MustangGT
Flats Noob
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2007
- Messages
- 603
Recruiting has picked back up tremendously over the past week or so. Great, but we are still lacking in a few key positions. This thread is not intended to be a wish list of the best remaining prospects; instead, it is a wish list of prospects that we have a realistic shot with to fill the positional needs of the 2008 class. So here we go:
Tight End – The Yellow Jackets were looking to get two good Tight Ends out this class. Unfortunately, there hasn’t been a whole lot of movement along this front. Many of our prospective tight ends have committed to other teams. There are a couple of big name Pennsylvania kids still on the board, but our chances with them are slim, probably none. Undra Billingley was a name that some may have heard. He was considering decommitting from Alabama and had the Jackets on his short list…I wouldn’t hold my breath though. Ryan Wallace was another name that was mentioned earlier last month. However, Ryan did not live up to his stars and ranking when evaluated by the coaching staff at camp.
That leaves two prospects left and we need them both. Mike Triglia from The Bolles School in Jacksonville, Florida and Dont'a Hightower from Marshall County High School in Lewisberg, Tennesse.
Mike is a more traditional Tight End prospect that had more opportunity blocking than he did pass receiving at his high school. However, he was good at both. Although he was only thrown the football a small number of times, he exploded for 120 yards and two touchdowns on only eight catches. That is 15 yards per catch and he scored 25% of the time that he touched the football. Okay, maybe I am pushing it a little, but nevertheless, I like this kid and want him to be a Yellow Jacket.
Hightower is also an interesting prospect. He played and excelled at a multitude of positions in high school. You may want to sit down for this. Hightower's sophomore year he stepped in for an injured running back and rushed for over 1, 000 in four games of action. This past season he moved over to tight end and caught 18 passes for 253 yards and 4 TD's. On defense, where he lines up at outside linebacker and defensive end, he collected 98 tackles and forced a team high 7 fumbles. I think he also healed two blind kids and saved an old lady’s cat from a burning building, but I digress. Obviously, I want this kid in White and Gold…bad.
Defensive Tackle – The Jackets have apparently put all their eggs in three baskets. We need at least two of the three in my opinion. Omoregie Uzzi, Brandon Thompson, and T.J. Barnes are the three baskets that I would like to see painted “old” gold.
Uzzi is the prospect that I feel the most comfortable about. I think that he will ultimately be a Jacket, even though he is getting a big time push from UGA. His former teammate Roddy Jones is already a Jacket and his buddies Chris Jackson and Steven Sylvester have already committed to Tech this year. Tech has been loyal to Uzzi from the beginning and I think that it pays off in the end.
Brandon Thompson may just be the best overall player on the board for the Jackets. In a recent article, Brandon announced his top four as Clemson, Miami, Georgia Tech, and Florida State. I think that Tech is a legitimate #2 on this list. Clemson will be tough to beat for Brandon’s services. He almost committed to the Tigers a few months ago and has kept them at the top ever since. The Jackets have made tremendous headway with Brandon and from what I understand his parents are sold as well. It will be interesting to see how things pan out with him.
T.J. Barnes needs to add a little size if he wants to play big time college football…Okay, maybe not. The 6’7” 322 lb Barnes can fill up holes on any Defensive line and I hope that is it Tech’s. The Alabama native may be hard to pull away from his home state, but if anyone is in position to do so, it is Tech. He really seemed to enjoy his visits and had nothing but good things to say about the Jackets. We are a legitimate top three for his services and I wouldn’t be surprised if we were his secret #1. Two of the three, that’s what we need, but I want them all. It is okay to be a little greedy sometimes…right?
Offensive Line – This position really scares me. We could wind up with arguably the best Offensive Line class in the country or virtually no one. Not that commit Nick McRae is a nobody. Nick is a fabulous Center prospect I am extremely happy to have him on the Flats. However, we need bodies…preferably big ones. We have three prospects left on the board that we could realistically get. Kenneth Page, Preston Bailey, and Greg Shaw are the most likely candidates…and qualified candidates they are.
Page, the Guard prospect from South Carolina, is a hot target for more than 30 teams. However, he recently cut his list to 10. Tech made the first cut and I expect us to make the second to 5. If I had to predict his 5, I would go with Georgia Tech, North Carolina, South Carolina, Clemson, and Notre Dame. Landing Page will be a tall task, but worth it. He should be a tremendous college player.
Preston Bailey is another good O-Line prospect that is big enough to play Tackle and athletic enough to play Guard. Where we would play him most likely will depend on who else we sign. Preston seemed to enjoy his visit to tech, but I am not really sure where he stands. Once again, I think that we make his top 5 but will have some stiff competition for his services. Michigan, Tennessee, and Miami will most definitely be in the hunt. Being from Tennessee, Preston has always loved Volunteer football and it may be difficult to pry him away from the Vols.
Greg Shaw is a very good tackle prospect out of Miami, Florida. He is still a little raw, but his large frame and athletic ability bolsters tremendous upside. Shaw made clear earlier last month that he loved both the Jackets and the Bulldogs…Wait a minute…Is that possible? However, Greg’s older brother plays football for Louisville and many think that the Cards may be the team to beat. He informally mentioned a top 4 a couple of weeks ago where he named Tech, Georgia, Louisville, and Wisconsin as the front runners, but only listed Tech and Florida? as the two that he would definitely take an official to. Only time will tell us more about Mr. Shaw.
