Memphis Area 2012-2013 Recruiting Class

[kwc]

Last year Ridgeway had four (4) players to sign LOI's to play in the SEC. Two (2) to Arkansas, one (1) to Ole Miss, and another to Georgia. Memphis East had two (2) to sign LOI's to play in the SEC. One (1) to Vandy and the other to Miss. State. Whitehaven had eleven to sign LOI's to play in college with three of those being on the D-1 level. Two (2) to the University of Memphis and one (1) to Southern Miss. Ridgeway and East also had others to sign non D-1 LOI's as well. Those are just a few ... there were more.

 

It appears that the Class of 2013 is heating up as well. The Commercial Appeal has hired a free lance reporter who will concentrate on Memphis recruiting. His name is John Martin. He has already written some articles concerning the 2013 class. I'm going to try and keep up in this thread. I'll start with these articles below and add as the year progresses.

 

 

Recruiting Insider: Whitehaven duo near decisions, Mark Dodson, Gerald Perry to choose on May 14

 

Recruiting Insider: Whitehaven's Darrius Sims seeks top team, good academics, Fairley lineman, DE Demaris Peppers, picks up offers, East defensive tackle, Herman Moore, likes Tide

Edited April 19, 2012 by kwc

[kwc]

Marquel Combs isn't anybody that I remember, but it reads as a good story. Ole Miss is getting another City of Memphis high school football player, only, this one went the JC route. When 20 schools are after you ... you must be getting it done on the field. A Hamilton Wildcat is going to be playing football in Oxford.

 

RECRUITING INSIDER: Rebels get commitment from former Hamilton standout, Marquel Combs

[kwc]

Last year Ridgeway had four (4) players to sign LOI's to play in the SEC. Two (2) to Arkansas, one (1) to Ole Miss, and another to Georgia. Memphis East had two (2) to sign LOI's to play in the SEC. One (1) to Vandy and the other to Miss. State. Whitehaven had fifteen to sign LOI's to play in college with three of those being on the D-1 level. Two (2) to the University of Memphis and one (1) to Southern Miss. Ridgeway and East also had others to sign non D-1 LOI's as well. Those are just a few ... there were more.

 

It appears that the Class of 2013 is heating up as well. The Commercial Appeal has hired a free lance reporter who will concentrate on Memphis recruiting. His name is John Martin. He has already written some articles concerning the 2013 class. I'm going to try and keep up in this thread. I'll start with these articles below and add as the year progresses.

 

 

Recruiting Insider: Whitehaven duo near decisions, Mark Dodson, Gerald Perry to choose on May 14

 

Recruiting Insider: Whitehaven's Darrius Sims seeks top team, good academics, Fairley lineman, DE Demaris Peppers, picks up offers, East defensive tackle, Herman Moore, likes Tide

 

Just making a correction.

[kwc]

It seems that commiting early is becoming a popular thing. I can't say that I blame these young men. Go ahead and get it done. Enjoy your senior year without the recruiting hassles if you know where you want to to college. Central High wideout Latevius Rayford commits to Vanderbilt . I see that Vandy has made inroads into Memphis. That coaching staff has done a very good job in Memphis.

[kwc]

It seems that commiting early is becoming a popular thing. I can't say that I blame these young men. Go ahead and get it done. Enjoy your senior year without the recruiting hassles if you know where you want to to college. Central High wideout Latevius Rayford commits to Vanderbilt . I see that Vandy has made inroads into Memphis. That coaching staff has done a very good job in Memphis.

 

According to the RECRUITING INSIDER: Vanderbilt makes landing Memphis talent a priority. Coach Franklin has had two from Memphis to already give verbal commitments. It has also been publisized in the Commercial Appeal that Whitehaven has had three of its up and comming seniors to be given offers from Vandy as well. I doubt Vandy is stopping there.

 

Ole Miss has a brand new coach and they are going to have to prove themselves. Arkansas is going through turmoil as well with the firing of their head coach, so it is a wait and see approach with them as well. Kentucky's coach is on the hot seat so it doesn't appear that they will be in good standing with recruits. UT's coach just fired all of his staff after their abysmal start, and now UT has that going against them. BAMA, LSU, Auburn, and Georgia can come and cherry pick like they always do. The University of Memphis has a brand new head coach as well, so they aren't in a position to turn the heads of the top recruits here in Memphis. This is a prime opportunity for Vandy to make an impression, especially since they are an up and comming program.

