Top 10 georgia high school football prospects for 2012

High school football has come and gone for the 2010 season. So now it's time to take an early look at the 2011 season and find out who are the top prospects in the state. This is the list that I came up with which was announced on the 790 the Zone's radio show "The Official Visit" Monday night. If you have any comments or questions, send me an email at bjones@scoreatl.com.

10. Niles Clark (CB, Lassiter)- Had 65 tackles and four interceptions last season. He also plays basketball and runs track. Committed to N.C. State.

9. Deion Bonner (CB, Carver, Columbus) – Is the next line of great players from Carver. Offers range from Georgia, Auburn, Clemson and Tennessee.

8. Jason Croom (WR, Norcross) – Big target that should have a big year for the Blue Devils. Has gotten offers from Auburn, Illinois and Miss State.

7. Jordan Jenkins (DE, Harris County) – A great athlete that has speed and explosion. Has gotten offers from Alabama, Auburn, Florida and Georgia.

6. Kenyan Drake (RB, Hillgrove) – Drake can carry the ball and catch the ball as well. Will be used in various ways in college. Alabama, Georgia and Purdue have made offers.

5. C.J. Curry (WR, North Hall) – A big receiver that will look to improve his route running this offseason. Is the first UGA commit.

4. Jonathan Taylor ( DT, Jenkins County) – Some have already pegged him as the best defensive tackle in the county. Has gotten offers from FSU, Georgia, Georgia Tech and LSU.

3. Dakota Ball (DT, Pepperell) – If Taylor is the best DT in the country, than Ball is not far behind. He is strong and athletic. Committed to Alabama and he can play either the nose or defensive end in the 3-4 scheme.

2. Greyson Lambert (QB, Wayne County) – Has a great arm and his vision is elite. Has to work on footwork and pocket presence. Alabama, Clemson and N.C. State have made offers.

1. Vadal Alexander (OT, Buford) – Size is great, footwork is great and explosion is great. Could be the best OT in the county when it’s all said and done. It looks like every school in the county has made an offer.

ATL Sports Guy exlcusive: The Super Bowl 45 preview

If you know me, I am a fan of every sports team in the Atlanta area. But the Falcons are the team that is near and dear to my heart because I have covered the team for Score Atlanta since 2006 and have been a fan since I was little.

So when they lost to Green Bay nearly three weeks ago in the playoffs, I was disappointed because I thought they would at least make it to the NFC Championship. But, I realized the Falcons are in a better place than they have ever been and if they continue to improve, they will win the Super Bowl in the next three years.

With that said, it’s time for the official Atlanta Sports Guy Super Bowl preview between the Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers. I like the matchup because both teams have played at a high level all season long considering all the distractions, suspensions and injuries they had to deal with.

Green Bay comes into the game as a favorite by Vegas and the general public. Their road to Dallas was not easy because they had to win their final game of the regular season against the Chicago Bears to claim the final playoff spot in the NFC. Then they defeated Philadelphia, the Falcons (ugh) and the Bears again. So, a lot of media outlets love the way this team has played and they think QB Aaron Rodgers is the next big thing. Rodgers has been outstanding this postseason, throwing for six touchdowns and two interceptions in the three games. He has even rushed for two scores and has a QB rating of 109.2. In order for the Packers to win, Rodgers has to be on top of his game against an aggressive Steelers defensive unit.

But the Packers defense is not a slouch either. From playmakers such as B.J. Raji, A.J. Hawk, Clay Matthews and 2009 Defensive Player of the Year Charles Woodson, they Packers defense has been one of the best in the NFL all season long and they will try to end their season by taking down Ben Roethlisberger and company. That won’t be easy, but they were able to shut down Michael Vick and the Eagles as well as Matt Ryan and the Falcons. So they’ll be up for the challenge.

Much talk has been made about the Steelers defense, that’s fair because they have been one of the elite units in the NFL for many years. But the offense can score with the best of them, averaging 23 points per game, and they have done it by running the ball with Rashad Mendenhall and throwing with Big Ben. As much as some people don’t like Roethlisberger, he is a gamer and knows how to play, and win in big games. In order for the Steelers to come away with another Super Bowl win, Big Ben will have to avoid the pressure and he can do it by handing it to Mendenhall who rushed for over 1,200 yards this season.

As far as the Pittsburgh defense goes, they are going to have their hands full with Rodgers and the rest of the Green Bay offense. However, they do have their share of playmakers and there are two players to watch for Pittsburgh. Troy Polamalu and James Harrison are the two players that need to have big games in order for Pittsburgh to win. Polamalu is the reigning Defensive Player of the Year and James Harrison won the same award in 2008. It was also the same year the Steelers won the Super Bowl, defeating the Arizona Cardinals in one of the better Super Bowls I’ve seen. If those two are playing at a high level, Rodgers will have hard time getting anything going which will be a problem for Green Bay.

