ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia assistant coach Jon Fabris is in charge of recruiting South Carolina. But he doesn't claim to scour every square mile for every Division I prospect therein.
"If I had a helicopter I couldn't do it," he said.
 CURTIS COMPTON/Cox News Service Freshman wide receiver A.J. Green, one of the highest-rated prospects Georgia has ever recruited from the state of South Carolina, says he 'just likes it better here.' For a larger, high resolution image, click HERE |
No, when Georgia goes prospect hunting in the Palmetto State, it tends to seek only big game. And history shows that more often than not, it comes back home with some prized recruits.
"Why cross the river unless I think this guy can put somebody who's already here on the bench?" Fabris said.
Case in point: A.J. Green.
The Bulldogs snatched Green — the No. 1, 2 or 3 receiver in America, depending upon what recruiting service one subscribes — out of Summerville, S.C., just 90 minutes from South Carolina's Williams-Brice Stadium. He will likely start against the Gamecocks this Saturday in Columbia.
"There was a lot of pressure on him to go to one of the in-state schools," Fabris said. "Most people waver on that. But I don't think A.J. ever batted an eye."
Said Green, who started his first game for the Bulldogs last Saturday: "I just felt a little more comfortable here. Nothing against South Carolina, I like South Carolina. I just liked it better here."
Green is one of four South Carolinians on Georgia's roster, three of whom will start on Saturday. He'll join junior cornerback Prince Miller (Duncan, S.C.), who was part of four South Carolina state championship teams, and strong safety CJ Byrd (North Augusta, S.C.), the South Carolina Player of the Year his senior season. Freshman linebacker Charles White of Blythewood, is out for the season with an Achilles tendon injury.
"We've never had a lot of quantity," Fabris said of South Carolinians, "but we've had a lot of quality."
That has been true for many years. Under Jim Donnan the Bulldogs signed NFL pro bowler Richard Seymour out of Lexington, and Kevin Breedlove, who holds the offensive line record for career starts, out of Clemson.
Orangeburg's Tim Jennings, Robert Geathers of Georgetown and Marcus Howard of Huger, all of them NFL players, came in under Mark Richt. The 1960s brought Kent Lawrence from Central and Steve Greer from, well, Greer. And four starters from the 1980 national championship team were from South Carolina: tight end Norris Brown, safety Jeff Hipp, defensive end Pat McShea and linebacker Frank Ros.
Obviously, Georgia will continue to look East for talent.
"Based on their population base they probably produce more players per capita than most states," said Georgia recruiting coordinator Rodney Garner. "It's a state that borders Georgia. There are a lot of Georgia alums in that state, a lot of interest in Georgia football in that state. And Georgia has had a great presence there throughout history. Traditionally it has been a good state for us and it's one we'll definitely try to recruit."
Of course, the Bulldogs don't win all the battles. In recent years they lost head-to-head tussles for defensive ends Clifton Geathers (6-7, 284) and Cliff Matthews (6-4, 259), both of whom could start and will play significantly for South Carolina on Saturday.
"That's the in-state school," Garner said. "Typically they should win those battles. They can sell staying home, just like we do."
Conversely, many of the Gamecocks' star players are from Georgia, which gets recruited by everybody. Their best player ever, 1980 Heisman Trophy winner George Rogers, is from Duluth.
"We go up against Georgia on a lot of players, in Atlanta as well as South Carolina," coach Steve Spurrier said. "We've gotten a few. There's no question Georgia and Florida out-recruit most of us as far as players in their states. What we need to do is do a better job of keeping our in-state players here. To do that, we need to win consistently a little better than we've done."
Make no mistake about it, though, getting a player of Green's caliber 90 miles from Columbia is no small matter.
"It's a coup to get a guy with that kind of talent from anywhere," Garner said. "He's an impact guy that can change a game. Those kinds of guys don't come around often. Those guys are program makers — a Knowshon Moreno, and A.J. Green, a Matthew Stafford. Anytime, anywhere you can get those types of guys, that's major."
Chip Towers writes for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. E-mail: ctowers AT ajc.com
