The final score

“We want to be (recruiting) throughout the state. There are enough good players in the state of Georgia (that) if we can get the best players, we can be successful. If we can get the best players in Atlanta, we’ll be pretty good.” Coach Paul Johnson, 2/3/10

A list of committed 2011 prospects holding offers from both Tech and UGA:
Data obtained from rivals.com

NAME	POSITION	STARS	RATING	STATE	COMMITTED TO
Sterling Bailey	DE	4	5.8	GA	Georgia
Devin Bowman	ATH	3	5.7	GA	Georgia
Chris Conley	WR	3	5.7	GA	Georgia
Watts Dantzler	OL	3	5.7	GA	Georgia
Zach DeBell	OL	3	5.7	FL	Georgia
Ray Drew	DE	5	6.1	GA	Georgia
Amarlo Herrera	LB	4	5.8	GA	Georgia
Nick Marshall	ATH	4	5.8	GA	Georgia
Xzavier Ward	OT	3	5.7	GA	Georgia
Justin Scott-Wesley	WR	4	5.8	GA	Georgia
Quan Bray	ATH	4	5.8	GA	Auburn
Chevelle Buie	RB	4	5.8	FL	East Carolina
Anthony Chickillo	DE	4	5.9	FL	Miami(FL)
Xzavier Dickson	DE	4	5.9	GA	Alabama
Erique Florence	DB	4	5.9	AL	Auburn
Taylor Gadbois	OL	3	5.6	GA	Miami(FL)
Doran Grant	DB	4	6.0	OH	Ohio St
Carlos Gray	DT	3	5.5	NC	NC State
Demetrius Hart	RB	5	6.1	FL	Alabama
Jeoffrey Pagan	DE	4	6.0	NC	Alabama
Brian Randolph	DB	3	5.7	GA	Tennessee
Terrance Smith	LB	3	5.7	GA	Florida St
Tony Steward	LB	5	6.1	FL	Clemson
Ja'Juan Story	WR	4	5.8	FL	Florida
Stephon Tuitt	DE	5	6.1	GA	Notre Dame
James Vaughters	LB	4	5.9	GA	Stanford
Jabriel Washington	ATH	3	5.7	TN	Alabama
James Wilder Jr.	ATH	5	6.1	FL	Florida St
Karlos Williams	DB	5	6.1	FL	Florida St

0 for 29 vs UGA (.000)

AJC Top 50 commits by school
In parentheses: Stars, Rating, Nat'l position rank, overall nat'l rank according to Rivals.com

GEORGIA
1. RB Isaiah Crowell (5, 6.1, 4, 23)
2. DE Ray Drew (5, 6.1, 1, 9)
3. TE Jay Rome (4, 5.9, 4, 56)
5. ATH Nick Marshall (4, 5.8, 15, NR)
6. WR Malcolm Mitchell (4, 6.0, 1, 30)
9. OL Xzavier Ward (3, 5.7, 42, NR)
11. WR Chris Conley (3, 5.7, 37, NR)
12. CB Damian Swann (4, 5.9, 3, 47)
22. S Corey Moore (4, 5.8, 5, 103)
25. DE Sterling Bailey (4, 5.8, 8, 105)
27. ILB Amarlo Herrera (4, 5.8, 13, 230)
29. WR Justin Scott-Wesley (4, 5.8, 32, NR)
30. OT Watts Dantzler (3, 5.7, 44, NR)
33. ATH Chris Sanders (3, 5.7, 24, NR)
41. C David Andrews (3, 5.7, 9, NR)

GEORGIA TECH
17. OLB Jabari Hunt-Days (4, 5.8, 11, 187)
19. ATH Chris Milton (3, 5.7, 22, NR)
39. RB Zach Laskey (2, 5.4, NR, NR)
49. RB Broddy Snoddy (3, 5.6, NR, NR)

And just for kicks...

AUBURN
15. TE C.J. Uzomah (3, 5.7, 20, NR)
16. DT Gabe Wright (4, 5.8, 13, 141)
18. RB Quan Bray (4, 5.8, 5, 109)
31. OG Thomas O'Reilly (3, 5.6, 43, NR)
46. OLB Justin Garrett (3, 5.6, NR, NR)

KENTUCKY
24. WR Demarco Robinson (3, 5.6, NR, NR)
26. RB Marcus Caffey (3, 5.7, 37, NR)
44. RB Josh Clemons (3, 5.6, 54, NR)
50. S Ashely Lowery (3, 5.6, 59, NR)

SOUTH CAROLINA
28. QB Martay Mattox (3, 5.6, 27, NR
31. S Kadetrix Marcus (3, 5.7, 30, NR)
43. OT Quincy McKinney (3, 5.6, 61, NR)
47. OG Kyle Harris (3, 5.6, 37, NR)

TENNESSEE
7. ILB A.J. Johnson (4, 5.8, 8, 136)
14. S Brian Randolph (3, 5.7, 32, NR)
21. OT Alan Posey (3, 5.7, 46, NR)
40. ILB Christian Harris (3, 5.5, NR, NR)
48. ATH Vincent Dallas (3, 5.7, 35, NR)

How sad is it that football powerhouses like South Carolina and Kentucky seem to be recruiting the state of Georgia just as well as Georgia Tech?

