Georgia notebook: 4-star RB goes down
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After rushing for 2,462 yards and 29 touchdowns as a junior, Dontavius Jackson set lofty goals for 2007. Those goals won't be reached.
The four-star back from Franklin (Ga.) Heard County broke his wrist Friday night and will be out for the remainder of the season.
With 1:30 to go in the first half, Jackson was tackled and fell to the ground like on many other plays. This time, he landed with his hand flat on the ground and that is when the damage was done.
"I felt it and I knew it was broken when it happened," Jackson said. "My hand was flat on the ground and my wrist just rolled around and went in a big circle. The bone was in the middle of my hand and I knew it was broken."
Jackson showed no sign of his injury. He simply got up and trotted off the field. Heard County was in a battle against Bremen, and Jackson did not want to show them anything.
"Dontavius did not want Bremen to see or feel that they had gotten the best of him," said Heard County offensive coordinator D.J. Curbow. "He was making some incredible runs all night and they knew if they stopped him, then they had a chance to beat us."
Jackson was the reason the Braves were in the game at that point. Heard County was down by one, 28-27, when he exited. He had already run for 241 yards and three on 12 carries. He also was one step away from returning a kick for touchdown, but he got tripped up after a 45-yard return.
Despite the injury, coaches from Clemson and Georgia told Jackson their scholarship offers are still on the table. Jackson plans to set up his visits soon, and he wants to make his college choice by the end of October.
Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, LSU and Penn State are Jackson's top five. He has one visit set - to Clemson on Oct. 20. Jackson is also on schedule to graduate early and enroll at the school of his choice in January.
Four-star linemen go head-to-head
It was one of the more talked-about opening games in the state of Georgia over the summer. Two small schools have big-time players in eastern Georgia.
Jefferson County traveled to Burke County, and the game featured a matchup between offensive tackle A.J. Harmon and defensive end Cornelius Washington.
Harmon is a 6-foot-5, 320-pound offensive tackle that excels in run blocking. Washington is a 6-foot-4, 225-pound end who has blinding speed off the edge. As it turned out, they didn't go head-to-head very often. Washington lined up on the opposite side of Harmon on most occasions.
"I would say we went up against each other about 20 percent of the time," said Washington. "We were lined up on opposite sides most of the time.
"We got into it right before halftime and we got each other. I got passed him to rush the quarterback once and then he really got me good after that."
In fact, Harmon knocked off Washington's helmet.
"I went too far upfield on a trap and I didn't see him coming when he hit me in the head and my helmet flew off," Washington said. "He got me good there. I think we both played well in that game, but they were the better team that night."
Jefferson County ended up winning the game 27-17, and the four-star Rivals100 end described the loss in one word.
"Execution," he said. "We had multiple opportunities to take the lead and to win the game, but we didn't," said Washington. "We just did not execute well enough."
A lot of Jefferson County's success came behind Harmon at offensive tackle.
"A.J. played well for us," said Jefferson County coach J.B. Arnold. "He has really worked hard this summer and prepared for this game very hard. He has cut his weight down and he plays a little quicker for us now."
Harmon also did some damage on defense.
"He had about six tackles for us on defense, and I think we counted six pancake blocks for him on offense. He had that one big block on Washington, too. He played well on both sides of the ball."
Washington finished with three tackles, one tackle for a loss, one sack and added a touchdown reception.
Family off the field, foes on it
Two of Georgia's best will line up in a big rivalry game this Friday when Habersham Central travels to Stephens County.
Four-star receiver Tavarres King will lead the Raiders of Habersham Central into the house of running back Tauren Poole. King and Poole are cousins, and they are close off the field. However, when it comes to the game Friday night, they are enemies.
"I know Tavarres and I are kin and everything, but when we are playing this game he is just another player on Habersham Central," said Poole. "That is the way I have to look at him during the game."
Poole and Stephens County respect King's abilities, and defending him is a big part of their defensive plan.
"We have to really work hard to contain him if we want to win," Poole said. "He makes a lot of big plays and we are going to prepare to keep that from happening. We all respect him around here and know he does a lot, but we will be ready."
Being ready is something Habersham Central has to worry about because they have yet to win with King on the team.
"We are 0-3 against them since I have been here," King. "We have gotten progressively better, but we have not won one yet. They blew us out my freshman year 56-21, then we lost 21-14 when I was a sophomore and they beat us 21-7 last year. The last two were close, but we need to get a win this time."
Winning is important to all around Habersham, but King tries to approach it like a normal game.
"It is very important to our county," he said. "I look at it like any other game like the rest of our team does, but our county puts a lot into this game. They want it bad and I hope we can give them a victory this year."
Each team is coming off a big win. Stephens County defeated Seneca (S.C.) 34-20 behind 245 yards and four touchdowns from Poole. Habersham Central defeated Alcovy 34-14 behind 145 yards receiving and two touchdowns from King.
Both schools will be ready Friday night as King looks to remove that goose egg he has against Stephens County. Poole plans to stay perfect against his cousin.
"I want to leave with a statement as a senior, and beating them four times in a row is a great way to do that," Poole stated.
Four-star OL could be committing this week
Riverdale offensive tackle Cordy Glenn wants to commit early, but hasn't been able to make his decision. He now says this could be the week.
"I am not sure about a day or time, but I want to get it done as soon as I can," Glenn said.
He has more than 20 offers to choose from, but it looks he has narrowed his list to two.
"I am really thinking about Alabama and Georgia the most right now," Glenn said. "I have not totally stopped considering or looking at the other schools, but those are my main two right now."
It would be of no surprise if Glenn committed but still decided to take several official visits before Signing Day.
Recruiting Notes…
No commitment is official until the prospect becomes a signee. While commitments are nice - and most end up sticking - there are always a few players that change their mind after committing early. Here is a brief rundown on some Georgia prospects:
Trevino Woods is committed to Kentucky, but he visited Georgia last weekend. He could pull in some more SEC offers this fall.
A.J. Harmon is committed to Clemson, but visited Georgia on Saturday before heading up to Clemson on Monday for the FSU game.
Nigel Nicholas is committed to Duke, but he visited Georgia. He is one to watch if more schools like UGA decide to offer him.
Tauren Poole is committed to Tennessee, but he is looking at South Carolina. He will likely make his final decision between those two.
Keith Wells headed up to Death Valley to see Clemson play host to FSU. He is still committed to the Seminoles, but he said Clemson is putting the full court press on him.
Tavarres King was in Athens on Saturday and then headed up to Clemson on Monday. He has family ties to Clemson and will likely be back to Death Valley this year, but he says he is solid to Georgia.
Quick hitter on juniors visiting
Braxton Lane is a talented athlete out of Fairburn (Ga.) Sandy Creek. He visited North Carolina and Duke over the weekend. Look for him to be a hot prospect later this fall as a wide receiver or safety.
Jarvis Jones may be the top prospect on the Carver-Columbus team this year even though they have two big-time seniors. This 6-foot-3, 205-pound athlete was at Clemson Monday night. Early offers will come for Jones.
Zach Mettenberger out of Watkinsville (Ga.) Oconee has an offer from FSU and more will follow. He was in Athens this past weekend visiting UGA.
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