Gridironstuds.com Blog

Florida St. Scores Big Again with Commitment from Top Florida Athlete

It’s been one helluva week for the Florida St. Seminoles. It seems that there were many recruits out there waiting for Bobby Bowden to retire and now that he has, the flood gates have opened in Tallahassee.

Four days after landing the #1 linebacker in the country (Jeff Luc), Florida St. secured a commitment from the #3 ranked defensive back, St. Thomas Aquinas’ Lamarcus Joyner. Joyner was due to get a visit from Ohio St. Buckeye head coach Jim Tressel at his home Wednesday Night. Evidently the Buckeyes failed to show and Joyner made the decision to be a Nole.

Joyner had been sought after by virtually every major program in the country including all three major schools in the State of Florida along with the likes of Ohio St., Georgia, California and many more. Joyner’s final destination had been the source of many speculative debates by college football fans. At one point, Joyner looked to be headed to the Buckeyes and then Florida St.. Then the rumor was put out that Joyner had removed the Seminoles from his list. In situations like this, it’s tough to figure out who’s putting the info out. If it’s Joyner, then it seems he was out to have fun with the media and those who follow this process a little too closely. With that being the case, one has to wonder if Joyner is above changing his commitment before the signing date.

For now, Joyner is a Seminole and Florida St. has enjoyed one it’s most productive weeks of recruiting in recent history by landing six recruits and two of them ranked in the top 25 in most recruiting publications.

View Lamarcus Joyner’s highlight video, click here.

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In other semi-related news. Ohio St. offered Joyner’s St. Thomas Aquinas’ teammate, wide receiver Phillip Dorsett.

High School Football lamarcus joyner

Quietly, Miami Edison High School senior cornerback Dion Hanks committed to the Purdue Boilermakers on Wednesday. What may have been lost in that commitment was the fact that Hanks became the 7th player from the state of Florida to pledge to Purdue for the 2010 class.

After signing 14 players from the Sunshine State in 2009 and securing 7 commitments so far for 2010, Purdue’s strategy is clear, get down to Florida and grab some skilled athletes. We have watched the Big-10′s failures in their bowl games for the last few years and speed or lack there of has been the major issue. Purdue is one program tackling that problem head on by burying itself in Florida and trying to walk out with as much talent as they can.

Purdue is just not pulling just any ole Florida talent either. The Boilermakers are landing players from programs like Daytona Mainland, Miami Pace, Tampa Trinity Catholic and Lakeland High School. These programs are in the playoffs every season and routinely turnout BCS type talent.

It should come as no surprise to anyone that Purdue head coach Danny Hope is a Florida native. Hope was born in Gainesville and attended Miami’s Killian High School which most recently turned out top talent like running back Lamar Miller (Class of 2009 to Miami). Hope also coached at Manatee High School in Bradenton, Florida during which time Manatee won a state championship (1983). Hope has also been recognized for his recruiting prowess being named one of the nation’s best recruiters in 1993 and 2000 by The Prep Report.

It will be interesting to see how Purdue’s Florida strategy will translate into performance on the field. Should there be a sharp rise in performance, I think we can see other Big-10 teams looking to reach the top by focusing more on the state located at the bottom of the nation.

General danny hope, purdue football

Another day and another Gridironstuds.com member going D-I. The latest commitment comes from hard nose, hard hitting New Jersey linebacker Doug Rigg. Rigg hails from Bergen Catholic high school in Bloomfield, New Jersey.

The 6’1″ 210 lb. senior saw contributed heavily on both sides of the ball. On offense, Rigg put up 500 yards on the ground as a running back and found the end zone nine times. From his defensive end spot, Rigg totaled 65 tackles and had seven sacks. In the weight room, he puts up 325 lbs. on the bench press and squats 435 lbs. He is the fourth linebacker commit for the Mountaineers in their 2010 class and the first commit from the state of New Jersey for the Mountaineers.

Rigg was also considering offers from Rutgers, Wisconsin, Iowa and Maryland.

