All American: GT Morgan & Thomas, UGA Butler

STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

NEW YORK - Alabama will bring a lineup powered by All-Americans into the BCS national championship game. Ingram was a unanimous first-team selection, as was linebacker Rolando McClain. Defensive tackle Terrence Cody was selected for the second consecutive season. Cornerback Javier Arenas, guard Michael Johnson and kicker Leigh Tiffin were also first-teamers.The top-ranked Crimson Tide had six players, including Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram, voted to The Associated Press All-America team released Tuesday - more than any other school.

Stanford running back Toby Gerhart, the Heisman runner-up, and Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, who finished fourth in Heisman voting, were also unanimous first-team All-America selections.

Texas quarterback Colt McCoy was the All-American quarterback, selected to the first team by a panel of 14 AP college football poll voters. Florida quarterback Tim Tebow was a second-team selection. Boise State's Kellen Moore was the third-team quarterback.

McCoy finished third in the Heisman voting last weekend and was a second-team All-American last year. The senior was joined by his longtime pal and favorite receiver, Jordan Shipley, on the first team. Texas safety Earl Thomas gave the Longhorns three players on the first team, second only to Alabama.

The Crimson Tide and Longhorns play in the BCS national championship game at the Rose Bowl on Jan. 7.

Georgia Tech, which will play Iowa in the Orange Bowl, placed defensive end Derrick Morgan on the first team and receiver Demaryius Thomas on the third team. Drew Butler was the first-team punter representing Georgia, which will meet Texas A&M in the Independence Bowl.

FIRST TEAM

OFFENSE

Quarterback — Colt McCoy, senior, 6-foot-2, 210 pounds, Texas.

Running backs — Toby Gerhart, senior, 6-1, 235, Stanford; Mark Ingram, sophomore, 5-10, 212, Alabama.

Tackles — Russell Okung, senior, 6-5, 301, Oklahoma State; Trent Williams, senior, 6-5, 318, Oklahoma.

Guards — Michael Johnson, senior, 6-6, 305, Alabama; Mike Iupati, senior, 6-6, 330, Idaho.

Center — J.D. Walton, senior, 6-3, 305, Baylor.

Tight end — Aaron Hernandez, junior, 6-2, 250, Florida.

Wide receivers — Golden Tate, junior, 5-11, 195, Notre Dame; Jordan Shipley, senior, 6-0, 190, Texas.

All-purpose player — C.J. Spiller, senior, 5-11, 195, Clemson.

Kicker — Leigh Tiffin, senior, 6-2, 212, Alabama.

DEFENSE

Ends — Jerry Hughes, senior, 6-3, 257, TCU; Derrick Morgan, junior, 6-4, 272, Georgia Tech.

Tackles — Ndamukong Suh, senior, 6-4, 300, Nebraska; Terrence Cody, senior, 6-5, 365, Alabama.

Linebackers — Rolando McClain, junior, 6-4, 258, Alabama; Greg Jones, junior, 6-1, 228, Michigan State; Eric Norwood, senior, 6-1, 252, South Carolina.

Cornerbacks — Joe Haden, junior, 5-11, 190, Florida; Javier Arenas, senior, 5-9, 198, Alabama.

Safeties — Eric Berry, junior, 5-11, 203, Tennessee; Earl Thomas, sophomore, 5-10, 197, Texas.

Punter — Drew Butler, sophomore, 6-2, 201, Georgia.

———

SECOND TEAM

OFFENSE

Quarterback — Tim Tebow, senior, Florida.

Running backs — Ryan Mathews, junior, Fresno State; Dion Lewis, freshman, Pittsburgh.

Tackles — Bryan Bulaga, junior, Iowa; Chris Marinelli, senior, Stanford.

Guards — Rodney Hudson, junior, Florida State; Mike Pouncey, junior, Florida.

Center — Maurkice Pouncey, junior, Florida.

Tight end — Dennis Pitta, senior, BYU.

Wide receivers — Mardy Gilyard, senior, Cincinnati; Danario Alexander, senior, Missouri.

All-purpose player — James Rodgers, junior, Oregon State.

Kicker — Kai Forbath, junior, UCLA.

DEFENSE

Ends — Von Miller, junior, Texas A&M; Brandon Graham, senior, Michigan.

Tackles — Gerald McCoy, junior, Oklahoma; Jared Odrick, senior, Penn State.

