1. South Carolina landed linebacker Bryson Allen-Williams on Monday, edging out Alabama, Georgia and UCLA.

2. Two schools stand out to Tampa, Fla., linebacker Vincent Jackson. “Alabama and Auburn are my favorites,” he said.

3. Offensive lineman Christian Williams from Wetumpka, Ala., is starting to receive some SEC interest.

4. 2015 linebacker Justin Hilliard received plenty of attention during his recent trip to Arkansas.

5. Eighth-grade star Dylan Moses has two more offers: Florida and Ole Miss.

6. The evaluation period is underway for football coaches. Here’s a look at Florida’s plan.

7. Goose Creek, S.C., tight end Kalan Ritchie was impressed during his visit to South Carolina.

8. So was athlete Jalen Christian, who has plenty of time to make his decision.

9. 247Sports has some Crystal Ball predictions on the futures of several 2014 quarterbacks.

Defensive back Jamal Adams from Hebron High School in Lewisville, Texas, knows plenty about the Big 12.

That’s one reason he’s anxious to visit some schools in the SEC.

Adams has offers from programs around the country, including Florida, Florida State, Michigan, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Texas and Texas A&M.

Adams, who’s already visited Baylor, Oklahoma and Texas, told the Dallas Morning News his next visit will be to Texas A&M.

“I’m excited about heading down to Texas A&M,” he said. “They are definitely on the rise. Coach (Kevin) Sumlin is getting them right down there. Johnny Manziel is doing a great job of leading the team too. I’ve been to pretty much all of the Big 12 so I want to see something different. I want to see what the SEC is all about.”

Adams is only the latest prospect from Texas to show a strong interest in the SEC. It’s an interest that has increased in the last year thanks to Texas A&M’s arrival and early success in the league.

That doesn’t mean schools like Oklahoma and Texas will no longer be able to recruit in their own backyard. They’ll have plenty of success there in the future. But they’ll also have to deal with recruits showing more interest in the SEC.

An example: Gilmer, Texas, wide receiver Josh Walker, a Texas A&M commitment who last month told Sporting News that the Aggies have jumped Texas in the eyes of many recruits.

“I do think A&M has become sexier than Texas because of the fact that they’re the only SEC team in Texas and a lot of athletes want to play in the pre-NFL conference,” Walker told Sporting News.

The next two Texas A&M prospects to watch: linebacker Otaro Alaka from Houston and defensive end Jarrett Johnson from Katy, Texas. Both prospects were in attendance at Texas A&M’s Friday Night Lights last week and came away impressed by the Aggies.

Alaka will likely be the first of the two to announce his decision. He’s scheduled to make his commitment on Monday.

“I have a tough decision to make,” Alaka told Rivals.com.

Texas A&M has made Johnson’s decision more difficult. He was favoring Texas before his visit to Texas A&M last week. Now, the Aggies appear to have the edge.

“I feel like I was more impressed by what I saw and I felt more into the game by being allowed on the sideline the entire scrimmage,” Johnson told Rivals. “I was down there before they started (at Texas) but then we were sent to the stands.”

And so the battle continues.

Florida flips Clemson running back

Florida received good news last weekend when running back Dalvin Cook from Miami Central High School decided to switch his commitment from Clemson to the Gators.  Read the rest of this entry »

SEC Football

1. A former Auburn commit now says wants to play at Alabama. Jovon Robinson originally signed with Auburn. The running back  left the school after an NCAA investigation into his high school transcripts and is now at Georgia Military College where’s he working to regain eligibility.  Regardless of where goes, he’s not eligible to play Division I football until December 2014.

2. Alabama is also after a 2014 Auburn commit.  Lineman Josh Casher committed to Auburn back on March 31, calling it “the perfect fit.” After earning offensive line MVP honors at the Rivals camp over the weekend, Nick Saban called today. Here’s what his high school coach told AL.com: ”I figured after this weekend, they probably would. They had been recruiting him. They never had backed off him, actually — just as far as an actual offer, they hadn’t yet.”

