kstatehater Posted January 12, 2009 Share Posted January 12, 2009 :star :star MLB Jonathan Davis #9 MLB(Scout) HT 5-7.5 Wt 195 40- 4.37 Steve Spurrier “no longer welcome” to recruit Tucker prospects By Michael Carvell | Monday, January 12, 2009, 11:00 AM Steve Spurrier and the South Carolina Gamecocks are “no longer welcome” at Tucker High, one of the state’s top producers of college football prospects. Tucker coach Franklin Stephens told the AJC of his proclamation after speaking with Spurrier on Sunday night. It had to do with Tucker linebacker Jonathan Davis, who had committed to South Carolina but was told on Friday that the Gamecocks had withdrawn the scholarship offer. “The bottom line … what South Carolina did to Jonathan was wrong,” Stephens told the AJC. “Coach Spurrier accepted blame for the situation … [but he] is not going to do anything to fix the situation, therefore South Carolina will not be recruiting any more Tucker players.” On Friday, Stephens had a “heated” conversation with Gamecocks assistant Shane Beamer, who ultimately said “South Carolina had to do what was in South Carolina’s best interests when it came to recruiting,” according Stephens. How did the Tucker coach respond? “I am … not even going to say. It was a heck of a phone call. I’ll just leave it at that.” Stephens held off on commenting until he heard Spurrier’s side of the story on Sunday night. “It’s not fair what happened to Jonathan,” Stephens said. “When he committed to South Carolina, he turned down scholarship opportunities to other schools. And then those other schools moved on to fill that spot. What South Carolina did was wrong, and the timing of it, so close to signing day [Feb. 4], is worse. It’s just a bad deal.” After being shocked by South Carolina on Friday, Davis scrambled for college options and made an official visit to Alabama-Birmingham over the weekend. When Davis committed to South Carolina on Dec. 17, he said he had also considered offers from Georgia Tech, Boston College, Central Florida, Oklahoma State, and Louisville. Stephens said he had made some phone calls, but was unaware if any of those schools would offer again. What really went wrong between South Carolina and Davis? The Gamecocks, per NCAA rules, are not allowed to comment on prospective-student athletes. The 5-foot-7, 205-pound Davis said he was told South Carolina withdrew the offer because it needed to recruit cornerbacks. The Gamecocks projected Davis to play safety. Everything began to unravel after South Carolina assistant Ron Cooper was hired away by LSU on Jan. 6. Cooper coveted Davis and was the catalyst behind South Carolina’s offer. What other factors may have contributed? Stephens said South Carolina’s switch had nothing to do with academics. “Based on his grades and an ACT score, [Davis] is on track to qualify.” Also, South Carolina is loaded up on commitments, with 25 players saying they intend to sign with the Gamecocks, and scholarship offers still out to several elite prospects, including defensive tackle Kwame Geathers of Carver’s Bay, S.C., and Garden City Junior College wide receiver Cameron Kenney, who is from Dacula. UGA has also offered both Geathers and Kenney. Stephens is not setting any precedents with his stance toward South Carolina. For example, Carver-Atlanta coach Darren Myles Sr. told the AJC earlier this year that he has banned one Conference USA school from recruiting at his school because it offered scholarships to two of his players last spring, then pulled them when the players were considering a commitment. Quote Link to comment
tattooedhusker Posted January 12, 2009 Share Posted January 12, 2009 Kinda f'd up, what douche nozzle to put the kid in that situation. Quote Link to comment
Ohio Pete Posted January 12, 2009 Share Posted January 12, 2009 Wow, he had just committed on 12/17 too. Not a fan of his 5' 7.5" height, but Rivals shows 198 tackles as a Sophomore. That's insane. Must have been a crummy team as he transferred to Tucker the next year and had only 120 tackles. A two way star at linebacker and running back, Davis explodes through ball carriers on defense and has great acceleration and balance on offense. He does all of the little things well including blocking, and he has outstanding instincts on both sides of the ball. Some recruiters will worry about his height, but he's one of the very best football players on either side of the ball in the state of Georgia - Scott Kennedy, Scout.com Dude will be star at UCF or UAB. Quote Link to comment
killer cacti Posted January 12, 2009 Share Posted January 12, 2009 I'm hoping Dabo comes in & steals him...then he dominates SC on the field. Karma is a b*tch. Quote Link to comment
huzkerbob Posted January 12, 2009 Share Posted January 12, 2009 Wow, he had just committed on 12/17 too. Not a fan of his 5' 7.5" height, but Rivals shows 198 tackles as a Sophomore. That's insane. Must have been a crummy team as he transferred to Tucker the next year and had only 120 tackles. A two way star at linebacker and running back, Davis explodes through ball carriers on defense and has great acceleration and balance on offense. He does all of the little things well including blocking, and he has outstanding instincts on both sides of the ball. Some recruiters will worry about his height, but he's one of the very best football players on either side of the ball in the state of Georgia - Scott Kennedy, Scout.com Dude will be star at UCF or UAB. ONLY! 120 tackles huh? Pretty good by most standards. Quote Link to comment
father5 Posted January 12, 2009 Share Posted January 12, 2009 This is one of those deals that really makes you feel for that kid. For those student-athletes making their college choice is the biggest moment of their lives to that point and then to be treated that way is just despicable (spelling?). I too hope Spurrier finds out what Karma is all about. I think I will send SC some hate e-mail over this one. Good luck to that kid. Quote Link to comment
redout22 Posted January 12, 2009 Share Posted January 12, 2009 Bad loss for SC but did we offer him? Quote Link to comment
Ohio Pete Posted January 12, 2009 Share Posted January 12, 2009 Bad loss for SC but did we offer him? None that I have seen. Quote Link to comment
killer cacti Posted January 12, 2009 Share Posted January 12, 2009 Bad loss for SC but did we offer him? None that I have seen. http://scoutcombines.scout.com/a.z?s=450&a...amp;nid=3216514 Quote Link to comment
huskerification of your brain Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 That 4.37 40 is from the scout combine....... impressive! Quote Link to comment
DeathCultArmaggedon Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 Yeah, even though he is 5'7" he seems like a very good player. Highly doubt we will pursue him though - I think if we strike out on Eric Martin then we are calling it quits at LB for the year. Quote Link to comment
G_Rock Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 With his size and tackling ability, he could end up being a Bob Sanders type of player. Quote Link to comment
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