Linebackers — Pat Angerer, senior, Iowa; Brandon Spikes, senior, Florida; Sean Weatherspoon, senior, Missouri.

Cornerbacks — Perrish Cox, senior, Oklahoma State; Kyle Wilson, senior, Boise State.

Safeties — Taylor Mays, senior, Southern California; Rahim Moore, sophomore, UCLA.

Punter — Zoltan Mesko, senior, Michigan.

———

THIRD TEAM

OFFENSE

Quarterback — Kellen Moore, sophomore, Boise State

Running backs — LaMichael James, redshirt freshman, Oregon; Jacquizz Rodgers, sophomore, Oregon State.

Tackles — Dennis Landolt, senior, Penn State; Ciron Black, senior, LSU.

Guards — Brandon Carter, senior, Texas Tech; Jeff Byers, senior, Southern California.

Center — Chris Hall, senior, Texas.

Tight end — Dorin Dickerson, senior, Pittsburgh.

Wide receivers — Freddie Barnes, senior, Bowling Green; Demaryius Thomas, junior, Georgia Tech.

All-purpose player — Dexter McCluster, senior, Mississippi.

Kicker — Hunter Lawrence, senior, Texas.

DEFENSE

Ends — Jeremy Beal, junior, Oklahoma; Brandon Sharpe, senior, Texas Tech.

Tackles — Brian Price, junior, UCLA; Dan Williams, senior, Tennessee.

Linebackers — Sergio Kindle, senior, Texas; Cody Grimm, senior, Virginia Tech; Navorro Bowman, junior, Penn State.

Cornerbacks — Brandon Harris, sophomore, Miami; Alterraun Verner, senior, UCLA.

Safeties — Tyler Sash, sophomore, Iowa; Mark Barron, sophomore, Alabama.

Punter — Matt Reagan, senior, Memphis.

Clemson commit Robinson may flip if Tech offers

by Chip Towers

If Georgia Tech had a scholarship to offer, Darius Robinson might flip on Clemson and commit to the Yellow Jackets today.

That wasn’t his words exactly but it certainly was the inference of this dynamic defensive back from Atlanta’s Westlake High.

“It’s really interesting because Georgia Tech is one of my favorite schools and has been a long time,” said Robinson, who committed to the Tigers on July 30. “I have a lot of friends there and my family has always liked Tech and would probably like the idea of me staying close to home for college. I’m committed to Clemson but I’d probably have to open things up if Tech offered.”

The Jackets are clearly thinking about it. Robinson said he has remained in communication with Tech cornerbacks coach Charles Kelly and wide receivers coach Buzz Preston and that Kelly recently called to ask him if he was still interested.

Robinson responded with a resounding “yes.”

Robinson said the Jackets told him this summer they did not have a scholarship to offer him. As it is, the Yellow Jackets actually already have commitments for all 13 scholarship slots they will have open for next fall with two other firm offers already extended (DE Kareem Martin of Roanoke Rapids, N.C., and LB Justin Parker of Beaufort, S.C.).

Unless, that is, some additional spots come open. Several Tech juniors could opt to enter the NFL draft.

“[Georgia Tech] said depending on how many of those guys leave this year I might get an offer,” Robinson said.

That said, the Tigers aren’t going to walk away quietly. Clemson coaches came by Westlake High on Wednesday. Auburn, Michigan, South Carolina and Tennessee have dropped in, too.

Too bad for Tech it doesn’t have a full boat of 25 scholarships to offer this season. There are a number of good players that would like to sign on with the ACC champions. On Thursday, assistant coach Mike Sewak was at Camden County High School and met with running back Ean Days.

East Cobb QB gets visit from Bobo

Lassiter High School quarterback, Hutson Mason, received a visit from UGA offensive coordinator Mike Bobo and a scholarship was reportedly offered. Hutson has shattered Georgia State passing records this season and was not on BCS conference radars coming into the season.

Central Michigan and UAB had been the QBs leading candidates until now. Hutson was said to be very excited by the visits.

Quayshawn Nealy signs after attending ACC Championship Game

AJC by Chip Towers

It wasn’t necessarily the clinching point for Quayshawn Nealy, but it surely didn’t hurt that he was in Raymond James Stadium in Tampa in person to witness the Yellow Jackets’ historic win over Clemson in the ACC Championship Game this past weekend.

