The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Tech hosting recruits to change minds
Players on the fence may be swayed by those who commit.
In a final recruiting push, Georgia Tech played host to several recruits Friday and Saturday for official visits.
The seven committed players took visits: defensive backs Tre Swilling and Dameon Williams, linebackers Bruce Jordan-Swilling and T.D. Roof, running back Jerry Howard, dual-threat quarterback Tobias Oliver and defensive end Cortez Alston.
Alston — a three-star senior from Westminster — took his first visit to Tech’s campus the weekend of Dec. 9, which helped cement his decision to commit to the Yellow Jackets 12 days later. Like Swilling, Jordan-Swilling and Roof who also visited campus earlier, Alston used this weekend’s visit to build relationships with other committed members of Tech’s 2017 signing class and potentially persuade the uncommitted recruits who were visiting.
Three uncommitted recruits also visited: unranked wide receiver Michael Smith of Vero Beach, Fla.; three-star running back Jordan Mason from Gallatin, Tenn.; and three-star defensive end Aliki Vimahi from Kahuku, Hawaii. Threestar defensive end Antwan Owens, who committed to Central Florida, also visited this weekend.
On Tuesday, three-star linebacker Kendric Haynes of Mobile, Ala., wrote on Twitter he planned to take an official visit to Tech on Saturday, but will visit the weekend of Jan. 28 instead.
Visitor ‘solid’ with UCF: Owens said he was interested in visiting Atlanta not solely to learn about Tech, but to compare the school with Central Florida.
“I’m solid on my commitment to UCF,” Owens said. “I do want to take every opportunity I can to see other institutions just to reassure me UCF is the place I want to be for the next three to four years of my life.”
The three-star defensive tackle from Godby High School in Tallahassee, Fla., committed to UCF in June and has scholarship offers from 26 schools, according to 247 Sports.
Although the chances of Owens, 6-foot-3, 286 pounds, switching to Tech are small, he could be influenced over the weekend by the other recruits on campus.
Lineman familiar with offense: For Tech’s newest commit Charlie Clark, becoming a Yellow Jacket didn’t require much thought.
Clark, a 6-foot-4, 270pound guard from Marist, received a scholarship offer last Sunday and said he knew the offer was too good to pass up.
”(My family and I) just kind of thought about it all day and I committed on Sunday night,” Clark said. “I think the picture was kind of clear. I have been in contact with the coaching staff for a while.”
Clark is the 15th member of the Jackets’ 2017 signing class and the second to switch from another school, along with Howard, who switched from East Carolina to Tech in November.
Clark, who committed to Tulane in May, was recruited by assistant coach Lamar Owens. The final schools Clark considered were Tulane, Tech and Navy.
”I love everything about Tulane, but this was an opportunity I could not pass up,” Clark said. “Definitely just being from Atlanta and everything, just being right down the road from Tech, it was just a huge opportunity.”
Along with Tech’s campus being close to home and a Tech education, Clark chose the Jackets because he fits well into the option offense that coach Paul Johnson runs.
”That’s what we run at my high school, and it’s really rare to find,” Clark said. “I fit the offense pretty well.”
Despite Clark’s two-star composite ranking, he will compete for a spot as an offensive lineman in a Power Five conference in a few months. Clark said he was recruited as an offensive tackle.
”Once you get on campus, (star ranking) doesn’t really matter,” Clark said. “It just comes down to who’s really got it and who’s going to compete in camp and in the weight room and who’s going to use the best technique and grow and improve their game.”
Clark is expected to take an official visit to Tech the weekend of Jan. 20, along with a friend, offensive lineman Zach Quinney, who also committed to Tech.
One recruit sways another: Alston acknowledges that Tre Swilling had some influence on his decision to commit to Tech.
”He was kind of talking to me in November, and we were talking back-and-forth, and he was just explaining why he chose Tech and all those other things,” Alston said. “He’s a confident dude.”
Swilling’s recruiting effort reflects one of the two main reasons he committed to Tech in August — to try to make Tech a championship-caliber team again. (The other was to continue his father Pat Swilling’s legacy with the Jackets.)
When Swilling learned that Alston committed, he was pleased.
”I was on (Alston) hard, and then he decided to commit,” Swilling said.
Alston, a 6-foot-3, 250pound defensive end, said he chose Tech over 20 other scholarship offers, including Boston College, Harvard, Michigan State and Minnesota.
While Swilling’s recruiting effort paid off with Alston, he still has three weeks to influence any future commits to the Yellow Jackets’ 2017 signing class.
”(I’m talking to) a few other kids that are defensive linemen,” said Swilling, a cornerback from Brother Martin High School in New Orleans, La. “I can’t release their names, but I think we’re in a good spot with them (to commit).”
The Jackets had 15 players committed entering the weekend and are thought to have 25 scholarships.