Check out Doug Rigg’s highlight video at Gridironstuds.com. Click here now.

High School Football, In the Pit

latwan anderson

History was within their grasp and it slipped out of their hands literally.  Already history makers by getting to this game,  the Glenville Tarblooders came up one point short of being the first Cleveland area public school to win a state title when they fell to Hilliard Davidson 16-15 on Saturday night.

It was a game that will go down as one of the best in Cleveland High School history.  Up 15-8 late in the 3rd quarter,  Glenville had a chance to put it away.  Deep in Davidson territory,  Glenville quarterback Cardale Jones found senior Christian Bryant cutting across the field near the end zone but Bryant could not haul in the pass and Glenville turned the ball over to Davidson.  The next play from scrimmage,  Hilliard’s quarterback Jake Trubiyano raced 73 yards with a carry down to the Glenville 3 yard line.  A couple of plays later Davidson was in the end zone to pull to within 15-14.  With balls of steel,  Davidson went for two and made it to go up 16-15 with just a minute left on the clock.   Glenville took the ball after a touchback and drove to the Davidson 45 yard line before Jones was intercepted in the end zone to seal the win for Davidson.

It was a storied season for Latwan Anderson and the Glenville Tarblooders.  Unfortunately,  they came up short of the win in the end in what was a thrilling high school football game.

High School Football latwan anderson

One of the most awaited decisions of the 2010 recruiting season is a mystery no more. Treasure Coast High School’s Jeff Luc committed to Florida St. on Saturday afternoon to make the Seminoles recruiting trail extra red hot.

Florida St. has landed four recruits in the last two days but none bigger than #1 ranked linebacker in the country according to Rivals and Scout.

After losing a heartbreaker in the playoffs last night to Apopka, Luc took his official visit to Tallahassee on Saturday and saw what he wanted to see.

“They pretty much followed through on what they said coaching wise,” said Jeff’s brother Alex Luc. “I’m still shocked.”

In the end, it really came down to Florida St. and Florida according to Alex. With uncertainty surrounding Charlie Strong staying at Florida and clarity taking place with Florida St.’s coaching situation, it was a no brainer for Luc who chose Florida St. over schools like USC, LSU and Ohio St.

Despite some speculation that Luc could be moved to defensive end in college, the Seminoles see Luc as a true middle linebacker. Some other schools mentioned other positions for Luc but his interest is in playing linebacker and at Florida St. he will be given the opportunity to do that.

With his brother’s influence, Jeff grew up a Florida St. fan and Jeff was leaning towards the Noles throughout the recruiting process. “If Florida St. would have offered Jeff a year and half ago, he would have committed then,” said Alex.

When Luc busted out on the national scene after his highlight film appeared on Gridironstuds.com, he was forced to take a look at what each and every school could offer him. In the end, Luc went where his heart was telling him and that is Florida St. During the process, Luc probably made more trips to Tallahassee than anywhere else. Luc’s brother Alex attended Florida St. University. “I never pressured him but I pretty much wanted him to be a Nole,” Alex said.

A pair of Luc’s teammates, safeties Keelin Smith and Lamarcus Brutus committed to Florida St. earlier this week. Both players are 2011 graduates. When they enter Florida St., they will be looking at a familiar face in Jeff.

Now that Luc has crossed this important hurdle, he can now turn his attention to other things like graduating early (December), getting ready for the Under Armour All-Star Game, dealing with on-rush of media attention and as his brother said, getting some other recruits to come to Florida St. with him.

“There’s going to be some surprises (recruiting),” Alex said predicting some more good news for the Seminoles in the game of recruiting. “There will be a domino effect.” The next few weeks will certainly be interesting.

Gridironstuds.com would like to congratulate Jeff Luc on this important decision.

Check out Jeff Luc’s highlight video, click here.

