Tag: Buford

Buford WR Jordan Allen visiting Georgia football

Buford speedster Jordan Allen visiting Georgia football this weekend

Class of 2025 wide receiver recruit Jordan Allen. Allen plays high school football for Buford High School in Buford, Georgia. Buford is one of the top high school programs in Georgia, so Allen competes against top notch competition.

In addition to football, Jordan Allen also runs track at a high level. The 5-foot-8, 170-pound wide receiver has run a 10.9 second time in the 100-meter event.

The speedster ranks as a three-star recruit. Allen is considered the No. 689 recruit in the country, the No. 116 wide receiver and the No. 70 player in Georgia.

Kirby Smart and Georgia have five total commitments in the class of 2025. One of Georgia’s 2025 commitments, five-star linebacker Jadon Perlotte, is a high school teammates with Jordan Allen. Georgia offered Allen back in June 2023.

The elite 2025 receiver is a good student. Allen has recently visited NC State. He also has visits scheduled with Indiana and Tennessee.

The Buford star announced his plans to visit Georgia football via social media:

Georgia currently has the nation’s No. 15 recruiting class.

 

Cascade of upsets shakes up Georgia high school football rankings

Georgia was tied with Florida for the most teams in the Super 25 rankings. In the 7A quarterfinals, four of those teams were defeated. Let’s shake things up.

Georgia entered this week tied with Florida for most teams in the Super 25 national rankings (five each), making an argument as one of the two or three best high school football states of the 2023 season. On Saturday morning? It still may be one of the best, but it is infinitely more confounding.

Mill Creek (Hoschton, Ga.), ranked No. 10 in the nation, was 12-0 with a point differential of 481-182 (meaning an average score of 40-15) over the season and had won 20 games in a row stretching back to last season. With a Final Four appearance on the line, the Hawks fell 39-20 to the Camden County Wildcats (Kingsland, Ga.)

Camden County forced Mill Creek into its lowest-scoring performance of the season with a strong output from the defense that included a second-quarter interception on a screen pass and a fourth-quarter surge that didn’t allow a single point in the final 11 minutes of the game, helping the Wildcats increase its lead from 24-20 to a full two possessions.

Mill Creek, a surefire Super 25 team over the last couple of years, has fallen.

Three spots below was Colquitt County (Norman Park, Ga.), another 12-0 team. After winning 13 straight games last year but falling in the quarterfinals, the Packers were looking to move into the semifinals this year and prove themselves as the top team in the state.

Standing in the way was Milton (Ga.), which entered the game on a seven-game win streak in which it had outscored opponents 287-51 (an average margin of about 41-7). The Hawks took down the No. 13 team in the nation 39-37 as Luke Nickel, a Miami quarterback commit, passed for 302 yards and scored four touchdowns.

Colquitt County led 25-14 as the first half was winding to a close, but the Milton Hawks scored with less than a minute left to cut the deficit to 25-22. The Hawks then used that momentum to flip the score, going up 36-25 at the end of the third. Trailing by eight points with less than five minutes left, Colquitt County scored a touchdown but failed to convert the two-point attempt. Neither team would score again and the Packers went down.

No. 15 Walton (Marietta, Ga.) vs. No. 23 Carrolton (Ga.): Finally, a matchup in which there was no way a Super 25 team would not win.

Walton managed Carrolton with relative ease, winning 56-35 in a very high-scoring game, flipping last year’s 52-27 loss to the hands of the same Trojans team.

Three-star Wake Forest quarterback commit Jeremy Hecklinski threw for three touchdowns and rushed for a fourth while passing for almost 400 yards, according to MaxPreps. Three-star Memphis running back commit Makari Bodiford scored four touchdowns, two of which came in the second half after the lead had been cut to seven.

Walton and Camden County will now face off in the semifinals. On the flip side is Milton and Grayson (Loganville, Ga.).