Edited May 9, 2012 by kwc

[kwc]

Well, Whitehaven's Mark Dodson and Gerald Perry did say that they would commit after Whitehaven's spring practice was over on May 14. The following links are stories dedicated to just that. One chose Vandy and the other chose Ole Miss.

 

Dodson and Perry commit to play in SEC

 

Whitehaven duo announce where they will play college football

 

Recruiting Insider: Ole Miss, Vandy gain football commitments:Whitehaven's Dodson opts for Rebs; Perry picks 'Dores

Edited May 15, 2012 by kwc

[kwc]

Memphis East has some linemen that are being sought after. One is a DL and the other an OL. Herbert Moore and his team mate, Bobby Billingsley. John Martin from the CA has an article that is linked below.

 

Recruiting Insider: Pair of East High linemen set to announce collegiate choice: Standout linemen opt for early college commitment

 

This is an exerpt from the linked article above. It reads like both are leaning towards Ole Miss to me. But, they are teen-agers, who knows where they will end up commiting to in the end. But commiting early is becoming popular, to say the least.

 

Billingsley and Moore would be the sixth and seventh FBS-level verbal commitments among class of 2013 football prospects in Memphis.

 

White Station defensive end Jason Carr committed to Tennessee in January, Central wideout Latevius Rayford committed to Vanderbilt earlier this month, and MUS linebacker Ford Howell committed to North Carolina State two weeks ago.

 

Whitehaven running back Mark Dodson and receiver Gerald Perry committed to Ole Miss and Vanderbilt, respectively, last Monday.

 

 

And another quote from the article is as follows:

 

Billingsley is considering Ole Miss, Auburn, the University of Memphis, Mississippi State, Tennessee and Arkansas State. Moore will pick from Ole Miss, Clemson, Illinois and Arkansas State

 

Casual Observations:

 

I wasn't aware that UT got a verbal from White Station's Jason Carr. WOW ... so far there are 5 verbals to date and four (4) are SEC. UT (1), Ole Miss (1), Vandy (2), and NC State (1). I'm curious to see how the recruiting plays out, obviously, the SEC is putting Memphis as a high priority.

[kwc]

Memphis Central has a DE that is highly thought of according to recruiting services. According to 247sports.com, he's the 3rd best player in TN. It seems that he has verbally committed to LSU. The Commercial Appeal's story is as follows: Central High defensive end Frank Herron commits to LSU. The Nashvile Examiner's story is as follows: Frank Herron commits to LSU. That has the count up to six (6) to date.

[kwc]

Whitehaven DB Darrius Sims commits to Vanderbilt. Vandy has secured 3 verbals from Memphis and all 3 can flat out FLY! Donovan Stewert who writes for the Nashville Examiner has stated that Memphis East' DL Herbert Moore has verbally committed to Ole Miss. This makes the count of Memphis players that have verbally committed is up to 8 currently. To date there are 3 going to Vandy, 1 to LSU, 2 to Ole Miss, 1 to UT, and 1 to NC State.Donovan Stewert's Sims commits to Vandy gives an across the state count of verbal commitments.

[DHSFB64]

kwc , thanks for the updates..

[kwc]

_{It seems that Lenard Harden, a LB at Ridgeway, has verbally committed to the U of M. University of Memphis lands Ridgeway High standout Lenard Harden is the Commercial Appeal article written by John Varlas. I'm just curious how they plan on using a 5'-11" 195 lb. LB. I'm thinking that he will probably be moved to SS for his college career.}

Edited July 11, 2012 by kwc

[kwc]

Now we can add the PAC 12 to the list of Conferences that have received verbal commitments from City of Memphis and the surrounding area high school football players. It seems that the new coaching staff at UCLA has picked up a 4-star (According to Scout.com) OL from Memphis East. That's two linemen who have verbally committed to play D-1 ball with the big boys, for those who are counting ... and if memory serves me correctly ... they have another linemen that still being recruited by D-1 colleges. East offensive lineman Christian Morris commits to UCLA is the Commercial Appeal article written by John Martin. Wow ... 6'-6" and 285 lbs. Nice! That puts the count up to 10 by mid July who have already verbally committed from Memphis. I don't think we are through either.

Edited July 13, 2012 by kwc