Florida Gators

Thomas Holley (Brooklyn, N.Y./Abraham Lincoln) grew tired of the questions after every basketball game.

Inevitably, someone would stroll up to him on the hardwood and ask if he played football. Underclassmen weren't supposed to be so big, they'd say. And at about 250 pounds, they sure weren't supposed to move that fast.

"I kept saying no, that I didn't play football, and they'd just look at me funny," Holley said with a laugh. "They're like, 'Stop playing with me.' That's always how it's been for me, everywhere I go. So when I started thinking about it, people were all like, 'You should play football.' "

Football was always a lingering curiosity for the ESPN Watch List prospect, who took up the sport less than a year ago. The defensive tackle played basketball since third grade, and he always wondered about the sport. But his mother wasn't a fan of him playing such a rough-and-tumble game.

Holley didn't press the issue because he was over the league's weight limit in middle school anyway. He couldn't play football if he was over 185 pounds -- and he towered over most of his classmates at 6-foot, 230. But when fan after fan kept approaching him after those high school games, Holley couldn't resist.

He had to try it out. He wasn't even sure if he'd like it -- but what did he have to lose? He recruited his uncle to help persuade his mother into allowing him to play toward the end of his sophomore year. Scholarship offers weren't on his mind at that point, so he just focused on maintaining his weight by shedding fat and adding muscle.

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Only three years into his football career, Paramus (N.J.) Catholic offensive tackle Juwann Bushell-Beatty was not too worried about when his first offer would come. He was still new to the game and figured at some point the colleges would come.

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Class of 2014 OL Sam Mustipher has his first visit of 2013 scheduled. It's no surprise that it's a football powerhouse.

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ATLANTA -- Two of the Peach State’s top outside linebackers recently met in the backfield of the Rising Seniors Bowl game and threw down the West team’s quarterback, Brooks Barden (Cartersville, Ga./Cartersville). Bryson Allen-Williams (Ellenwood, Ga./Cedar Grove) came of the right end and Dante Sawyer (Flowery Branch, Ga./North Gwinnett) crashed the left side and both caught Barden before he could slip away. While it was clear Barden never had a chance, credit for the sack was a highly-contested debate.

“Oh, that was my sack.” Allen-Williams said. “Look, Dante and I had a little bet going on to see who would get the most sacks, so we ended up tying on them. So you know [when] there are two good ends on this field, you’re bound to have a good pass rush every now and then.”

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LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -– Team Nitro and Team Highlight took to the fields at Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports on Monday for Day 1 of practice for Friday’s Under Armour All-America Game (5 p.m. ET, ESPN). Two powerhouse programs in the Southeastern Conference look to battle it out for one of the standout running backs, and one of the top uncommitted offensive linemen is out with an injury.

Tide and Dawgs at top for RB Kamara

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By Jan. 5, Ohio State will have a much clearer picture of its linebacker situation in the recruiting class of 2013.

The Buckeyes are high on two ESPN 150 linebackers and both plan on announcing their commitments at all-star games just after the new year.

The first of which should come from Trey Johnson (Lawrenceville, Ga./Central Gwinnett) at the Under Armour All-America Game on Jan. 4, according to his coach Todd Wofford. Mike Mitchell (Plano, Texas/Prestonwood Christian) will likely follow suit the next day at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

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Sam Mustipher has another top-flight school to consider.

The offensive guard from Olney (Md.) Good Counsel picked up a scholarship from Florida on Tuesday, the junior said. The Watch List prospect now has 11 scholarship offers.

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DECATUR, Ga. -- Defensive end Bryson Allen-Williams (Ellenwood, Ga./Cedar Grove) got his first start at middle linebacker Friday night, and the ESPN Watch List member loved it. He finished with double-digit tackles, multiple quarterback hurries, an interception and a forced fumble that teammate Daletavius McGhee returned 74 yards for a touchdown.

“That was my first game playing linebacker and I think I did OK,” Allen-Williams said.

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LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. -- As ESPN 150 linebacker Trey Johnson (Lawrenceville, Ga./Central Gwinnett) was announced as the latest participant in the Under Armour All-American game, he knew that a tough decision lies ahead.

While he has been committed to Auburn for over a year, the four-star prospect wants to make sure he makes the right choice in a college.

“I just want to see if something sticks out,” Johnson said. “If I see a place that is different and I like it, then I will have to take a closer look and make sure I am going to the right place.”

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Apparently, Florida didn’t get the memo. Huge recruiting weekends are supposed to happen around Midnight Madness. Billy Donovan is hosting a prospect party a week early, and he’s invited five five-star recruits. Seriously, you have to be a bona fide stud to be in Gainesville this weekend.

Here’s the ranking of the players the Gators have on campus: No. 3 2013, No. 8 2013, No. 9 2013, No. 4 2014 and No. 1 2015. Donovan already owns commitments from point guard Kasey Hill and power forward Chris Walker. If he can just land one other player from this visit, it would be an historic recruiting weekend.

Elsewhere, there are talented underclassmen on a number of campuses. Pay close attention to Duke and Texas, as they host high-profile big man targets.

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