If you're recruiting one of the nation's elite prospects who has a close friend or teammate who also is being looked at by colleges, then you may consider offering a "package deal." The idea is to secure or improve your chances with the 5-star recruit while risking a second scholarship with a lesser-known player.
The two-for-one deal was the biggest issue on last year's signing day after Rogers --- the AJC's No. 1-rated prospect for the state --- reneged on his long-time Georgia pledge to follow his high school quarterback and best buddy to Tennessee.
This year's AJC No. 1 is Carver-Columbus tailback Isaiah Crowell, and there's speculation that Georgia created a package deal involving one of Crowell's best friends to gain inside position against co-leaders Alabama and Auburn before the Feb. 2 announcement.
"I'm personally not a fan of package deals, but I understand the logic," Calhoun coach Hal Lamb said. "If that's going to be a college's best way of getting their 5-star guy, then that makes for a good case for some schools to try it."
The ramifications
Package deals are nothing new and have been around since recruiting was invented. In Georgia, it has only gained notoriety in recent years because dual offers may have influenced college decisions of the elite.
Now that Lamb has had a year to reflect upon it, he speculates that Rogers would have stuck with his original commitment had Georgia extended a late January offer to quarterback Nash Nance. However, the Bulldogs had plans to sign only one quarterback for the 2010 class, and Lassiter's Hutson Mason committed in December.
While Georgia watched Rogers flee, it successfully completed or set up two other high-profile package deals last year. On signing day, Wilcox County wide receiver Lonnie Outlaw was both offered and signed by the Bulldogs in around the time span of an hour. Outlaw's cousin and best friend is Wilcox County's Nick Marshall, one of the state's top prospects for this season who ended up committing to Georgia.
The Bulldogs also locked up last year's AJC No. 2, Newnan safety Alec Ogletree, when they made a December offer to his twin brother that was accepted the next day. Fullback Zander Ogletree might have been Newnan's best player, but he was overlooked by colleges because of his height. He committed to Georgia over Savannah State, West Alabama and Shorter.
Zander's rapid commitment happened around the same time that then-Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin invited the twins for an official visit. Florida State also was considering the same ploy.
"Alec was committed to Georgia and not really looking around, but did it seal the deal? Of course," Newnan coach Mike McDonald said. "I know the family was ecstatic because they could go see both sons play at the same place on Saturdays."
The twins both played as freshmen at Georgia this past season.
Changing minds
Georgia Tech appeared to be trying the same type of strategy this year with Monroe Area 5-star defensive end Stephon Tuitt, who committed to Notre Dame in mid-September, flipped to Georgia Tech on Tuesday, and then switched back to Notre Dame on Wednesday.
Tuitt and his high school teammate, athlete Demontevious Smith, made official visits to Georgia Tech together last weekend, with Smith accepting a scholarship offer from the Yellow Jackets before leaving campus.
He had also picked up a recent offer from Virginia Tech.
"This was absolutely not a package deal," Monroe Area coach Matt Fligg said. "I've been pushing Demontevious on Georgia Tech for two years. After the bowl game, they met. Georgia Tech has some issues at quarterback, and I think [Smith] is the best quarterback I've ever coached.
"Georgia Tech never presented it to either player as a package deal, and they never looked at it as one. They were always both going to do their own thing. They are friends and teammates, but not like best friends."
At Carver-Columbus, the same can't be said about Crowell and defensive back Quintavious "Cootie" Harrow. They have been best friends since kindergarten. Georgia was the first and only school to offer Harrow, and he committed within a week. The lack of interest may have been related to academics. He said last week that he had just obtained a qualifying test score on the ACT.
While Crowell was pleased for his buddy, he insisted he's not approaching his decision as a double deal. His mother, Deborah Crowell, emphasized the point, telling the AJC, "I'm not selling my son's soul to the devil. This is his decision. If [Georgia wants] to give Quintavious a scholarship, that's fine. But that can't have anything to do with Isaiah. He has too much pressure on him as it is, and I'm going to lay that on the line with them."
Carver coach Dell McGee has heard all the theories behind Georgia's offer to Harrow. While McGee confirms Georgia never presented it as a package deal, he thinks it's only natural that it will have an influence on Crowell's thought process.
"People are going to have their opinions about why Georgia offered Quintavious, and you're not going to change that by making a statement about that," McGee said. "All I know is that [Harrow] is getting a free education at a great institution, along with the opportunity to play football in the best conference in the nation. To me, that's priceless."
