2011 DE Drew picks up fifth offer
One look at his impressive list of early offers, and it's easy to tell why Class of 2011 defensive end Ray Drew (Thomasville, Ga./Thomas County Central) could end up being one of the most heavily recruited defensive linemen in the Southeast during the next recruiting cycle. Drew picked up his fifth scholarship offer this week when Georgia Tech joined Florida, Florida State, Georgia and Alabama.
The 6-foot-4, 240-pounder was happy to receive an offer from the Yellow Jackets.
"They have the major that I want in college [engineering] and a good program for it," Drew said. "That's one of the schools I was looking at from the start."
Drew also has been garnering attention from a number of other programs. UCLA is the most recent newcomer to show interest. Plus, the defensive end plans to make the short drive to Tallahassee on Labor Day to watch the Seminoles take on Miami.
"I've seen the locker room, I've seen the weight room," Drew said. "I am just going to the game so I will have a chance to meet the coaches again and see how things are on a game day."
First things first, though. Drew and his Thomas County Central teammates have a game against crosstown rival Thomasville on Friday night.
"There has been a lot of talk about that game in this town," Drew said.
The leaderboard
Trojans', Gators' tug-of-war
Florida and Southern California continue to be the top two contenders for five-star defensive end Ronald Powell (Moreno Valley, Calif./Rancho Verde). He has visited Gainesville twice on his own dime, but the Trojans list him as the top recruit on their board. Common sense would say it'll be awfully difficult for the Gators to step into the Golden State and pull out a prospect whom USC wants that badly, but this may be one of those exceptions to the rule.
Dantonio successful out of state
With eight of its 12 commits from Michigan, including Under Armour All-American defensive end William Gholston (Detroit/Southeastern), Michigan State is putting together a rock-solid class that will help coach Mark Dantonio continue to build the program in the years to come. The Spartans also have three prospects committed from Ohio, where Dantonio and his staff have deep ties. Dantonio is a Buckeye State native and a former defensive coordinator at Ohio State and head coach at Cincinnati. As a result, look for the Spartans to continue to successfully recruit in both of these Midwestern talent pockets in the near future.
The hot sell
Oklahoma State Cowboys
With seven commits in the past 12 days, including Under Armour All-American linebacker Shaun Lewis (Missouri City, Texas/Hightower), Mike Gundy and the Cowboys have been on quite a roll of late.
"It was just the campus and the coaches and the academics," Lewis said. "It made it the right fit for me."
After Lewis jumped in on Aug. 12, longtime Cowboys lean defensive tackle Diamonte Wheeler (Arlington, Texas/Bowie) also pulled the trigger. On Aug. 19, defensive tackle Calvin Barnett (Tulsa, Okla./Booker T. Washington) and defensive back Devin Hedgepeth (Derby, Kan.) committed. The next day, safety Tommie Saunders (San Antonio/Madison) committed, while in-state guard Chris Littlehead (Tahlequah, Okla./Sequoyah) committed on Sunday and defensive end Joseph Okafor (Houston/Bellaire) committed Monday.
Coast-to-coast notes
Another Jones for Bama
Four-star tight end Harrison Jones (Memphis, Tenn./Evangelical Christian) followed his brother (current offensive lineman Barrett Jones) and father (former Tide basketball player Rex Jones) to Alabama. The 6-4, 220-pounder picked the Tide over North Carolina.
"[Alabama coach Nick Saban] said it is an exciting time to join the program and I will have some great years at Alabama," Jones said. "I will work very hard to make him glad he has given me this incredible opportunity."
Jones is the nation's eighth-ranked tight end prospect.
No Gators for Hampton
Take cornerback Victor Hampton off Florida's commit list. The three-star prospect, who is now at Darlington High School in Darlington, S.C., after leaving Independence High School in Charlotte, N.C., will be heading elsewhere after the Gators dropped him.
Both Tennessee and South Carolina have shown interest, and those two schools are expected to get in the mix for the 5-10, 167-pounder, provided he is eligible to play in South Carolina this season after his transfer.
Hampton is the nation's No. 23-ranked cornerback prospect.
More offers coming?
Defensive back/athlete Reggie Davis (San Ramon, Calif./California) is still sitting on one scholarship offer (Utah), but he says he took some summer school courses to improve his academic standing and expects interest from more college programs as soon as they receive his updated transcripts.
Fresno State, Washington, California, Colorado State, Washington State and others have shown interest in the 6-1, 183-pounder.
For now, though, he's content with the offer from the Utes.
"They would be my favorite right now," Davis said. "I have been out there twice, once for junior day and once for summer camp. I talk to their coaches all the time and am real comfortable there."
Davis has been battling turf toe for most of the summer but is back at full speed.
Short stuff
Class of 2011 running back Aaron Green (San Antonio/Madison) said earlier this week he has not made any definitive plans to attend a game at any school in the fall but would like to. Expect Texas, at the very least, to get an unofficial visit. ... Class of 2011 offensive lineman Brandon Shell (Goose Creek, S.C.) -- the nephew of former Oakland Raiders head coach Art Shell -- has an early top four of Florida, Georgia, Clemson and South Carolina, in no order.
JC Shurburtt covers recruiting for ESPN.com. He can be reached at jcsespn@aol.com.