3. Miami, Florida running back Dalvin Cook flipped from Clemson to Florida over the weekend.  This is a win for the Gators in the Miami area.  If the commitment sticks, Cook will be the first commitment from Miami since  Jabari Gorman in 2011.

4. Hebron, Texas defensive back Jamal Adams has over 20 offers.  Florida is one of the schools he plans to visit over the summer but next week, he’s headed to Texas A&M.  ”I’m excited about heading down to Texas A&M. They are definitely on the rise. Coach (Kevin) Sumlin is getting them right down there. Johnny Manziel doing a great job of leading the team too,” he said. “I’ve been to pretty much all of the Big 12 so I want to see something different. I want to see what the SEC is all about.”

5. Kyler Murray is one of the top prospects in the class of 2015 and a Texas A&M legacy.  Kyler’s father, Kevin Murray, played for the Aggies back in the 1980′s. While the Aggies have not officially offered Murray, he is reportedly high on their radar.

6. Here’s a look at Georgia’s 2014 commitments

SEC Basketball

7. Madisonville, Kentucky guard Dominique Hawkins is headed to Lexington this fall. He announced his commitment to play for John Calipari this morning.  Calipari had offered Hawkins a scholarship back on March 12, but he kept it a secret.  He told just two people -his mom and his girlfriend – that he had received the offer.  ”That’s it,” he said. “I could trust them, so that’s the only two I told.”  Hawkins will be the 17th Mr. Basketball in the state of Kentucky to play for the Wildcats.  Here’s a Q and A he did with the media after today’s announcement.

Auburn has not had a good week on the recruiting trail.

Nothing has happened specifically with any 2014 recruits. It’s the negative stories surrounding Auburn’s program that will create such a challenge for the Tigers as they try to rebuild the program following a disastrous 2012 season.

First, there was Selena Roberts’ report on Wednesday alleging payments to players, grade changes and involvement in the robbery case of former Auburn safety Mike McNeil. Then came a Thursday report from ESPN The Magazine alleging Auburn covered up failed drug tests during and after the Tiger’s national championship run in 2010.

Auburn fired back at the ESPN report and did a good job defending itself. But a lot of the damage is done for the Tigers.

Auburn has battled allegations of wrongdoing for more than two years. While the NCAA has yet to find anything to actually punish the Tigers, their public image has taken a huge hit. And that will affect recruiting.

Auburn is already behind most of the SEC in recruiting for 2014. The Tigers have two commitments for the upcoming class, which ranks Auburn 11th in the conference and 39th in the nation by Rivals.com.

Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn put together a strong staff that should be able to hold its own on the recruiting trail. But there’s only so much any staff can overcome.

Parents will ask a lot of questions and Auburn will likely be prepared with many of the right answers. But opposing schools in the SEC will continue to point out Auburn’s past troubles, which will lead to culture questions about Auburn’s program.

Forget the accusation of NCAA violations. Does Auburn really have its drug issue under control? Thursday’s statement from Jay Jacobs helps show Auburn has made a strong effort to eliminate the use of synthetic marijuana, which is the focus of ESPN’s report.

Still, there’s evidence that drug use has been a problem at Auburn. And the school’s current athletic director and head coach were both part of the football program in 2010 and 2011 when these issues were present. Will parents of recruits trust Jacobs and Malzahn?

“I feel like Auburn betrayed me,” a parent of a former Auburn player told ESPN.

That parent could be wrong and Auburn might have done everything it was supposed to do to alert parents of their children’s drug use. But that quote will be seen in the homes of many recruits around the Southeast.

Roberts’ report and ESPN’s allegations might lead to nothing for Auburn. The Tigers have already survived an NCAA investigation and continue to possess a 2010 BCS championship trophy.

But the more allegations against Auburn we see (and we’ve seen a lot), the more problems Auburn will have as it recruits in the nation’s most competitive conference.

Missouri losing ground on St. Louis?

The Tigers received more bad news this week when running back Markel Smith from St. Louis announced he has decommitted from Missouri.

