Tag: Recruits

Three 2021 Recruits to Look Out For

After another top 10 recruiting class in the 2020 cycle, all eyes are now focused on the 2021 class. Here are three recruits to look out for

After another top 10 recruiting class in the 2020 cycle, all eyes are now focused on the 2021 class. Already having seven commitments, the Longhorns are currently ranked fifth in the overall rankings. The best 2021 class to date in the Big 12, Oklahoma at No. 18 is the closest team in the conference to Texas.

This year, all but one of the Longhorns’ commitments were from the state of Texas. 2021 will be more of the same, as Texas continues to dominate in the state. Some of the best players according to 247Sports are instate and the Longhorns are already favorites to sign them. Not only competing with other Big 12 schools, but the SEC will also be competition for UT.

Here are three recruits from the 2021 class to look out for:

OT – Tommy Brockermeyer

Already listed as a five-star recruit, Brockermeyer is currently the fourth-ranked prospect in the 247Sports Composite. Coming out of All Saints Episcopal in Fort Worth, TX, he has a family history of playing football for Texas. His father Blake and brothers Luke and James all played in Austin, two as offensive lineman and one as a linebacker.

Listed at 6 feet 6.5 inches and 283 pounds, Brockermeyer has NFL caliber size. Having offers from every big-time college football program, it will be a heated battle for the Longhorns between some of the best schools in the country. With so much potential, he would be a huge pick up for Texas, making it the fourth year in a row a five-star prospect committed.

WR – Quaydarius Davis

The 6-foot wide receiver out of Skyline High School is one of 23 wide receivers that have been offered in the 2021 class. Davis is one of the best players in Texas, being ranked 13th in the state. Overall, he is a four-star recruit ranking inside of the top 100 at 73rd. If Davis were to commit, he would be the latest prospect to join the ‘Dallas to Austin’ movement.

Within the Big 12, the Longhorns will be competing with Kansas and Oklahoma State for his signature. SEC schools have also offered Davis, as Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Ole Miss, Tennessee, and Texas A&M have all given him offers. If he were to come to Austin, Davis would be playing with a brand new quarterback, starting a new offensive era on the 40 acres.

S – JD Coffey

Beginning his varsity career as a freshman, Coffey has played and improved each season. While his interception numbers dropped from six to two in 2019, he had 30 more tackles and five more tackles for loss. A quick player with good hands for a defensive back, Coffey has the ability to be a ball-hawking defensive back for the Longhorns.

Ranked fourth at his position, the four-star prospect is currently 100% leaning towards Texas according to 247Sport’s Crystal Ball. Since Jan 2020, Coffey has received eight offers, including one from Big 12 rival Baylor. A prospect that is on the rise, if Texas can secure Coffey’s commitment early, he will continue to rise in the rankings.

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Georgia football assistant finishes high in 2020 recruiter rankings

Georgia football had an assistant coach finish in the top-5 of the college football recruiter rankings, given by 247Sports.

Georgia football finished with the No. 1 overall ranked recruiting class for 2020, so surely it had some coaches finish pretty high in the 247Sports Football Recruiter Rankings.

Each year, 247Sports ranks assistant coaches around the country for their job on the recruiting trail and releases their Recruiter Rankings,

Georgia football usually has a couple of coaches consistently finishing near the top of that list, and this year UGA has three in the top-50 and one in the top-5.

Running backs coach Dell McGee finished No. 5 in the nation. McGee was the primary recruiter on Georgia’s two running backs, Kendall Milton and Daijun Edwards. He was also on the trail for 4-star wide receiver Jermaine Burton, who McGee was able to flip from LSU. Additionally, McGee gets credit for retaining 5-star offensive tackle Broderick Jones, who was wavering on his commitment after the departure of Sam Pittman.

In all, McGee was responsible for bringing in six new Bulldogs.

Also finishing high in the rankings is defensive backs coach Charlton Warren, who closed out the 2020 recruiting cycle ranked No. 18 in the country. Warren, who has one year under his belt coaching Georgia football, was credited with bringing in four signees.

Also making the top-50 is tight ends coach Todd Hartley, who was responsible for four signees and ranks No. 46.

Also high on the list were a decent amount of former Georgia football coaches.

