Georgia Bulldogs: USC Trojans
NORCROSS, Ga. -- ESPN 150 defensive end Lorenzo Carter seems to never stop grinning, even on the football field. His 100-megawatt smile calls to mind another affable defensive end, Michael Strahan, complete with the trademark gap. Even a shoving match with a teammate resulted in Carter falling down laughing about it later.
During the Norcross spring game on Friday, Carter and offensive tackle Horatio Walker tangled as they went at each other in the trenches. Walker held Carter’s jersey and was rewarded with a shot to the helmet.
“Well it was a run, and I don’t think Horatio respects me on the run yet, but it is all good,” Carter said between guffaws. “He tried to bully me around, but I was not having that so I had to hit him back. I was having fun out there.”
During the Norcross spring game on Friday, Carter and offensive tackle Horatio Walker tangled as they went at each other in the trenches. Walker held Carter’s jersey and was rewarded with a shot to the helmet.
“Well it was a run, and I don’t think Horatio respects me on the run yet, but it is all good,” Carter said between guffaws. “He tried to bully me around, but I was not having that so I had to hit him back. I was having fun out there.”
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Official Visit: Thomas’ trouble; AU heats up
May, 8, 2013
May 8
10:34
AM ET
By RecruitingNation | ESPN.com
NoleNation’s Corey Dowlar talks with Phil Murphy about the latest in Florida State 2013 signee Matthew Thomas' saga, and TideNation's Greg Ostendorf stops by to talk about the impending decisions of ESPN 150 recruits Tre’ Williams and Justin Thornton.
ESPN RecruitingNation's Corey Dowlar discusses linebacker Matthew Thomas' request to Florida State to be released from his scholarship.
#BlueChipBattles: ESPN 150 release edition
April, 19, 2013
Apr 19
12:49
PM ET
By RecruitingNation | ESPN.com
Student Sports, ESPN, ESPNSpeedy Noil, Adoree Jackson and Da'Shawn Hand are three of the most coveted recruits in the Class of 2014.
: RecruitingNation summoned its writers from around the country to outline the recruiting battles for the ESPN 150's top 10 prospects.
Plus, rank the battles in SportsNation.
#TopFBMixtapes: Athlete mixtapes are all the rage in this highlight-crazed era of sports. We reached out to our Twitter followers to find out which 2014 football stars had the best highlight reels on YouTube, then had our staff rank and comment on the top submissions.
Tom Luginbill writes
: After talking to many coaches across the country and hearing their frustrations, here are their five biggest complaints about homemade highlight videos.Watch List DE Carter attracted to success 
April, 16, 2013
Apr 16
10:30
AM ET
By
Radi Nabulsi | ESPN.com
BUFORD, Ga. -- ESPN Watch List defensive end Lorenzo Carter (Norcross, Ga./Norcross) credits his blindingly pink socks and highlighter yellow shoelaces with helping him win the defensive lineman MVP award at the Atlanta NFTC on Saturday.
The award came with a brilliant gold dog tag that complemented his outfit. But what really caught Carter’s eye, and fashion sense, was the big gold box that he was handed that contained his invitation to The Opening.
The award came with a brilliant gold dog tag that complemented his outfit. But what really caught Carter’s eye, and fashion sense, was the big gold box that he was handed that contained his invitation to The Opening.
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BUFORD, Ga. -- Before Saturday, Rashaan Evans (Auburn, Ala./Auburn) had flown a bit under the radar. The ESPN Watch List linebacker has close to 30 scholarship offers, but his name doesn’t come up in the national conversation about the other elite linebackers.
That might change after Saturday's Atlanta NFTC. Evans turned heads with his performance, and even he was surprised with how well he did.
That might change after Saturday's Atlanta NFTC. Evans turned heads with his performance, and even he was surprised with how well he did.
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BUFORD, Ga. -- ESPN Watch List Brandon Dawkins (Westlake Village, Calif./Oaks Christian) really wants to be in the Elite 11 quarterback competition. In fact, he and his family flew more than 2,000 miles to compete in Saturday's Atlanta regional.
The Elite 11 this year will be combined with The Opening so invitations are limited.
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ALLEN, Texas -- Some recruits have been all over the country and have taken visits to all their top schools. But ESPN Watch List defensive end Deondre Clark (Oklahoma City/Douglass) isn't one of them.
Clark hasn't ventured far from Oklahoma this year, and that won't change anytime soon. But he definitely will look at schools outside the state.
Clark hasn't ventured far from Oklahoma this year, and that won't change anytime soon. But he definitely will look at schools outside the state.
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ATHENS, Ga. -- Georgia defensive line coach Chris Wilson might have thought he was the victim of an April Fool’s joke. Shortly after hosting ESPN Watch List defensive tackle Dontavius Russell (Carrollton, Ga./Carrollton) and seeing him drive off, Wilson received a phone call from the 6-foot-3, 300-pound junior, who said he wanted to commit to Georgia.
It was no joke. Russell decided he wanted to play for the Bulldogs.
“I just left Georgia,” Russell said. “It was just like every other time I visited. But when we got in the car on our way back, I just thought about, ‘What if I committed?’ The thought of that was just so peaceful, and it felt like a place that I wanted to be, so I just went ahead and made a decision.”
With his decision made, Wilson called the coaches from the car.