He’s the second 2014 prospect from St. Louis to decommit from Missouri, joining offensive lineman Andy Bauer, who switched his pledge to Ole Miss last month.

Read the rest of this entry »

1. Ranking the top defensive tackles in the state of Texas.  No. 1 on the list - DeShawn Washington - is a Texas A&M commitment. The top defensive end in the state of Texas on this list - Myles Garrett - has the Aggies at the top of his list.

2. Defensive end Qualen Cunningham’s father, Rick, played at Texas A&M.  His son may follow suit – he reportedly is paying an unofficial visit this weekend.

3. St. Louis running back Markel Smith is backing off his verbal commitment to Missouri.  Smith and lineman Andy Bauer were the first two 2014 commitments for Missouri.  Bauer has since committed to Ole Miss.

4. Fort Lauderdale defensive tackle Anthony Moten has verbally committed to play for Florida. He’s the eighth commitment of the 2014 class for the Gators.

5. Some updates on several Arkansas signees and prospects.

SEC Basketball

6. Kentucky’s much-heralded class coming to Lexington this fall will no doubt feel the love at Rupp Arena but will going on the road bother them?  Not at all if you believe what they say.  ”As long as it’s loud, I’m totally fine with it,” Marcus Lee told the Lexington Herald-Leader. Added Andrew Harrison, part of the twin duo along with brotherAaron - ”In Houston, they hate on us no matter who we play or where we are.”

Uh-oh.

It’s only 44 weeks until National Signing Day 2014.  Is your favorite SEC team in good shape?

Obviously, it’s way too early to be making any judgements about recruiting classes.  Especially when commitments made 10 months out have about as much meaning as The Beatles’ “Revolution 9.”

Still, that doesn’t mean we can’t shake the packages under the tree and dream, does it?

As always, we use Rivals’ rankings.  For every star they assign, we hand out a point.  Except we also provide a point for all 0-star prospects as, eventually, they will be scouted and graded:

Observations:

*  We said it before they joined the SEC, we said it when they joined the SEC, and we still say it now… the Aggies are sitting on a gold mine of a program at Texas A&M.  The combination of Johnny Manziel, Kevin Sumlin, and the national exposure provided by a leap to the SEC could not have been scripted any better.  Texas A&M is LSU pre-Nick Saban.  With the right coach — and that coach might be Sumlin — the Aggies should be able to run with the nation’s elite on a regular basis.

*  Florida and LSU at the top of an SEC recruiting chart?  Shocking.

*  Ole Miss took advantage — as Hugh Freeze has admitted — of a number of contacts, ties, and special circumstances that allowed them to haul in a top 10 recruiting class this past February.  But in converting those opportunities in 2013, the Rebels appear to have also turned themselves into a hot name moving towards 2014, too.

*  Tennessee seems to following in Ole Miss’ footsteps.  Butch Jones used a number of ex-Vol offspring to kickstart his 2014 recruiting push.  Now those early commitments from big name “legacies” are helping to lure in others.  UT fans would surely be happy if Jones could continue to mimic Freeze’s early successes in Oxford.

*  Based on recent history, there’s a 0% chance of Alabama and Auburn not racing up into the top four or five slots on our table by the time February rolls around.

*  Think this is an important year for Gary Pinkel at Missouri?  The Tigers disappointed last year (thanks in large part to injuries).  But Pinkel has been in Columbia for a long time and that’s rarely a good thing.  After a while, fans turn.  And when grumbling fans have to look at so-so recruiting numbers after a so-so season on the field, well, it makes for an uncomfortable offseason for coaches.

