Friday, December 30, 2011

Record-setting year - The Daily Sentinel: Sports

Record-setting year - The Daily Sentinel: Sports: Here’s a look at The Daily Sentinel’s top local sports stories
No.’s 1-5 of 2011.

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Recruiting Update Part 2

Nick Johnson, OL Dadeville HS, 6-2, 250 lbs. Johnson had recruiting interest from Southern Miss, Arkansas State and Vandy. Scout.com named him to their preseason All State team for all classifications. After one of their recruiting combines, Scout. com said that Johnson outperfomed all of the linemen with BCS offers and added: "Johnson has an offer from Jacksonville State, but he is a BCS-caliber player. The only player who gave him trouble was his teammate, Rod Crayton. Johnson was outstanding throughout the event. He is a smart player and has great technique. He will play on the inside on the next level(6-foot-2, 260)." They went on to add that he might be the best sleeper prospect in the State. Status: Committed.


Rocky Hayes, RB, CB Heflin HS. Don't know whether the Gamecocks are projecting Hayes as a corner or running back, but he would be a huge pickup either way. He was selected to the prestigous Ala. - Ms. All Star Game following a senior campaign where he rushed for 1312 yards on just 152 carries. Hayes has offers by USA, Troy and UAB and is rated a 2 Star player by 24/7Sports.com.


Michael Lindsey, RB, Elba HS. Lindsey would be another great running back to add to the 2012 class. Hailing from the same high school as current Gamecock Dimetrio Tyson, Lindsey led Elba to an undefeated season and a state championship at the 2A level. Living up to the old mantra of big time players make big time plays in big time games, Lindsey rushed for 175 yards in the championship game and was named MVP. At one point he was a Troy State commitment but his recruitment now appears to be open. In 2010 Lindsey rused for 1586 yards including one game where he went for 243 yards on just 14 carries. The Gamecocks would love to have Lindsey.


Nick Martin, Ath., Dothan HS. Martin has not generated as much publicity as some of the other Gamecock recruits but he runs a 4.4 forty. We'll take him. Status: Committed.


Eli Jenkins, QB, 6-2, 190. Parker HS. It is imperative that the Gamecocks sign a good quarterback this year and they may have found one in Parker. Gridironstuds.com described him as follows: "A very competitive QB that has a powerful arm with accuracy. A tough nosed kid willing to learn." Status: Committed.

Burger Bytes: JSU Band Heads To London

Burger Bytes: JSU Band Heads To London

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Jacksonville State University - JSU's Todd Hornsby Named Louisville Slugger Pre-Season All-American by Collegiate Baseball

Jacksonville State University - JSU's Todd Hornsby Named Louisville Slugger Pre-Season All-American by Collegiate Baseball

Searching For Former Gamecock Quarterbacks

A distinguished JSU graduate is getting all former Gamecock quarterbacks to sign a JSU helmet. It will include great names of the past like Lett, Perrilloux and Patterson and will be auctioned before the Charlie Pell Golf Tournament. We need your help locating two former qbs:

Fred Casey, who played for the Gamecocks in 1955; and

Arland Carter, who played in 1961-62.

If anyone can give us any leads, it would be most appreciated.

Monday, December 19, 2011

An Early Look at 2012 Recruiting - Part 1

While it will be hard to top the great years JSU had in 2010 and 2011, there is good momentum for the 2012. As there is a lot of information, we will probably do three spots. The focus is on players that we believe Jacksonville State is recruiting hard. There are probably other players that will come in and out of the mix.


Dushonta Broughton. DB, 5-11, 160, 23 ACT, Lovejoy High School. Broughton is one of three Lovejoy products rumored to be committed to JSU. These guys led their team to the State Championship Game in Georgia.



Jamal Covington, DL, 6-4, 270, Lovejoy High School. Covington drew recruiting interest from BC, Duke, La. Tech and apparently had an offer from the Naval Academy. The Clayton Daily News named him to their All Star team in 2010, commenting: "Dominant run blocker with great pass blocking skills." He's dominating in one area and great in another, what else is there?



Jermaine "Junior" Hough, ATH, 5-10, 180, Lovejoy High School. Drew recruiting interest from Miami, NC and South Carolina and was offered by the Air Force Academy. One JSU fan saw him play in the State Championship game and commented that it seemed like he had about 20 tackles.