Georgia's Top 50 high school recruits
1. Isaiah Crowell RB 6-0 210 Carver-Columbus Choices: AL, AU, GA
2. Ray Drew DE 6-5 250 Thomas Co. Central Choices: AU, CL, GA, LSU, M.I.
3. Jay Rome TE 6-6 240 Valdosta Committed: Georgia
4. James Vaughters LB 6-2 230 Tucker Committed: Stanford
5. Nick Marshall ATH 6-2 200 Wilcox County Committed: Georgia
6. Malcolm Mitchell WR 6-1 190 Valdosta Committed: Georgia
7. A.J. Johnson LB 6-3 230 Gainesville Committed: Tennessee
8. Xzavier Dickson DE 6-5 260 Griffin Committed: Alabama
9. Xzavier Ward OL 6-7 260 Colquitt County Choices: UGA, AU, MS
10. Shannon Brown LB 6-2 225 Cook Committed: Alabama
11. Chris Conley WR 6-3 185 North Paulding Committed: Georgia
12. Damian Swann DB 6-0 175 Grady Committed: Georgia
13. Stephon Tuitt DE 6-5 260 Monroe Area Committed: Notre Dame
14. Brian Randolph DB 6-0 180 Kell Committed: Tennessee
15. C.J. Uzomah ATH 6-5 235 North Gwinnett Committed: Auburn
16. Gabriel Wright DT 6-3 290 Carver-Columbus Choices: AU, TN
17. Jabari Hunt-Days LB 6-3 225 Hillgrove Committed: Georgia Tech
18. Quan Bray RB 5-11 180 Troup Committed: Auburn
19. Chris Milton ATH 6-0 175 Charlton County Committed: Georgia Tech
20. Avery Walls DB 5-11 185 ELCA Committed: California
21. Alan Posey OL 6-6 310 Clarke Central Committed: Tennessee
22. Corey Moore DB 6-1 190 Griffin Committed: Georgia
23. Alex Chisum WR 6-2 185 Sandy Creek Committed: Cincinnati
24. Demarco Robinson WR 5-10 165 M.L. King Committed: Kentucky
25. Sterling Bailey OLB 6-5 250 East Hall Committed: Georgia
26. Marcus Caffey RB 6-0 190 Grady Committed: Kentucky
27. Amarlo Herrera LB 6-1 225 North Clayton Committed: Georgia
28. Martay Mattox QB 6-1 185 Clarke Central Committed: South Carolina
29. Justin Scott-Wesley WR 6-1 210 Mitchell County Committed: Georgia
30. Watts Dantzler OL 6-7 315 Dalton Committed: Georgia
31. Kadetrix Marcus DB 6-1 185 Stephenson Committed: South Carolina
32. Thomas O'Reilly OL 6-3 296 Pope Committed: Auburn
33. Chris Sanders DB 6-1 175 Tucker Committed: Georgia
34. Tyler Hunter DB 6-0 190 Lowndes Committed: FSU
35. Terrance Smith LB 6-3 220 Southwest DeKalb Committed: FSU
36. Andre Sims ATH 5-9 170 Brookwood Committed: Michigan State
37. Cameron Lynch LB 5-11 215 Brookwood Committed: Syracuse
38. Christian Reeves TE 6-3 220 ELCA Committed: Virginia Tech
39. Zach Laskey RB 6-2 220 Starr's Mill Committed: Georgia Tech
40. Christian Harris LB 6-2 230 Etowah Committed: Tennessee
41. David Andrews OL 6-2 280 Wesleyan Committed: Georgia
42. Taylor Gadbois OL 6-7 295 East Paulding Committed: Miami
43. Quincy McKinney OL 6-4 295 Carver-Columbus Committed: South Carolina
44. Josh Clemons RB 5-10 205 Whitewater Committed: Kentucky
45. Darrius Caldwell DE 6-5 215 Mays Committed: Georgia Tech
46. Justin Garrett LB 6-2 190 Tucker Committed: Auburn
47. Kyle Harris OL 6-3 260 Pepperell Committed: South Carolina
48. Vincent Dallas WR 6-0 185 Cedar Grove Committed: Tennessee
49. Broderick Snoddy RB 5-9 192 Carrollton Committed: Georgia Tech
50. Ashely Lowry RB 6-1 190 White County Committed: Kentucky
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