NOTES: Interest in Wells picking up

Gainesville (Ga.) defensive end prospect Keith Wells has started to get more interest from a number of college programs this spring as more offers could be in store for the talented pass rusher.

In the past 40 days, the 6-foot-5, 225-pound pass rusher has picked up scholarship offers from Georgia Tech, Marshall, North Carolina, South Carolina and Boston College.

Other major programs, however, are starting to show interest. Georgia also has stepped up its interest in Wells. The talk last week was that a Bulldogs offer may be imminent.

This Friday, Florida State assistant Jody Allen will be at Gainesville High School. Next week, coaches from Alabama, LSU and Ohio State will be by next week.

The Crimson Tide and Tigers are recruiting Wells as an outside linebacker in their 3-4 schemes. This spring at Gainesville, Wells is going to work at outside backer as the high school program installs that formation.

At the Athens NIKE Camp last Saturday, Wells was the top pure defensive end prospect at the camp. He has a quick first step and excellent speed and while it's obvious he will have to add weight to be a success at the college level, he has the frame to do so.

Gainesville High is no stranger to churning out Division I-A prospects. Offensive tackle Nick Claytor and offensive guard C.J. Wood signed with Georgia Tech and Marshall, respectively during the Class of 2007.

Butler still open

Rumors flew during the weekend that Norcross (Ga.) wide receiver Brice Butler had trimmed his list to Southern California and Notre Dame.

"It will probably be trimmed by the middle of June to the end of June," Butler said, adding that everybody he is considering is still in it.

Butler's father is former Atlanta Falcons and Florida State defensive back Bobby Butler.

Dawgs to offer Page?

Georgia could be set to offer a scholarship to Columbia (S.C.) A.C. Flora offensive lineman Kenneth Page.

The 6-foot-4, 270-pounder had a good showing at the Athens NIKE Camp last Saturday and UGA's South Carolina recruiter, Jon Fabris, indicated to the A.C. Flora football staff that an offer from the Dawgs for Page could be forthcoming.

Florida, Florida State, Notre Dame, Oklahoma and Tennessee, along with Clemson and South Carolina among others, already have offered Page. West Virginia also offered last week.

Georgia also has interest in A.C. Flora offensive line prospect Larry Patterson. The 6-foot-6, 270-pounder was very good during the NIKE Camp on Saturday. He has a lean frame and will be able to add plenty of weight, has long arms and is above average athletically.

Patterson could be a sign-and-place, but whichever school does that likely will be getting an excellent player back down the road.

First BCS offer for Munroe

Miami (Fla.) Coral Reef linebacker Malcolm Munroe picked up his first scholarship offer last week from Clemson.

"I got text messages from their entire coaching staff about the offer," the 6-foot-4, 212-pounder said. "I am very interested in them."

The Tigers join Air Force and Central Florida in offering Munroe, one of the top sleepers in Dade County, Fla., for this year's class and the brother of Florida defensive back Dorian Munroe.

Clemson's David Blackwell, one of the top recruiters in the Atlantic Coast Conference, is recruiting Munroe for the Tigers.

Coral Reef High School also has a Class of 2009 prospect to watch. Linebacker Frankie Telfort is one many already are raving about.

Interest for Kentucky OL

Louisville (Ky.) Fern Creek offensive lineman Ryan Benzick is getting plenty of attention from two BCS conference programs who typically recruit the Bluegrass State heavily.

The 6-foot-6, 305-pounder has made three unofficial visits to Tennessee and three to Michigan and his father says both schools are highly-interested in the big lineman, along with Wisconsin and Kentucky.

Fern Creek had a coaching change after last season and that has curtailed the amount of information available on Benzick to this point.

Big Ten offers for Georgia DE

Purdue and Indiana are the first two programs to step up with a scholarship offer for Hogansville (Ga.) Callaway defensive end Ronald Byrd. The 6-foot-6, 240-pounder also has been getting interest from Georgia, Alabama and Auburn.

Byrd attended the Atlanta NIKE Combine in February at Douglass High School and ran a 4.66-second shuttle, a good time for a prospect his size.

This, that and the other

Florida assistant coach Stan Drayton is expected in the Atlanta area on Wednesday. Some of the schools he may pay a visit to include Franklin Heard County (running back Dontavius Jackson) and Fairburn Creekside (safety Terrance Parks). …UCLA is the latest school to extend a scholarship offer to Sardis (Miss.) North Panola defensive tackle Templeton Hardy. …Air Force has offered a scholarship to Atlanta Riverwood offensive lineman James McIver. … South Florida is the latest school to offer pre-evaluation Rivals100 linebacker Etienne Sabino. … Duke became the first school to extend a scholarship offer to Kingsport (Tenn.) Sullivan South quarterback Curt Phillips when the Blue Devils offered last Friday night. Indiana, Georgia and Wake Forest also are showing interest. Phillips had a strong showing at both the Elite 11 regional workout Friday night in Atlanta and at the Athens NIKE Camp the following day. …Pre-evaluation Rivals100 offensive tackle Greg Shaw called his first experience on the Georgia campus "fun" and did not make an unofficial visit to Georgia Tech during his time in the Peach State during the weekend. ... Former Jacksonville Raines standout Donsay Hardeman is in the midst of an excellent career at Georgia Military College and should be one of the more highly-recruited safety prospects in the JUCO ranks in this class. Hardeman signed with Illinois out of high school. ...The next major prospect to emerge with offers from Jacksonville's First Coast High in this class could be linebacker prospect Gary Tinsley. The 6-foot-1, 220-pounder broke the school record with 17 sacks last year.

JC Shurburtt can be reached at jc@rivals.com.

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