- Dontavius Russell
- Defensive tackle
- 2014
- Committed: Georgia
| Pos Rk | Stars | Grade | Hometown |
| 20 | | 82 | Carrollton, GA |
“I just left Georgia,” Russell said. “It was just like every other time I visited. But when we got in the car on our way back, I just thought about, ‘What if I committed?’ The thought of that was just so peaceful, and it felt like a place that I wanted to be, so I just went ahead and made a decision.”
With his decision made, Wilson called the coaches from the car.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Two months ago, ESPN Watch List prospect Raekwon McMillan (Hinesville, Ga./Liberty County) felt pretty confident in his top two programs, but a recent trip to Tuscaloosa, Ala., has clouded the picture for one of the most coveted linebackers in the country.
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ESPN Watch List defensive end Keyon Brown of Wauchula, Fla., knows which play helped put him on the radar of a major college programs. The fourth game of his junior year involved his Hardee Wildcats in a close game against the Sebring Blue Streaks.
“We were playing Sebring, and they threw a screen to the wide receiver,” Brown said. “I had gone in to try to get the quarterback, but he had already thrown it, so I went after the receiver over by the sideline. He was trying to shake somebody, I guess, but he cut back inside, and I was headed out, so I hit him hard and he fumbled. It was a big hit. Everybody just went crazy and started yelling. We recovered it; the receiver was hurt on that play.”
Hustle like that earned Brown double digit scholarship offers, with the latest one coming from Florida State.
“We were playing Sebring, and they threw a screen to the wide receiver,” Brown said. “I had gone in to try to get the quarterback, but he had already thrown it, so I went after the receiver over by the sideline. He was trying to shake somebody, I guess, but he cut back inside, and I was headed out, so I hit him hard and he fumbled. It was a big hit. Everybody just went crazy and started yelling. We recovered it; the receiver was hurt on that play.”
Hustle like that earned Brown double digit scholarship offers, with the latest one coming from Florida State.
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ATHENS, Ga. -- Outside linebacker Jacob Pugh (Tallahassee, Fla./Godby) isn’t exactly sure of how many offers he has. The 6-foot-3, 220-pound junior has not counted them. Once he had received over 30 offers to the top programs in the nation, there really seemed no point in doing so. Pugh is more concerned about the five that he has on top.
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Allen-Williams visits Bama, talks top three
March, 11, 2013
Mar 11
8:16
AM ET
By Greg Ostendorf & Kipp Adams | ESPN.com
Bryson Allen-Williams (Ellenwood, Ga./Cedar Grove) started his weekend with a visit to the University of Alabama on Saturday. He finished it as the MVP of the linebackers at the VTO Sports Prep 100 camp in Atlanta on Sunday.
The visit itself marked his first time in Tuscaloosa since the ESPN Watch List linebacker earned a scholarship offer at the Crimson Tide’s first junior day.
“It went great,” Allen-Williams said. “I got to sit down and talk to Coach [Kirby] Smart and Coach [Nick] Saban. I personally spent a lot of one-on-one time with the coaches. That’s something I really enjoyed about it.
The visit itself marked his first time in Tuscaloosa since the ESPN Watch List linebacker earned a scholarship offer at the Crimson Tide’s first junior day.
“It went great,” Allen-Williams said. “I got to sit down and talk to Coach [Kirby] Smart and Coach [Nick] Saban. I personally spent a lot of one-on-one time with the coaches. That’s something I really enjoyed about it.
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Super sophomore Patrick likes latest offer
March, 7, 2013
Mar 7
9:39
AM ET
By
Radi Nabulsi | ESPN.com
ATHENS, Ga. -- Considering that running back Jacques Patrick (Orlando, Fla./Timber Creek) is only in his second year of high school but already has 25 scholarship offers, the case can be made that Patrick is one of the most coveted prospects in the Class of 2015.
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ATHENS, Ga. -- ESPN Watch List wide receiver Demarre Kitt (Tyrone, Ga./Sandy Creek) recently cut his mammoth offer list down to a top-15 group of schools that he will consider.
“It got crazy at one point with almost everybody that offered me trying to talk to me,” Kitt said. “So I had to cut my list down to 15 schools. After spring practice I will cut it down to eight or 10. At the end of summer I will do five and then go from there.”
“It got crazy at one point with almost everybody that offered me trying to talk to me,” Kitt said. “So I had to cut my list down to 15 schools. After spring practice I will cut it down to eight or 10. At the end of summer I will do five and then go from there.”
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ABOUT THIS BLOG
David Ching
David Ching came to ESPN.com in 2011 after six years covering UGA for the Columbus (Ga.) Ledger-Enquirer and Athens (Ga.) Banner-Herald. He lives in Athens. Email him at davidchingespn@gmail.com.
Radi Nabulsi
Radi Nabulsi joined ESPN.com in 2011 after covering the University of Georgia for Rivals.com for four years and for the UGA Athletic Association since 1993. Nabulsi is a graduate of the University of Georgia's Grady College of Journalism and lives in Athens. He can be reached at radinabulsiespn@gmail.com.
Kipp Adams
Kipp Adams joined ESPN.com in 2011 after covering University of Georgia football and basketball recruiting for five years at Rivals.com. He lives in Sandy Springs, Ga., and enjoys spending time with his two sons. He can be reached at kippadamsespn@gmail.com.