Grayson reached after taking down No. 16 Buford 19-14. The defense was stellar, obliterating an offense led by Dylan Raiola, a top-five recruit on the 247Sports Composite. Raiola, committed to Georgia, passed 12-for-17 for just 136 yards while taking six sacks, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The Rams forced and recovered three fumbles in the first half alone and held Buford to a negative number of rushing yards.

With that, the fourth-ranked Georgia team went down. The Nos. 10, 13, 16, and 23 spots are open. That shift doesn’t just affect the chase for the Georgia AAAAAAA crown — it shifts the landscape of the national rankings.

More:

Mater Dei redeems regular-season loss to St. John Bosco with championship win

Super 25 scoreboard

No. 14 Mill Creek takes down No. 6 Buford — but loses to Lakers basketball?

Down goes Buford! Mill Creek wi—we now take you to Lakers preseason basketball.

We interrupt the Lakers-Warriors game to bring you this message:

If there were any doubts about Mill Creek (Hoschton, Ga.)—ranked No. 14 in the USA TODAY High School Sports Super 25—the question marks should be erased after Friday’s statement win over No. 6 Buford.

Now, it’s an exclamation point; not just in the state of Georgia but in the entire country.

The Hawks played tough all game, on both sides of the ball, with much of the focus on how/if the defense would stop—or at least slow down—the top quarterback in the land, Dylan Raiola.

And while there were consistent flashes of the Georgia commit’s greatness… case and point…

… Mill Creek applied just enough pressure to disrupt the Wolves’ passing attack while also benefiting from more than a few costly drops from Buford receivers.

From there, it was a matter of capitalizing on mistakes as the offense added to its 2023 highlight reel, including this one-handed grab from Trajean Greco.

“That guy” was all of us on that play.

And the fourth quarter didn’t disappoint, with Mill Creek converting a 4th down before Shane Throgmartin connected on a 21-yard strike to Justin Content for a touchdown to take the lead 31-24.

That put the ball back in the hands of Raiola and the Buford offense with 1:30 left in the game.

Yes!

Yes?

What?

It ended 31-24, with most people learning how the final seconds played out as they looked to see if Jack Nicholson was sitting courtside in his usual seats after the broadcast was launched into the App Cosmos in favor of Lakers preseason basketball.

From what I could tell, Jack wasn’t there. It’s preseason basketball.

But I digress — back to this incredible high school football game.

The win now catapults Mill Creek into serious top 10 consideration in next week’s Super 25 and, in the name of state supremacy and bragging rights, puts the Hawks atop the competitive 8-AAAAAAA Georgia standings.

Buford is by far out of the race, though. Especially not when you have a talent like Dylan Raiola running the offense.

Watch: Buford 5-star DL Eddrick Houston commits to Ohio State

A big get for the Buckeyes.

Ohio State is still trailing Georgia in the 2024 national recruiting rankings. However, they’ve been inching closer over the last several weeks and took a significant step forward on Tuesday by landing another blue-chip recruit.

Here’s how Buford (Ga.) five-star defensive lineman Eddrick Houston announced his commitment to the Buckeyes.

Houston (6-foot-3, 265 pounds) had offers from 21 other programs, including Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Georgia, Miami, Michigan, Oklahoma and USC.

Rivals has Houston ranked as high as No. 3 at his position and No. 17 nationally in the class of 2024. None of the four major recruiting services have him ranked any lower than No. 9 at DL or No. 56 in the nation.

Ohio State has been steadily chipping away at No. 1 ranked Georgia’s once-insurmountable recruiting lead in this cycle and it’s now down to 11 points.

Live-Stream High School Football:

NFHS Network

More football stories

TikTok prank gets Georgia HS matchup canceled again

Oregon ‘major contender’ for 4-star OT Brandon Baker

Ohio State in the lead for Buford 5-star DL Eddrick Houston

Houston is expected to announce his commitment next week.

One of the most-loaded high school football teams in the country is Buford (Ga.). Their roster includes the top overall recruit in the class of 2024—quarterback Dylan Raiola, who’s committed to Georgia—plus several other elite prospects, including five-star defensive lineman Eddrick Houston.