So what is my final analysis of the game? I think whoever gets off to that fast start will win. I love the way Green Bay has played throughout the playoffs and they deserve to be the favorite. But there is something about Pittsburgh that I like. From their offense, defense, special teams and coaching, they are just solid from top to bottom. I’m not saying Green Bay isn’t, but there is a reason Pittsburgh is going for its third title in six years. And I think when it’s all said and done, the Steelers are going to hold the Lombardi Trophy for the seventh time in their storied history.

Looking back at National Signing Day

National Signing Day 2011 has come and gone. Some schools came away with successful classed and other schools did not get the players they desired. For Georgia and Georgia Tech, their signing class comparisons are night and day. Many believe the Georgia class could be the best class in the history of the program. As for Tech, when you lose five commitments in the last three weeks, that’s not a good thing. Here’s a closer look at both schools class and how they fared.

EVALUATING THE BULLDOGS

Georgia head coach Mark Richt talked about building a dream team before signing day where he targeted some of the best players in the state. Two players, Ray Drew and Isaiah Crowell were on top of the list and Richt was able to get those two players from South Georgia. Drew, a defensive end, is considered the best player in Georgia and one of the 10 best players in the nation. Crowell is right behind Drew when it comes to being the best player in the state and is also one of the top running backs in the country. But that was not all Richt and company was able to accomplish with the signing class. Valdosta TE Jay Rome and WR/DB Malcolm Mitchell joined the team as well as QB Christian LeMay from North Carolina and ATH Nick Marshall from Wilcox County.

And the best thing about this is they are not done signing players yet. Junior college player John Jenkins who is a big nose tackle, will choose his college on Saturday and if Georgia nabs him, he will have a chance to play right away because Georgia needs a guy who can eat up the middle of the line to free the linebackers to make plays. But even if they don’t grab him, this class is a good as it gets when it comes to targeting the state’s best players and keeping them in-state.

EVALUATING THE JACKETS

While Georgia class is being praised by everyone in the media, Georgia Tech was able to get a good group of players, but five players that were committed to the school in Atlanta backed out and left Tech in a hole. But they were able to get some fine athletes such as QB Vad Lee from North Carolina as well as LB Jabari Hunt-Days from Hillgrove. They also signed Chris Milton from Charlton County who can play a number of positions. And they signed corner back Jamal Golden who was named Mr. Alabama Football.

The only problem with this class is they did not sign a nose tackle that can be a space eater in the 3-4 defense that the Jackets run. It looked as if they had a chance of signing Darian Cooper from Maryland, but he decided to go with Iowa on signing day over Tech, Michigan and Michigan State. Georgia Tech was able to get an abundance of linebackers and defensive ends, but if they were able to get a nose tackle, it would have made the Yellow Jackets’ class a little stronger.

REST OF THE NATION

As far as the rest of the country, the big winners had to be Alabama, Texas, USC and Florida State. Alabama only signed 21 players and five of them are from the home state, but they singed RB Demetruis Hart who is one of the best all-purpose backs in the country and they also signed DB Haseasn Clinton-Dix who could be a full-time starter as a sophomore. Texas only signed 22 players but expect for one signee all the players are from the state of Texas. One player to watch for is RB Malcolm Brown who could be the best running back in the country.

USC signed 29 players including WR Greg Farmer and OL Aundrey Walker. Farmer could be the best receiver on the country and could contribute right away on special teams. Walker is from Ohio and could see time at wither guard of tackle as a freshman. Florida State also signed 29 players and leading the class is RB James Wilder Jr. It’s very likely Wilder will play right away, the only problem is FSU needs to find a position to put him in because he can also play the linebacker spot as well as defensive end.

TCA event featured numerous college prospects announcing their school of choice

National Signing Day is big in the South. High school seniors signed their letters of intent to determine where they will spend the next three-four years of their lives.

Some of metro Atlanta best players made their way to Andretti Indoor Karting and Games to announce where they would play college football. The event was hosted by the Touchdown Club of Atlanta. Some of the high schools that were represented were North Gwinnett, Buford, Peachtree Ridge, Wesleyan and Blessed Trinity. The young men wore the hats to represent the school that they choose and the schools ranged from as big as Georgia to as small as Chattahoochee Tech.

The boys from Brookwood, who won the 5A state championship got the festivities started with their announcements. QB Ben McLane announced he signed with Georgia State and LB Andre Sims will play for Michigan State. North Gwinnett followed a little bit later and QB C.J. Uzomah announced he will play for Auburn. OL Garrett Clark announced he will play for Southern Mississippi and Brandon McGowan signed with Appalachian State.

Another team from Gwinnett, Buford, who won the 2A state title, followed shortly after and RB Dominique Swope announced he will play for Georgia Southern. Swope picked the Eagles for one reason that any player should pick a school where you will spend a good amount of time away from home.