Defensive End – Defensive end is a position that we would like to land at least one good recruit. Unfortunately, this thread is supposed to mention players that we have an opportunity of landing. Therefore, I will not mention anyone because I don’t think that we actually have a real shot at anybody left on the board at this position. Good thing that we got two great ones last year.
Tight End – The Yellow Jackets were looking to get two good Tight Ends out this class. Unfortunately, there hasn’t been a whole lot of movement along this front. Many of our prospective tight ends have committed to other teams. There are a couple of big name Pennsylvania kids still on the board, but our chances with them are slim, probably none. Undra Billingley was a name that some may have heard. He was considering decommitting from Alabama and had the Jackets on his short list…I wouldn’t hold my breath though. Ryan Wallace was another name that was mentioned earlier last month. However, Ryan did not live up to his stars and ranking when evaluated by the coaching staff at camp.
That leaves two prospects left and we need them both. Mike Triglia from The Bolles School in Jacksonville, Florida and Dont'a Hightower from Marshall County High School in Lewisberg, Tennesse.
Mike is a more traditional Tight End prospect that had more opportunity blocking than he did pass receiving at his high school. However, he was good at both. Although he was only thrown the football a small number of times, he exploded for 120 yards and two touchdowns on only eight catches. That is 15 yards per catch and he scored 25% of the time that he touched the football. Okay, maybe I am pushing it a little, but nevertheless, I like this kid and want him to be a Yellow Jacket.
Hightower is also an interesting prospect. He played and excelled at a multitude of positions in high school. You may want to sit down for this. Hightower's sophomore year he stepped in for an injured running back and rushed for over 1, 000 in four games of action. This past season he moved over to tight end and caught 18 passes for 253 yards and 4 TD's. On defense, where he lines up at outside linebacker and defensive end, he collected 98 tackles and forced a team high 7 fumbles. I think he also healed two blind kids and saved an old lady’s cat from a burning building, but I digress. Obviously, I want this kid in White and Gold…bad.
Defensive Tackle – The Jackets have apparently put all their eggs in three baskets. We need at least two of the three in my opinion. Omoregie Uzzi, Brandon Thompson, and T.J. Barnes are the three baskets that I would like to see painted “old” gold.
Uzzi is the prospect that I feel the most comfortable about. I think that he will ultimately be a Jacket, even though he is getting a big time push from UGA. His former teammate Roddy Jones is already a Jacket and his buddies Chris Jackson and Steven Sylvester have already committed to Tech this year. Tech has been loyal to Uzzi from the beginning and I think that it pays off in the end.
Brandon Thompson may just be the best overall player on the board for the Jackets. In a recent article, Brandon announced his top four as Clemson, Miami, Georgia Tech, and Florida State. I think that Tech is a legitimate #2 on this list. Clemson will be tough to beat for Brandon’s services. He almost committed to the Tigers a few months ago and has kept them at the top ever since. The Jackets have made tremendous headway with Brandon and from what I understand his parents are sold as well. It will be interesting to see how things pan out with him.
T.J. Barnes needs to add a little size if he wants to play big time college football…Okay, maybe not. The 6’7” 322 lb Barnes can fill up holes on any Defensive line and I hope that is it Tech’s. The Alabama native may be hard to pull away from his home state, but if anyone is in position to do so, it is Tech. He really seemed to enjoy his visits and had nothing but good things to say about the Jackets. We are a legitimate top three for his services and I wouldn’t be surprised if we were his secret #1. Two of the three, that’s what we need, but I want them all. It is okay to be a little greedy sometimes…right?
Offensive Line – This position really scares me. We could wind up with arguably the best Offensive Line class in the country or virtually no one. Not that commit Nick McRae is a nobody. Nick is a fabulous Center prospect I am extremely happy to have him on the Flats. However, we need bodies…preferably big ones. We have three prospects left on the board that we could realistically get. Kenneth Page, Preston Bailey, and Greg Shaw are the most likely candidates…and qualified candidates they are.
Page, the Guard prospect from South Carolina, is a hot target for more than 30 teams. However, he recently cut his list to 10. Tech made the first cut and I expect us to make the second to 5. If I had to predict his 5, I would go with Georgia Tech, North Carolina, South Carolina, Clemson, and Notre Dame. Landing Page will be a tall task, but worth it. He should be a tremendous college player.
Preston Bailey is another good O-Line prospect that is big enough to play Tackle and athletic enough to play Guard. Where we would play him most likely will depend on who else we sign. Preston seemed to enjoy his visit to tech, but I am not really sure where he stands. Once again, I think that we make his top 5 but will have some stiff competition for his services. Michigan, Tennessee, and Miami will most definitely be in the hunt. Being from Tennessee, Preston has always loved Volunteer football and it may be difficult to pry him away from the Vols.
Greg Shaw is a very good tackle prospect out of Miami, Florida. He is still a little raw, but his large frame and athletic ability bolsters tremendous upside. Shaw made clear earlier last month that he loved both the Jackets and the Bulldogs…Wait a minute…Is that possible? However, Greg’s older brother plays football for Louisville and many think that the Cards may be the team to beat. He informally mentioned a top 4 a couple of weeks ago where he named Tech, Georgia, Louisville, and Wisconsin as the front runners, but only listed Tech and Florida? as the two that he would definitely take an official to. Only time will tell us more about Mr. Shaw.
Defensive End – Defensive end is a position that we would like to land at least one good recruit. Unfortunately, this thread is supposed to mention players that we have an opportunity of landing. Therefore, I will not mention anyone because I don’t think that we actually have a real shot at anybody left on the board at this position. Good thing that we got two great ones last year.