On Tuesday, the 6-foot, 215-pound linebacker committed to the Yellow Jackets.

“It was a great game,” Nealy said. “I really enjoyed that.”

Nealy, a three-star prospect according to both Rivals.com and Scout.com, said he chose Tech over Ole Miss and USF (South Florida). He also had scholarship offers from Georgia, Michigan, Kansas, Louisville, Purdue and Tulane.

“Well, [Georgia Tech] came into the ballgame late but, at first, they weren’t recruiting linebackers that hard,” Nealy said. “But when they did jump on the bandwagon they immediately jumped to the top of my list. I didn’t really know that much about them other than I had a cousin that graduated from there. I have relatives in Georgia, so they interested me.”

Nealy was asked what was the main reason he chose the Jackets over his other options. “I would say it would have to be the academics and the coaching,” he said. “Coach B.J. (Brian Jean-Marie) and me were able to really relate. He kept it real. And he talked about how I might be able to have early playing time, depending on how I do and how everybody else does once I get there.”

Nealy knows a little about winning, too. His undefeated Lakeland High team (12-0) plays Plant High in the Florida Class AAAAA semifinals on Friday. In the quarterfinals last week, Nealy blocked a punt and intercepted Georgia commitment Marc Deas and returned it 36 yards for a touchdown to clinch a 30-14 win over Osceola.

Nealy’s commitment gives the Yellow Jackets 13 pledges for the Class of 2010. Ten of those players are slated to play on the defensive side of the ball. He becomes their first commitment from outside the state of Georgia.

There is the possibility Tech could sign two or three more players, especially if any its many talented juniors opts to test the draft. Running back Jonathan Dwyer, defensive end Derrick Morgan, wide receiver Demaryius Thomas and quarterback Josh Nesbitt are all juniors that have caught the notice of NFL scouts.

The Yellow Jackets currently have offers extended to defensive end Kareem Martin of Roanoke Rapids, N.C., and inside linebacker Justin Parker of Beaufort, S.C.

For your edification, I give you . . .

GEORGIA TECH’s CLASS OF 2010

1. OG Catlin Alford, Adairsville HS, Adairsville, GA
2. CB Ryan Ayers, South Paulding HS, Douglasville, GA
3. OT Morgan Bailey, Loganville HS, Loganville, GA
4. CB B.J. Bostic, Jefferson County HS, Louisville, GA
5. S Synjyn Days, Hillgrove HS, Powder Springs, GA
6. DT Shawn Green, Grayson HS, Lawrenceville, GA
7. S Fred Holton, Thomasville HS, Thomasville, GA
8. S Isaiah Johnson, Sandy Creek HS, Tyrone, GA
9. DT Denzel McCoy, Northview HS, Duluth, GA
10. LB Quayshawn Nealy, Lakeland HS, Lakeland, FL
11. RB Charles Perkins, Collins Hill HS, Suwanee, GA
12. S Jake Skole, Blessed Trinity HS, Roswell, GA
13. DE Anthony Williams, Union Grove HS, McDonough, GA

Bowl Tickets on sale - AJC.com

The football programs at Georgia Tech, Georgia and Georgia State share one mindset today: Sell.

John Spink, jspink@ajc.com GSU Assistant Ticket Manager Racquel Whyte (left) puts a GSU sticker on Preston Stancil (right), who was first in line to order Georgia State season football season tickets Dec. 7, 2009, for the inaugural 2010 season.

Georgia Tech and Georgia began hawking tickets to their respective bowl games, while Georgia State started offering season tickets for its inaugural 2010 season.

Fresh off a pulsating ACC title game win over Clemson, Georgia Tech has an allotmentof 17,500 tickets to sell for the Jan. 5 Orange Bowl in Miami.

"Being the 2009 ACC champion, playing in a BCS bowl, I think it sells itself," said athletic director Dan Radakovich, who expects Tech to sell its entire allotment.

The $125 tickets are available on Tech's website. Last year, Tech sold its allotment of 17,500 tickets to the Chick-fil-A Bowl in less than four business days.

Tech (11-2) will face Iowa (10-2) in a matchup featuring the ACC and Big 10 coaches of the year.

The Hawkeyes faithful travel extremely well. When Iowa played in the Orange Bowl following the 2002 season, about 35,000 Iowa fans made the trip for a blowout loss to USC. This year, they've already sold 14,000 tickets, or 80 percent of Iowa's allotment, thanks to a presale to season-ticket holders.