“It’s one big family,” Swope said.

Swope will not be alone when he heads to Statesboro. Teammate Sean Jones will head to Georgia Southern also he is ready to take that next step because of what Buford does to get them ready on and off the field.

“Things we do are different from other schools around Atlanta,” Jones said talking about Buford. “They prepare us for the next level.”

Another Buford signee that was in attendance was QB Alex Ross who will play at Coastal Carolina. Ross went to Coastal Carolina in the summer and fell in love with it.

“It’s right by the beach,” Ross said. “It’s a unique place to be. I felt like this was the place for me.”

Chattahoochee, who won the 4A state crown, was right behind the Wolves and they had a good amount of players at Andretti to announce their college choice. QB Timmy Byerly who was one of the state most productive players this past season, will play for Middle Tennessee State next season and he chose MTSU because of the familiarity of the system that they run.

“It’s almost the exact same offense,” Byerly said. “They’re going to try to get away from running the quarterback, instead of 25 times a game, maybe 10. I’m pretty excited about that.”

Buford, Brookwood and Chattahoochee may have won state titles, but were they winners in the recruiting game on National Signing Day? If you want to know who was the big winner, it had to be Stephenson who had 20 players sign their letters of intent. Not all were in attendance, but some of the players that will move on in their football careers will be Kadetrix Marcus, Regis Ball and Tarik Cook. Marcus will play for South Carolina, Ball will head to Memphis and Cool will join George O’Leary at Central Florida.

One of the big winners when it comes to colleges signing players was Miles College which is a small school located in Alabama. Six players from the Elite Performers Sports Academy signed with Miles College. If you are wondering what the Elite Performers Sports Academy is, it’s a post-graduate football program that allows athletes to gain participation in college sports. So Anthony Armstrong, Baron Fox, Julantate English, Xavier Simmons, Gresten Coakley and Mike Mitchell will move on to Miles College in the fall.

Other notable signees of the day were Corey Moore from Griffin (Georgia), Brian Randolph from Kell (Tennessee), Ralph David Abernathy IV from Westminster (Cincinnati), Alex Chisum from Sandy Creek (Cincinnati), Demarco Robinson from MLK (Kentucky) and Xavier Dickson from Griffin (Alabama).

Mays and Miller Grove fight it out on GPB Webcast

This is a preview of the Mays and Miller Grove basketball game which will be on the Georgia Public Broadcasting website tonight. Action starts at 6 p.m. and here's the link for the girls game and the boys game.

The hardwood is heating up.

A rematch of the Class 4A championship game from 2010 will take place on Tuesday as the No. 1 team in 4A Miller Grove takes on Mays which will be broadcasted on GPB.org. This will be the second time these two teams have met this season as Miller Grove defeated the Raiders 69-52. Junior center Tony Parker led the Wolverines with 28 points and 21 rebounds in the win.

Mays looks to get revenge and it could happen with the players they have on their roster. The Raiders are looking to pick up where they left off last season, reaching the state finals with a 22-5 record. Things are not going as smooth for Mays as they did last year, losing their first three of five games. But they seem to be gaining momentum as the season is progressing winning six of their last seven.

The Raiders are led by Colin Cook who is an excellent shot blocker at 6-6. Cook was named to the All-Region team last season and was even named Region Player of the Year. Other players that will have to play big for the Raiders in order for a victory are Kendall Leslie and Jonathan Williams who were big contributors last season.

As good of a team Mays is, Miller Grove is the defending Class 4A state champions and they have been playing like a team that wants another championship ring. The Wolverines have played against teams from all across the country including New York, Oklahoma, Ohio and North Carolina, and have come out on top every time. They even defeated Class 5A champion Milton earlier in the year.

The reason for their continued success is the talent they have this season each year. Two players that are on the Score 44 list are Devon Propst and Henry Brooks. Propst has been a good defender averaging three steals a game and he knows how to find the open man, averaging 3.4 assists per game. Brooks has been a dominant power forward for Miller Grove, averaging 13 points and two blocks per game average this season. Brooks has gotten offers to play college ball from schools such as Georgetown, Rice, Virginia Tech and even Harvard.

But the one player Mays has to watch out for is Parker who could be the best center in Georgia. Parker averages 18.4 points per game and leads DeKalb County in rebounds at 13.4. He is considered by many as the best junior in the state and has gotten offers from Alabama, Connecticut, Duke, North Carolina, Georgia and Georgia Tech.

Miller Grove also seems to be a program that produces top-notched college talent. Mfon Udofia is a key contributor to Georgia Tech and Donte Williams is a doing big things as a freshman at Georgia.

All the action will start at 5:30 p.m. with the girls playing first. The boys will start shortly after which will be approximately at 7 p.m. The games will be played at Mays’ home court which is at the Coretta Scott King Leadership Academy.