Desmond Brown. S, Cherokee County High School (Clemson). There is still some work to do to get Brown eligible, but he would be a huge pickup for JSU where he would join high school teammates Coty Blanchard and Country Chambers. Brown was rated a 3 Star prospect out of high school by both Rivals and Scout.


Troymaine "Buster" Pope. 5-9, 188, 4.5 40, Anniston High School. AL.Com had this to say about the Anniston product: "At 5’10” 188lbs, Pope utilizes a rare combination of speed and power; he either runs around defenders or runs over them. When it comes to “measurables” Troymaine definitely has them, as he has been clocked at 4.49 in the 40-yard dash, bench presses 315lbs, and squats upwards of 500lbs." Troymaine has been heavily recruited by big schools and FCS schools including Clemson, Miss. St., Samford and Clemson.


Calvin Baker. OL, 6-4, 285, 32 ACT, Oxford High School. ALrecruiting.com had this to say about Baker: "Baker is a tremendous competitor who finishes every block and does not quit until the whistle has blown. Playing at the 6A level will only help Baker develop into an even more well-rounded offensive lineman. In addition to his athletic prowess, Calvin also boasts a 4.1 GPA and a score of 32 on the ACT… definitely a qualifier. We fully expect Calvin Baker to emerge from the 2011 campaign as a highly-sought-after prospect with offers from numerous big-time programs." The Gamecocks are really battling Samford for Baker's services. Baker will have to decide whether he wants to play in front of 20,000 passionate fans at JSU or 1,100 at Samford.


Josh Barge, Athl. 6-1, Carrolton High School. Barge is a very talented player from a Carrolton program that is rich with talent. He is a good student- National Honor Society member. His father was a Coach at Carrolton and passed away before his junior season. Barge has six siblings and is very motivated to get a football scholarship in order to help out financially.

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Crowe to Boone: "Send in the Wolfe"

There is speculation that JSU has a commitment from JUCO LB/DL, Ketrick Wolfe. Wolfe is matriculating from Pearl River Community College. Out of high school he drew serious interest from Southern Miss, Louisville and Arkansas State. Unconfirmed that its the right Ketrick Wolfe, but here's the kicker- when Wolfe was in high school he ran into a burning house to rescue his aunt.

Here is a related clip from one of the greatest movies of all time, Pulp Fiction. WARNING- DO NOT WATCH IF FOUL LANGUAGE OFFENDS YOU.



Monday, December 12, 2011

Lovejoy DBs Commit to Jacksonville State

Here is an article about two of our 2011 commitments:

http://www.news-daily.com/news/2011/nov/22/lovejoys-cocky-yet-humble-dbs-stifle-opposing-rece/#

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Keep It Down Home Cuz

Anniston Star reports that running back Troymaine Pope of Anniston High is seriously considering JSU. With the departure of Middleton and Ealey only having one more year of eligibility, the Gamecocks could certainly use a big time back.


Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Marching Southerners 2011: Year in Review (HD)

Monday, December 5, 2011

Jacksonville State Lady Gamecocks Whup Troy!

Jacksonville State University - Gamecocks Pick Up Third Straight Home Win, Discards Troy, 65-54

Freelon Starring for Delta State

The following is an excerpt from an article in the Natchez Democrat about former Gamecock Richard Freelon:


http://www.natchezdemocrat.com/2011/12/04/delta-state-advances-in-div-ii-playoffs/

CLEVELAND — Richard Freelon rushed for three touchdowns to lead the No. 8 ranked Delta State Statesmen to a 28-23 win Saturday over No. 20 North Greenville to advance to the National Semi-Finals as Super Region 2 Champions.

Freelon rushed for 130 yards on 23 carries, along with the three scores.

The sophomore transfer from Jacksonville State tied for third in Statesmen (11-2) playoff history with the three touchdowns and had the third highest rushing total in Statesmen playoff history.

“He had some awesome runs,” said head coach Ron Roberts. “He is a powerful back that came up big for us today. We always look for that player who is going to step up big in these types of games and Richard did a great job.”

“The great thing about having a lot of backs is that you can look and see who has the hot hand. Richard established that early on and we went with him in the second half. He showed his speed and power and did a tremendous job going into the whole the offensive line gave him.”

Sunday, December 4, 2011

George Smith: In all the memories of Charley Pell

George Smith: In all the memories of Charley Pell: George Smith's column for Sunday, Dec. 4, 2011