1. Georgia received a commitment from defensive tackle Dontavius Russell, one of the top in-state prospects.

2. Florida had a busy month on the recruiting trail in the month of March.

3. Many recruits are switching their commitments these days. A few college coaches discussed the trend.

4. Alabama is one of four teams being considered by Las Vegas running back Nathan Starks.

5. Highly-touted cornerback Marlon Humphrey is also considering Alabama. He recently visited Tuscaloosa.

6. Here are the top five linebacker targets for Auburn in the 2014 class.

7. Mississippi State’s message to linebacker Michael Ferns: “You’re a baller.”

8. Running back Markel Smith from St. Louis is no longer committed to Missouri.

9. Missouri’s recruiting woes are starting to show, writes Ben Frederickson.

Check out this dunk by basketball prospect Andrew Wiggins, who’s still considering Kentucky.

(h/t USA TODAY Sports)

Mississippi State football coach Dan Mullen has an idea.  He’s thinking about proposing it as a future rule change, which would mean it would need backing inside the SEC and then outside with the NCAA.

According to Michael Carvell of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Mullen would like to see a four-week “dead period” during the summer that would completely sever ties between coaches and recruits.  No visits, no calls, no nothing.

The plan would allow each school to pick its own off weeks.

Carvell asked a number of SEC coaches for their take on Mullen’s notion.  The results?  Pretty favorable.

James Franklin, Vanderbilt:  “I’d be in favor of some time in the summer so that the coaches can truly have some time off.  That to me was one of the advantages of coaching in the NFL.  You truly had time off, where in college you really don’t… I’m I’m on vacation with my family for a week in the summer and the #1 recruit in the country calls me and he wants to come by your campus, what am I going to say?  No?”

Butch Jones, Tennessee:  “I think (recruiting) has been accelerated so hectic that I would be a proponent (of Mullen’s idea), even if it’s only a two-week dead period in July, where it really allows these individuals to sit back, relax and have some time off. I think the other things with these rules that we lose sight of is that we still have to coach our current teams. We’re responsible to them. We’re mentors to our current players. I think, with the all the deregulation going on, is that we have to remember we have to take care of our current teams as well.”

Mark Stoops, Kentucky:  “If we let ourselves, we could work every minute of every day. There’s got to be some balance where you spend time with your own team and developing your team. And spending time with your own family, and things of that nature. I have not heard of that before, but it does sound like a pretty good idea to me.”

LSU’s Les Miles was also in favor of some down time in one form or another.

With so many coaches reacting positively to Mullen’s suggestion, expect him to put on the table at this year’s SEC spring meetings in Destin.

It’s been established recently that many prospects prefer to communicate through text messaging and social media.

That’s why the NCAA is trying to figure out how to manage the way college coaches can interact with prospects.

But coaches haven’t forgotten their old school ways. We’ve recently seen schools use a “new” trend of mailing letters to recruits. A lot of letters.

Quarterback Drew Barker is the latest. The standout from Conner High School in Burlington, Ky., recently received 115 letters from Kentucky. The Wildcats wanted to make sure Barker knows he’s a priority in Lexington.

“I opened up the mailbox like I do every day, and they started falling out,” Barker told the Louisville Courier-Journal. “I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh.’ It was insane what it looked like in my mailbox. It was all crammed in there, and they had a bunch of rubber bands around them. It was pretty awesome and I was pretty shocked.”

Pretty awesome? Receiving 115 letters at one time might seem a little over the top to some people. But Barker’s not alone in feeling the love.

Athlete Stanton Truitt from Monroe, Ga., told ESPN RecruitingNation earlier this month he received 102 letters from Tennessee. Like Barker, Truitt saw it as a sign that he’s a wanted man.

“It was shocking and it shows me that they think highly of me and really love me,” Truitt told ESPN. “It makes me feel important to them and makes me want to work harder and keep doing what I have been doing.”

The mailbox-stuffing idea isn’t new. Alabama sent 2013 running back Alvin Kamara of Norcross, Ga., 105 letters in Feb. 2012. Kamara, for the record, did sign with the Crimson Tide a year later.

Will Kentucky, Tennessee and others have similar success in the future? Time will tell, but Barker admitted it helped Kentucky in its effort to land the U.S. Army All-American.

“People are wondering if recruits like that stuff,” Barker said. “I’d say if anybody got that amount of letters in the mail in one day, I think they’d definitely like it.”