High School Football jeff luc, top 2010 recuits

Pop quiz! Name the last Cleveland area public high school to win an Ohio State football championship in any division. Answer? There has never been one. O.K., how about this one? Name the last Cleveland area public school to play for a state championship in any division. Answer? There has never been one, until now.

Gridironstuds.com’s very own Latwan Anderson and the Glenville High School Tarblooders have already made history by advancing to Saturday’s Division I state championship final where they will face Hilliard Davidson. Head coach Ted Ginn Sr. has put many of his players into Division I colleges and some like Troy Smith, Donte Whitner and Ted Ginn Jr. have even played in the NFL but until now, he could never say that he’s played for it all in Ohio High School football.

Anderson, a transfer from St. Edward’s High School earlier this year and the 18th ranked recruit according to Rivals has sparked Glenville’s blazed path through the 2009 season. Since losing their opener to St. Ignatius 14-13, Glenville has ripped off 13 wins in a row. Anderson helped Glenville serve notice in the 2nd round of the playoffs when they avenged the St. Ignatius loss 30-13. Anderson snagged three interceptions in that game including one that he returned 99 yards for a touchdown. Anderson has 11 interceptions on the season to lead the defense. Anderson is also joined by top recruit Christian Bryant on defense to head up a unit that only allowed 11 points per game.

Anderson also played some offense where he caught passes from junior quarterback Cardale Jones who has emerged as one of the state’s top quarterbacks. Jones has passed for over 1,800 yards, 18 TDs and has a 64% completion percentage. Wide receiver Shane Wynn is also one to watch with his 10 TDs and 18.3 yard per catch average.

Tarblooders go for history Saturday night at 7 P.M. against the 13-1 Hilliard Davidson Wildcats.

Watch Latwan Anderson’s highlight video at Gridironstuds.com, click here now.

High School Football cardale jones, christian bryant, latwan anderson, shane wynn

December 3, 2009

The Florida St. Seminoles scored pledges from a pair of Treasure Coast High School (Florida) teammates.  Safeties Lamarcus Brutus and Keelin Smith both have committed to Florida St.  Both prospects are class of 2011 graduates.  Brutus is also being recruited by LSU, North Carolina, Stanford, Ohio St. and Ole Miss.   Smith is also being recruited by LSU, North Carolina, Ohio St., Ole Miss and Tennessee.

Glades Central High School (Florida) wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin has named an early top 5 of Miami, Florida St., Florida, Tennessee and West Virginia.

December 2, 2009

Pahokee H.S. (Florida) DT Richard Ash has committed to West Virginia University. Ash is also being recruited by Minnesota, USC and South Florida.

Raines H.S. (Jacksonville, Florida) defensive tackle Louis Nix has dropped his University of Miami commit for the University of Notre Dame.

St. Thomas Aquinas H.S. (Florida) cornerback Cody Riggs has received his first home visit and it’s from the University of Georgia.

December 1, 2009

Top rated defensive end Chris Martin from Grandview H.S. (Colorado) has decommitted Notre Dame amongst the uncertainty with the coaching situation.

Though he is still a Florida St. commit, Pahokee wide receiver DeJoshua Johnson will continue to look at other programs. Johnson is being recruited by Alabama, LSU, Miami, South Florida and Florida.

Rumor has it that the University of Miami has pulled it’s offer to Pahokee defensive back Raheem Buxton citing academic issues.

Rumor has it that Shaquelle Evans (Inglewood H.S., Calif.) a top recruit for Notre Dame in their 2009 class is not to happy in South Bend.

Glade Central H.S. (Florida) athlete, Greg Dent has dropped his University of Miami commit for Florida St.

November 30, 2009

Carol City H.S. (Florida) cornerback Gareef Glashen has committed to Syracuse University. Glashen marks the third commit that Syracuse has received from the state of Florida in the past week.

Rumors and Wires chris martin, cody riggs, dejoshua johnson, gareef glashen, greg dent, keelin smith, Kelvin benjamin, lamarcus brutus, Louis Nix, raheem buxton, richard ash, shaauelle evans