"We'll certainly use our minimum of 17,500, and we'll work with the Orange Bowl to get however many more we need," Iowa athletic director Gary Barta said.

Georgia could face a tougher challenge selling its allotment of 12,000 tickets to the Dec. 28 Independence Bowl in Shreveport, La. The 7-5 Bulldogs will face 6-6 Texas A&M in a 4 p.m. kickoff.

"We'll push tickets as we always do at the University of Georgia," athletic director Damon Evans said. "Winning that last game (30-24 over Georgia Tech), we expect our fans to have some excitement and travel well. And their support is crucial to our overall success. We are going to sell as many tickets as we possibly can."

Tickets cost $30 or $35 and are available on UGA's Website.

UGA and Tech are offering travel packages as well.

Dawgs probably independence bound

CBS
After the victory over the yellow jackets, where do the jackets head.

Earlier today, I was feeling pretty good about the Georgia Bulldogs' prospects for renewing their rivalry with the Clemson Tigers in the Georgia Dome, but, as the ensuing comment thread attests, the Tennessee Volunteers are likely to receive the Chick-fil-A Bowl bid because of the line of toppling dominoes set into motion by the Outback Bowl when it opted for the Auburn Tigers.
The Outback Bowl's selection is utterly indefensible, as Auburn is the weakest of the SEC's six 7-5 teams. As usual, C&F provides context and an explanation over at Team Speed Kills, where he sensibly observes:
While this is a surprise to rational people, it really shouldn't be given the Outback Bowl's history of bizarre bowl choice. Last year, the game selected 7-5 South Carolina pretty much out of necessity, though it could have gotten a better LSU team instead. The Gamecocks got waxed playing an Iowa team that they probably shouldn't have been facing.
That wasn't the first time the Outback Bowl officials made an asinine selection, either. Everyone in Bulldog Nation recalls the 1998 Kentucky Wildcats, who finished 7-4 overall and 4-4 in conference play. The 'Cats had lost in Lexington to the 'Dawgs, who finished 8-3 overall and 6-2 in SEC contests, yet Georgia ended up playing in what was then still the Peach Bowl on New Year's Eve while Kentucky spent New Year's Day in Tampa losing to the Penn St. Nittany Lions by a double-digit margin.
Why did the Outback Bowl do such a stupid thing? Probably because the co-founder of Outback Steakhouse was a University of Kentucky alumnus. I was so incensed by the snub at the time that I refused to eat at an Outback Steakhouse for the next year, and I've been back very few times since. The more rational part of my brain has decided since then that the SEC should simply scrap the Outback Bowl as one of its tie-ins.
Where does that leave us, then? Apparently, bound for the Independence Bowl, possibly to face the Texas A&M Aggies and probably to confuse Brian Cook. As C&F shrewdly noted in his headline, the Outback Bowl loves Auburn and hates American values. (I know, that's redundant. Unlike those Aussies at the Outback Bowl, I love America, and, therefore, I hate Auburn.) Tennessee fans understandably are annoyed at being passed over by the Outback Bowl and I'm nonplussed at the thought of the Bulldogs spending the holidays in Shreveport.
Still, this can be a learning experience. Hopefully, Mark Richt can use the fact that his team got an even crappier bowl game than it deserved (which is saying something) as motivation: "You don't want to go to the Independence Bowl? Well, tough, 'cause the Independence Bowl is what 7-5 gets you. If you don't want to come back here, wrap up when you tackle! If you don't want to come back here, stop somebody on third and long! If you don't want to come back here, pay your parking tickets on time and quit getting fifteen-yard penalties! If you don't want to come back here, stop throwing interceptions and don't get caught emerging from an alley! The next time you go into the locker room with a two-touchdown lead on Kentucky at home, I'm going to ask you, 'Are you going to stay focused are or you going to go back to the Independence Bowl?' You know the difference between Shreveport and New Orleans? Practice and discipline!" This is a golden opportunity for Righteously Indignant Richt to do what needs to be done.
There are two other potential upsides to playing an early bowl game in Louisiana, as well. First of all, Louisiana-Monroe just fired its head coach, so maybe they'd be interested in interviewing Willie Martinez while he was in the Pelican State. (Please?)
Also, if Georgia does face the Aggies, at least we know we wouldn't trot out any new-fangled uniforms; it was against Texas A&M in the first home game of the 1980 season that the Bulldogs wore for the first time what we now think of as their traditional togs: Wally Butts-era silver britches, Vince Dooley-designed red helmets with the oval "G," and the red jerseys they had always worn. The classics never die.
By the way, the Bulldogs won that game 42-0. I'm just saying.