Houston (6-foot-4, 275 pounds) is expected to announce his commitment next week, and according to John Garcia Jr. at Rivals, Ohio State is leading the group of schools that are in the running.

“Houston has been buzzing toward Ohio State since his official visit to Columbus in June, even though he has yet to put out an official group of finalists leading up to his decision. Alabama, Clemson, Georgia and USC are also among those in the running, but they seem to be looking up at Ryan Day’s program at the moment.”

That jives with On3’s prediction model, which currently has the Buckeyes as the heavy favorite at 88.1%. The other supposed contenders for his commitment are Georgia (3.6%), Clemson (2.4%) and Alabama (2.0%).

Houston is ranked as high as No. 3 among defensive linemen in his class and No. 17 overall in the nation, both at Rivals. The other recruiting services all have him a bit lower, but he’s still ranked among the top 10 at his position at all four.

For now, Ohio State is second in the 2024 recruiting rankings behind Georgia, trailing by about 20 points. Landing Houston would go a long way toward shrinking that gap.

More football stories

Oklahoma ‘team to beat’ for IMG 5-star DL David Stone

High school football: Every national champion since 1982

Live-stream or watch the 2023 high school football season on-demand:

NFHS Network

USA TODAY Sports Super 25 Regional Football Watchlist: Southeast region

Keep an eye on these teams in the Southeast region…

The 2023 high school football season has arrived, with teams kicking off across the country in August.

That means the first USA TODAY Sports Super 25 is nearing, which marks another start to an iconic franchise that began back in 1982.

Last year’s Super 25 was one of the tightest races of all time, as St. John Bosco (Calif.) narrowly won out over Mater Dei (Calif.) and Bishop Gorman (Nev.), as well as Texas power Duncanville and Miami Central (Fla.).

How will things stack up this season? Ahead of the opening Super 25, USA TODAY HSS is looking around the country at the five regions we use to create the national rankings:

Next up is the Southeast region, which includes schools from the following states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and South Carolina.

3 programs have a shot for KJ Bolden on the eve of his announcement

Sometimes a recruitment ends up like a one-score game in the fourth quarter.

Sometimes the recruitment process ends up like a one-score game in the fourth quarter – the end result is never certain at any point until it’s already over. The most dramatic example we witnessed last year was the 11th-hour switch by Cormani McClain, flipping his commitment from Miami to Colorado.

While it’s not quite the blockbuster McClain’s competition was, another elite DB prospect is now seeing his recruitment go down to the wire, too.

According to John Garcia Jr. at Rivals, Georgia, Florida State and Auburn all have a shot at landing Buford (Ga.) five-star safety KJ Bolden with only one day before his announcement on Saturday night.

Buford safety KJ Bolden at practice on July 24, 2023. (USA TODAY Network)

“What’s more rare than the industry having a strong idea, is the fact that there are three programs seemingly with a shot just 36 hours before the announcement. In-state Georgia has long been the favorite to keep Bolden home, but about a month ago a trip to Florida State started to shift some conversation and last weekend’s trip to Auburn seems to have made a similar impact. Each school has a reason to be confident down the stretch, too.”

Bolden (6-foot-1, 185 pounds) has gotten offers from 40 programs altogether, but Garcia calls Georgia the safe bet. 247Sports is also projecting that the Bulldogs will get his commitment. Meanwhile, the On3 prediction model has Georgia at 37.7%, Florida State at 25.6% and Auburn at 18.6%.

Going by the 247Sports composite rankings, Bolden is first among safeties in his class, second overall in the state of Georgia and No. 7 nationally.

For now, the Bulldogs are still No. 1 in the 2024 national recruiting rankings, Florida State currently ranks No. 6 and Auburn is No. 18 after a big surge last week.

More football stories

Titans’ gift helped buy 10 helmets for Overton high school team

Two programs pushing Penn State for 4-star OLB Jaylen Harvey

No. 1 high school QB Dylan Raiola transfers from Arizona to Georgia school

Georgia commit Dylan Raiola, the No. 1 player in the class of 2024, is transferring from Pinnacle High in Arizona to Buford in Georgia.

