@Keith247Sports 19h19 hours ago

Keith Niebuhr Retweeted ♚Jayson k.Ademilola

2018 DE who visited #Auburn last year. 

[jbcarol]

Even early in his recruitment, Elijah Conliffe has a pair of leaders for his services.

"It would probably be Penn State and Tennessee," the three-star defensive end from Hampton (Va.) High School told SEC Country.

When asked what Conliffe liked about the Vols, a certain player came to mind. Conliffe wants to pursue aerospace engineering like Tennessee starting quarterback Joshua Dobbs.

He is rated as the No. 13 strongside defensive end in the country and the No. 15 player in Virginia...

Conliffe has 13 scholarship offers. Some of the most notable are from Tennessee, N.C. State, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Maryland, Iowa and Penn State.

[jbcarol]

One of the top defensive ends in the country has picked up three SEC offers since National Signing Day on Feb. 3, and one of those schools was Alabama, along with Ole Miss and Arkansas.

LaBryan Ray, a 6-foot-5, 283-pound future engineering major and three-star prospect from James Clemens High School (Madison, Ala.) is ranked as the nation's No. 24 defensive end and the No. 21 prospect in the state of Alabama in the Class of 2017