What could have been?

Recruiting college sports is a funny thing. It's a quirky thing. It's a science, but possibly the most inexact one.

Coaches not only have to evaluate a player's physical tools or mental capacity, but also project their development, their potential upside, future value, and role within a college program.

Then they have to take all that, develop some sort of adequate cost-benefit rubric, and make decisions on what players to pursue, and how hard to pursue them. They do all of this, of course, with a rulebook thicker than a dictionary weighing them down and recruiting services offering fans an insider's glance into their work.

Mark Richt has long been a guy that's excelled in recruiting.

He goes toe-to-toe with every program in the nation, and has landed himself big-time names (Matthew Stafford, for example) and big-time classes (his overall hauls are rarely worse than top-15 material). Wisdom says—and wisdom is, to a certain extent anyway, right—that his team is stocked with talent.

But this Saturday in Atlanta, Richt could get a rudimentary yet insightful view of what might have been, just by looking across the sideline.

Demaryius Thomas. Morgan Burnett. Josh Nesbitt. Jonathan Dwyer.

All recruited by both Georgia and Georgia Tech, all wearing the white and gold when they run out of the tunnel on Saturday. Not by coincidence, the last three names on that short but talented list were all members of the 2007 class.

That 20-player haul, far and away Chan Gailey's finest whilst on the Flats, was good enough to rank 18th in the nation, according to Rivals.com. While nine spots lower than Georgia, the Yellow Jackets still celebrated the ranking, which was better than they were used to at the time.

Georgia's class that year ranked ninth, headlined by players like offensive lineman Justin Anderson, wide receiver Israel Troupe, quarterback Logan Gray, and running back Caleb King, considered by some the best overall prospect in the state of Georgia.

Compare those groups, three years later.

Gray, who was ranked just behind Nesbitt at quarterback nationally, has been unable to unseat starter Joe Cox this season, even when the latter has struggled.

Israel Troupe is listed as the Bulldogs' backup at one receiver position, with all-star starter A.J. Green out of the lineup.

Caleb King, once a Georgia high school darling (covered him for a time), has split carries with freshman Washaun Ealey, and has never locked down a starting place.

King might be the most relevant subject for our discussion. Now a redshirt sophomore, the Norcross, GA, native was one of the hottest commodities in Georgia high school football his senior season.

His blend of size, speed, and power, it was believed, would make him a great SEC back one day. For that, and as well, I'm sure, as several other reasons, Georgia went after King hard, and they got their man.

Three years later, King has 615 career rushing yards.

Dwyer went to Georgia Tech, and three years later, he's the top running back on most 2010 NFL Draft big boards.

The point is this: Talent is nothing if it's not developed properly, the same way you can't grow most plants in a lightless room, even if you water them every day.

Now, this one case study doesn't deny a body of work that suggests that Mark Richt certainly knows how to recruit. Just think of the number of players he's sent to the NFL. And his overall success at Georgia certainly suggests he knows what he's doing once he gets those guys, at least some of them.

But how often, in Richt's tenure at Georgia, has a player left without a ready-made replacement behind him? This isn't the first time the Bulldogs had to use tailback by committee, nor is it the first time the surprising lack of continuity at quarterback produced poorer-than-expected on-field results.

That also doesn't mean Richt would have automatically gotten those four guys had he not gotten other ones. In some cases—perhaps in all of them, I cannot say empirically, one way or the other—the player chose Georgia Tech over Georgia, as was the case with Thomas.

But even then, Thomas had already given a verbal pledge to Georgia Tech when Richt and Co. came in, essentially rendering Georgia's effort useless. And obviously, Georgia has A.J. Green, but right now he's injured, and might not play.

Whatever the reason, each of these players chose Georgia Tech over Georgia.

And on Saturday night, Mark Richt will look across the sideline and see a team that has a superstar running back, a top-flight wide receiver, a playmaker in its secondary, and a quarterback who is his team's unquestioned leader and obvious engine.

Richt would be hard-pressed to convince anyone that he wouldn't take any of that over his current options.