For the third time in as many years, the No. 1 player in the high school class of 2024 Dylan Raiola is on the move. The quarterback will be transferring from Pinnacle High School (Phoenix) to Buford High School (Ga.), the Arizona Republic reported on Wednesday.

Raiola broke out as the best player in his class as a sophomore in Texas at Burleson High School, where he passed for 3,341 yards and 32 touchdowns to five interceptions. He transferred to Chandler High School (Ariz.) for his junior season, and announced his move to Pinnacle in December.

This move to Georgia is due to the Arizona Interscholastic Association not providing guarantee that a hardship would be granted for his transfer, the Raiola family said to the Republic. The AIA does not hear hardships until August, according to the news outlet, a very short window ahead of the start of the season. At risk of missing the first half of his senior season, Raiola will instead move to Georgia, where he is also committed to play for the Bulldogs the following season.

Raiola’s transfer to Buford makes a talented team even more stacked. The Wolves’ roster now includes three of the top 20 players in the class of 2024: Raiola, safety KJ Bolden (No. 7) and defensive lineman Eddrick Houston (No. 19). Last year, the Wolves went 11-1, falling in the second round of the playoffs after an undefeated regular season.

With the addition of Raiola, Buford hopes to make it further this season. The 6-foot-3, 220-pound QB has long been considered the top player in his class, and further cemented his status as an A-list prospect at the Elite 11 Finals in Los Angeles as he finished second in the competition.

According to the Athletic, Raiola “routinely stood out as one of the most complete prospects” with effortless deep throws.

Georgia football offers Buford WR Jordan Allen

Georgia football has offered a scholarship to Buford speedster Jordan Allen.

The Georgia Bulldogs have extended a scholarship offer to class of 2025 recruit Jordan Allen. Allen plays high school football for Buford High School in Buford, Georgia. Buford is one of the top high school programs in Georgia, so Allen competes against top notch competition.

In addition to football, Jordan Allen also runs track at a high level. The 5-foot-8, 170-pound wide receiver has run a 10.9 second time in the 100-meter event.

Kirby Smart and Georgia have four commitments from five-star recruits in the class of 2025. One of Georgia’s 2025 commitments, five-star linebacker Jadon Perlotte, is a high school teammates with Jordan Allen.

Jordan Allen is currently an unranked recruit. That’s bound to change soon. The 2025 receiver has recent scholarship offers from Middle Tennessee, Connecticut, UCF, and NC State.

Here’s a look at one of Allen’s recent track meets:

The Buford star was excited to announce his scholarship offer from Georgia football via Twitter:

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

Friday Night Notes: Malachi Coleman gives back, K.J. Bolden’s recruiting tour and more

Coleman will be donating his NIL money to the foster system.

USA TODAY High School Sports‘ Friday Night Notes is a weekly high school recruiting recap that looks at the latest news from around the country—from the Class of 2023 to ’24 and beyond.

The advent of NIL money becoming available to college and high school players have brought on a surge of ugly commentary and negative generalizations about young athletes. Some are painted as selfish, greedy, poorly-behaved, and only interested in where they can make the most money – as if there’s something wrong with an athlete wanting to maximize their earnings – especially in a sport as dangerous and violent as football.

Sadly, some of the most famous people in the industry reinforce aspects of these negative stereotypes. Deion Sanders’ unfortunate recent comments about only wanting recruits coming from two-parent households are only one of the countless bad examples.

Often these stereotypes fly in the face of the evidence. Many of these young players are exceptionally unselfish and do a lot to give back to their communities. One superb example is that of Lincoln East (Neb.) four-star Athlete Malachi Coleman, who signed with Nebraska just before Christmas after briefly re-opening his recruitment.

Before his current family adopted him, Coleman suffered abuse as a foster child when he was growing up. Now he’s doing what he can to make sure it doesn’t happen to anyone else. Coleman will be donating his NIL money to the foster system.

Here’s the full story from CBS Evening News that Coleman shared on Twitter: