ESPN Recruiting Nation Football

ATHENS, Ga. -- With national signing day exactly two weeks from today, DawgNation looks ahead to what Georgia has coming and who the Bulldogs still need, and why.

Team needs: Georgia has a number of holes to fill, considering the defense is losing 10 players who started last season. All-American junior Jarvis Jones and two-year leading tackler Alec Ogletree have declared for the NFL draft, which means the incoming prospects will have to be ready to play early.

Also, consider that Georgia only signed one player for the secondary, one wide receiver and not one inside linebacker in the class of 2012. Those positions are a priority. The secondary is in special need of attention as both starting safeties and two starting cornerbacks were seniors this past season. The Bulldogs have decent depth at the outside linebacker spots but the SEC championship game proved Georgia needs help on the defensive line. Junior nose Kwame Geathers has also opted to leave early for the NFL, so Georgia needs to sign some quality prospects to fill in the defensive trench.

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Sunday, ESPN 150 cornerback Shaq Wiggins (Tyrone, Ga./Sandy Creek) returned from an official visit to South Carolina. Later that evening he received a call from Mark Richt. The Georgia head coach asked if he should be worried about Wiggins changing his commitment from Georgia to the Gamecocks. Wiggins told Richt no, but that he still planned to take visits to Florida and Texas A&M.

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ESPN 150 cornerback Shaq Wiggins (Tyrone, Ga./Sandy Creek) spent Sunday morning eating breakfast with South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier, then ended that night on the phone with Georgia coach Mark Richt.

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ESPN 150 cornerback Shaq Wiggins (Tyrone, Ga./Sandy Creek) was in Columbia, S.C., to take a closer look at South Carolina during his official visit. Wiggins said during practice for the Under Armour All-America game last week that the Gamecocks had the best chance at getting him to switch his commitment from the University of Georgia.

“I am still committed to Georgia, but I just need to take these last few visits and I will have a better idea of what my final decision will be,” Wiggins said.

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LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- ESPN 150 cornerback Shaq Wiggins (Tyrone, Ga./Sandy Creek) has been committed to the University of Georgia for more than 10 months, but when asked this week at Under Armour All-America Game practice about his future, Wiggins did not sound so certain about his plans.

“I am still committed to UGA, but there is a very good chance that if I don’t go to Georgia, that I go to South Carolina,” Wiggins said. “After that it is Ole Miss, then Florida, then Texas A&M.”

The Gamecocks have emerged as a true threat to steal Wiggins, the No. 5 cornerback prospect in the country, from the Bulldogs.

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LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- There were several standouts at Tuesday's Day 2 practice for the Under Armour All-America Game (5 p.m. ET Friday, ESPN). Two players -- one for Team Nitro, the other for Team Highlight -- said they are closing in on their college decisions and will make their announcements Friday. Meanwhile, the nation's No. 1 player left the field at Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports with an injury.

Folston closing in on decision

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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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ATHENS, Ga. -- As the dead period in college football approached, the Georgia coaching staff tried to make the most of this past weekend.

Assistant head coach and recruiting coordinator Rodney Garner and offensive line coach Will Friend were dispatched to the Georgia Dome to see and be seen by the Bulldogs’ targets playing in the Georgia state championship games.

Between them they witnessed cornerback commit Shaq Wiggins (Tyrone, Ga./Sandy Creek), offensive line commit Josh Cardiello (Buford, Ga./Buford), running back target Alvin Kamara (Norcross, Ga./Norcross), linebacker target Korie Rogers (Buford, Ga./Buford), athlete target Myles Autry (Norcross, Ga./Norcross) and wide receiver target Demarre Kitt (Tyrone, Ga./Sandy Creek) win state titles. They also saw defensive tackle priority Montravius Adams and his Dooly County (Ga.) High School team come up short in their championship game.

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ATHENS, Ga. -- The Georgia coaching staff was on the road Friday, as usual, checking in on commits and targets alike. In what had to the most fortuitous turn of events of the day, tight ends coach John Lilly and inside linebackers coach Kirk Olivadotti just happened to be stopping by Auburn (Ala.) High School right after the nation’s No. 1 inside linebacker, Reuben Foster, decommitted from Auburn University. Both coaches met with Foster, who reopened his recruitment, citing reports that his mentor Trooper Taylor had been let go at Auburn.

Later that night, another coach would also prove lucky as defensive line coach Rodney Garner was on hand to congratulate Montravius Adams (Vienna, Ga./Dooly County) after the top-ranked defensive tackle won the chance to play for the Georgia Class A championship.

Offensive coordinator Mike Bobo and running backs coach Bryan McClendon were on hand to see the Bulldogs’ top tailback target, Alvin Kamara (Norcross, Ga./Norcross), win his semifinal game as well. Alabama’s Kirby Smart was also there, and the battle for Kamara is still neck and neck.

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TYRONE, Ga. -- Much of the recent reporting from Sandy Creek (Ga.) High School has referenced skill players like cornerback Shaq Wiggins, quarterback Cole Garvin and wide receiver Demarre Kitt. But just as in college and the NFL, the success the Patriots have seen starts on the lines. Which for Sandy Creek means it starts with offensive tackle Alan Knott.

Knott is committed to South Carolina, having picked the Gamecocks over Miami, Virginia Tech and North Carolina, among others. In his last playoff game against a stingy Burke County (Ga.) High School defense, his Patriots were in an unfamiliar position: trailing after the third quarter.

“We were down and it was kind of nerve-racking right there for a little bit but we persevered through it,” Knott said. “We got Eric Swinney running that football and we made some adjustments on the line.”

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TYRONE, Ga. -- With three Georgia coaches watching on the sideline on Friday night, defensive tackle Chris Williams (Tyrone, Ga./Sandy Creek) picked an inopportune time to do his first Willie Beamen impression. Like the quarterback from “Any Given Sunday”, Williams was sick to his stomach on the field, but shook it off and kept playing.

“We fought,” Williams said. “I was throwing up a lot tonight. I don’t know why. I think I ate too much of the pregame meal. We had chicken biscuits and potatoes. I have never had that happen before. I guess it was because I ate three chicken biscuits. Eat big, play big.”

Teammate and Georgia commit Shaq Wiggins joked that Williams was eating biscuits “like Starbursts.”

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ATHENS, Ga. -- After coming within 5 yards of playing for a national championship on Saturday, the Georgia Bulldogs really needed some good news on Sunday. To make matters worse, one of their top targets, wide receiver Ja’Quay Williams chose Texas A&M over Georgia on Sunday night. Missing out on a BCS bowl game did not help the mood in Athens, either.

Just when it seemed the Bulldogs could not catch a break on the field or on the recruiting trail, coach Mark Richt received a phone call. One of Georgia’s top targets, ESPN 150 athlete Tramel Terry (Goose Creek, S.C./Goose Creek) was on the line. Terry had gone quiet after a visit to Clemson, deciding to mull over how he would fit with the in-state Tigers. He had already decommitted from Georgia once and the pressure to remain in South Carolina weighed on him. Terry was torn between the two programs. But during the call to Richt, Terry revealed he had made a decision.

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Wide receiver Ja'Quay Williams (Tyrone, Ga./Fork Union Military Academy) might have decommitted from Auburn last week, but the 6-foot-3, 195-pound prospect appears to still have plans to play in the SEC. After taking official visits to Texas A&M and Georgia the last two weekends, Williams will check out South Carolina this weekend, with a decision coming immediately following his trip.

"I'm going on an official to South Carolina now and committing Sunday," Williams said.

South Carolina has come on late for Williams, beating out Mississippi State, Miami and Michigan for the chance to get the talented wideout on campus. A four-star receiver out of Tyrone (Ga.) Sandy Creek, Williams is close friends with ESPN 150 cornerback Shaq Wiggins (Tyrone, Ga./Sandy Creek), another prospect the Gamecocks are making a move to get. The two are contemplating signing with the same program.

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