At No. 4 is Rodney Gardner, who was a Georgia football assistant for 15 years in Athens.  During his 15 seasons at Georgia, he was part of a staff that led UGA to 117 victories, two SEC Championships, five SEC Eastern Division titles, seven bowl victories and six Top 10 finishes in the final polls, including No. 2 in 2007 and No. 3 in 2002. He added the title of assistant head coach at Georgia in 2005 after serving as defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator there since January, 1998.

Former UGA WR Tyler Simmons has strong opinion on Mark Dantonio abruptly leaving Michigan State

Former Georgia football WR Tyler Simmons has a strong opinion on Mark Dantonio leaving Michigan State abruptly.

On Tuesday, Mark Dantonio abruptly announced his retirement after 13 seasons as head coach at Michigan State.

The timing of his announcement, which came as a complete shock for everyone, could not have been worse for the program. Just one day before signing day and your head coach of over a decade steps down?

For recruits, the Spartans received 19 national letters of intent during the early signing period, with seven players enrolling early. These are all players who, despite placing their trust in Dantonio, will never play a down of football for the man they signed up for.

One of those recruits is Jordon Simmons, a 3-star running back out of McEachern High School in Powder Springs, who fortunately has not actually signed his name to paper yet.

Simmons is the younger brother of former Georgia wide receiver Tyler Simmons, who fans will always remember as the player who blocked an Alabama punt in the national title game but was incorrectly called offside.

The younger Simmons and his family were recently in East Lansing visiting with Dantonio and the Spartans.

Simmons has been committed to the program since October, however, after news of Dantonio’s retirement on Tuesday, Simmons tweeted that he will be delaying his signing until he has had more time to think about things.

“Due to the unforeseen retirement of Coach Dantonio and after discussing things with my family, I have decided to delay my signing with Michigan State University until further notice,” Simmons wrote. “I love everything that Michigan State has to offer and I appreciate the love and support that the fan base has shown me. However, with the uncertainty of the MSU program I have decided to take some time to weight out my options and think about where I will spend the next 4 years.”

Simmons told Rivals.com that other schools have already been calling. Some of those schools include Oklahoma State, Virginia and Washington State. At this time, though, Simmons said he is still considering Michigan State.

Tyler Simmons had his own thoughts on this, which he took to Twitter to share as well.

Simmons took issue with the timing of Dantonio’s retirement, saying he understands that coaches step down all the time but to do so the day before signing day just is not right.

Simmons is correct. It’s a shame that Dantonio could do so much good for a university for over a decade, but then to call it quits just one day before signing day shows no concern for any of the 20+ players who signed with Michigan State.

NSD around the SEC: How’d each team do?

How did each SEC team do during the 2020 recruiting cycle? Georgia football holds the lead.

Georgia football closed out National Signing Day with the No. 1 ranked class in the nation, making that the second time in three year that the Bulldogs finished with the top class.

As it always does, the SEC dominated recruiting, with the conference occupying seven of the top ten spots in the team rankings.

Georgia had some tough competition for the No. 1 spot but was able to fend off powerhouses Alabama and Clemson to remain America’s top dawg.

The numbers do not lie, though. Georgia has spent more money on the recruiting trail than any other team in the country. And apparently it’s working well for them.

From Bleacher Report:

Marc Weiszer of the Athens Banner-Herald (h/t USA Today) cited Georgia’s annual NCAA financial report that covered the fiscal year of July 1, 2018, through June 30, 2019, and noted the Bulldogs spent $3.7 million on football recruiting expenses.

That represents a jump of more than $1 million from the previous fiscal year when they led the country in the same category.

Here’s a look at how each SEC school did in the 2020 recruiting cycle:

In order of SEC ranking

1. Georgia (No. 1 in country)

2. Alabama (No. 2 in country)

3. LSU (No. 4 in country)

4. Texas A&M (No. 6 in country)

5. Auburn (No. 7 in country)

6. Florida (No. 8 in country)

7. Tennessee (No. 10 in country)

8. South Carolina (No. 18 in country)

9. Kentucky (No. 24 in country)

10. Mississippi State (No. 27 in country)

11. Arkansas (No. 33 in country)

12. Ole Miss (No. 38 in country)

13. Missouri (No. 48 in country)

14. Vanderbilt (No. 56 in country)

So, the next closest SEC East school to Georgia is Florida, which sits at No. 8 in America. Then there’s Tennessee, which is No. 10. Is the talent gap really closing as much as Gator fans say it is?