Coaches will certainly take notice. And while they continue to post messages on twitter, coaches will likely send an assistant to the post office to grab an extra stack of Forever stamps.

Texas A&M leads the way

The Aggies continue to receive high praise on the recruiting trail. The latest comes from Sporting News.

Read the rest of this entry »

1. Plaquemine, Louisiana defensive lineman  Davon Godchaux has received offers from about 17 schools, including Florida and Vanderbilt.  He’s hoping for offers from Alabama and LSU.  ”LSU is a great program to be around, Godchaux tells NOLA.com.  ”Alabama on the other hand, it’s about business. (Coach) Nick Saban and those guys, they win championships. They build and build championships every year, and it’s a great program to be in … I would like those offers to come, but if they don’t, it’s understandable.”

2. Hampton, Georgia linebacker DeMarquis Gates commits to Ole Miss.  Gates, considered a top 200 prospect by recruiting services, was a high teammate of 2013 Ole Miss signeee Arshad Jackson.

3. Rod Taylor is considered the top unsigned prospect in the state of Mississippi.  The Jackson, MS offensive lineman has attracted attention for years – Alabama offered him before his sophomore season.  Two of Taylor’s teammates have already committed to Ole Miss. Here’s how Taylor’s high school coach described him: “As big as he is, to be as agile as he is, you just don’t see many guys like that. You could see the natural ability when he came in as a freshman. He’s beyond his years. He needs to be a little bit more of a technician, but as far as raw natural ability, he’s exceptional.”

4. When defensive back Landon Collins committed to Alabama, it greatly disappointed his mother, who wanted him to stay in-state and go to LSU.  Now Collins has a brother who’s drawing attention from major programs around the country. Four-star defensive end Gerald Willis says his top choices right now are LSU, Texas A&M and Florida. Mom doesn’t want to go to Gainesville: “I don’t want him 10 hours away. Some of the things that I’ve talked about with the coaching staff, I just don’t think it favors my son.”

5. Arlington, Texas defensive end Myles Garrett has offers from several schools, including Alabama and Texas A&M.  He’s also drawing interest from LSU. Garrett will A&M’s “Friday Night Lights” scrimmage on April 5th. “It lets me know I’m doing good work on the field and in the weight room,” Garrett told ESPN. “I’m working hard and will keep working hard through next season — and after that.”

6. Elizabethtown, Kentucky defensive tackle Matt Elam is 6-foot-6, 350-pounds and one of the most prized recruits in the state.  He’s drawn offers from among others, Alabama and Kentucky.  He’s also drawn interest from Tennessee and Florida, his favorite team growing up.  Elam says he talks with Kentucky coach Mark Stoops every week and has been in Nick Saban’s office - “looks like a million dollars with all the wood on the walls.”

7. Here’s  a scouting report on LSU commitment Sharieff Rhaheed -  ”LSU may have found another diamond in the rough.”

8. Here’s a ranking of the five best offensive tackles 2014 prospects in state of Texas.

9. The Sporting News ranks the 2014 recruiting classes. No. 1 right now?  Texas A&M.

SEC Basketball

10. Madison Central High School (KY) guard Dominique Hawkins will reportedly sign with Kentucky Friday.  A former teammate of Hawkins tweeted the news today.  Hawkins led his team to a state basketball championship.

11. Huntington Prep star and Gatorade National Player of the Year Andrew Wiggins is reportedly meeting with Kentucky coach John Calipari today. USA Today writer on Wiggins: “What stands out most to me is that when he decides to go to the basket from 15 feet away or in transition when he gets a step, I have not seen anyone stop him. That will serve him well in the NCAA.”

12. Lee College guard Jamal Jones received an offer from Arkansas coach Mike Anderson last week.  Jones says his top five in no particular order are Arkansas, Texas A&M, TCU, Oregon and San Diego State. Jones signed with Ole Miss coming out of high school but was dismissed by coach Andy Kennedy for a violation of team rules