Johnson whiffs on Tuitt curve, back to triple zero in recruiting

It was reported late Wednesday that 5-Star defensive end Stephon Tuitt has switched his verbal from Georgia Tech back to Notre Dame. This would seem to complete a whirlwind of events which began Tuesday when the prized recruit first spurned the Domers for Tech.

Tuitt was believed by some to be a virtual lock for Georgia Tech early in the recruiting period before his surprise commitment to Notre Dame after a visit in mid-September. Because of Paul Johnson's ridiculous stance on Tech commits who look elsewhere, there now remains absolutely no chance that Georgia Tech will obtain the services of the ultra-talented defender. Or at least you would think so. It would be of no surprise to us if the oily Johnson were to make an "exception" for Tuitt should he decide to flip-flop once again.

Tuitt would have likely been an immediate anchor on a Tech defense woefully depleted of top-shelf talent. He reaffirmed his allegiance to the Irish despite Notre Dame's receipt of commitments over the weekend from two of the top four defensive end prospects in the country as ranked by Scout. Notre Dame now has six committed recruits who played the position in high school.

Further, Tuitt's defection is all the more profound an indictment of Paul Johnson's recruiting "talents" considering the pair reportedly met for "about an hour" as recently as Wednesday afternoon.

But hey, look on the bright side: at least Coach Johnson got Demontevious Smith out of the deal! I wonder why Notre Dame didn't want Tuitt's bestest buddy too? And don't forget Broddy Snoddy was lavished with that coveted third star from Scout.com! But I thought the services only downgraded the star rankings of recruits once they've committed to Tech? Or at least that's what the slurpers would have you believe.

By the way, special congrats are certainly in order once again to recruiting coordinator and defensive line coach Andy McCollum, who was directly responsible for Tuitt's recruitment. Similar to Calvin Johnson before him, Tuitt was a uniquely gifted in-state student-athlete who basically fell into Tech's lap, and one can't help but wonder what might have been had the bumbling Coach Johnson hired a more competent replacement for Giff Smith. The loss of Tuitt now slides Georgia Tech back to 0 for 28 on recruits who have received offers from both Tech and UGA, which makes this as appropriate a time as any for us to update THE BIG BOARD:

A list of committed 2011 prospects holding offers from both Tech and UGA:
Data obtained from rivals.com

NAME	POSITION	STARS	RATING	STATE	COMMITTED TO
Sterling Bailey	DE	4	5.8	GA	Georgia
Devin Bowman	ATH	3	5.7	GA	Georgia
Chris Conley	WR	3	5.7	GA	Georgia
Watts Dantzler	OL	3	5.7	GA	Georgia
Zach DeBell	OL	3	5.7	FL	Georgia
Amarlo Herrera	LB	4	5.8	GA	Georgia
Nick Marshall	ATH	4	5.8	GA	Georgia
Justin Scott-Wesley	WR	4	5.8	GA	Georgia
Quan Bray	ATH	4	5.8	GA	Auburn
Anthony Chickillo	DE	4	5.9	FL	Miami, FL
Xzavier Dickson	DE	4	5.8	GA	Alabama
Doran Grant	DB	4	6.0	OH	Ohio St
Carlos Gray	DT	2	5.4	NC	NC State
Demetrius Hart	RB	5	6.1	FL	Alabama
Jeoffrey Pagan	DE	4	6.0	NC	Clemson
Brian Randolph	DB	3	5.7	GA	Tennessee
Terrance Smith	LB	3	5.7	GA	Florida St
Ja'Juan Story	WR	4	5.8	FL	Florida
Stephon Tuitt	DE	5	6.1	GA	Notre Dame
James Vaughters	LB	4	5.9	GA	Stanford
Jabriel Washington	ATH	3	5.7	TN	Alabama
James Wilder Jr.	ATH	5	6.1	FL	Florida St
Karlos Williams	DB	5	6.1	FL	Florida St

Players with offers from Tech and Georgia who have not yet committed:

NAME	POSITION	STARS	RATING	STATE	FAVORITE(S)
Chevelle Buie	RB	4	5.8	FL	ECU, Marshall
Ray Drew	DE	5	6.1	GA	Aub,Clem,UF,UGA,LSU,TN
Erique Florence	DB	4	5.9	AL	None
Tony Steward	LB	5	6.1	FL	AL,AU,Clem,FSU,UCLA
Xzavier Ward	OT	3	5.7	GA	none

Total control

Some folks say the only guarantees in life are death and taxes. Such people have obviously not examined Tech's 2011 recruiting efforts under Coach Paul Johnson.

Of the 28 players who have received offers from both Georgia and Georgia Tech for the 2011 class per Rivals.com, precisely ZERO have committed to Tech. Eight of these players have committed to Georgia, twelve have committed to other schools, and eight others are undecided, but do not appear to have Tech in the mix. It would seem in fact that an offer from Georgia is a virtual money-in-the-bank guarantee that a player will not sign with Tech. Rarely has UGA's intrastate control of the collective football mind share been so perfect and complete as it has become under Johnson's watch.