Isn't this what we all wish for? I thought so...
Friday, May 23, 2008
GEORGIA TECH LANDS TOP OPTION QB IN JORDAN LUALLEN
Yesterday Georgia Tech picked up one of it's biggest commitments so far in the Paul Johnson era by landing top 15 QB Jordan Luallen. Luallen is a dual-threat quarterback out of Center Grove High School in Greenwood, Indiana and turned down offers from Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisville, Maryland, Purdue, Stanford, and Cincinnati to pick the Yellow Jackets. He is a tall QB at 6-foot-3 who can scramble and scored 25 total touchdowns last season in helping his team to a 9-2 record.
Luallen should fit in perfectly for Johnson's triple option/spread offense he is looking to establish this fall in his first season on the Flats. Many pundits didn't think Johnson could land a top QB with his offense that almost ran to perfection at Navy the past few seasons. Johnson proved them wrong. Landing a recruit the stature of Luallen can only help and signals to other recruits that Johnson could have a top 20 class due signing day.
Now if only they can recruit 4 and 5 star recruits at every other position then they may have a chance to beat in-state rival Georgia. Key word: MAY.
IRISH LAND NASTY LB IN CARLO CALABRESE
The Fighting Irish have been needing a hard-nosed, punishing linebacker who loves to destroy the other team's players to fit into Jon Tenuta's blitzing attack and it looks like they found the perfect match in LB Carlo Calabrese of New Jersey. Yesterday Calabrese committed to Notre Dame and head coach Charlie Weis making him the 5th commitment and 3rd out of the Garden State in the 2009 class.Calabrese looks like an old throwback type of football player who always plays with a ton of emotion and simply loves to hit people.
"I like hitting kids," Calabrese said. "That's my favorite thing."
Calabrese is the perfect fit for the MIKE position at ILB for Notre Dame. He has great instincts for the ball and is already big enough and strong enough to compete for playing time once he arrives on campus in 2009. He knows how to shed blocks and plays with a solid base which should make him an excellent middle linebacker in college with the ability to stop the run. At 6-foot-2, 225 pounds, he is built like a big rig and hits like one too. Looking at this picture will give you a better understanding of just how strong and big he is coming out of Verona High School(same high school as former Notre Dame tight end and current Miami Dolphin Anthony Fasano) in New Jersey.
Calabrese looks like a freak of nature and if I had to compare him to someone coming out of high school I would say he reminds me a lot of Takeo Spikes. He just seems like he knows where the football is going to go and quickly beats the opponent to the spot and then...well, he simply crushes them. Calabrese will become an instant fan favorite in South Bend with the way he plays the game and the emotion and heart he leaves out on the football field every Saturday. He is by far my favorite recruit in this class because of the energy he brings to the field and should be an excellent recruiter for the 2009 class which can reach the high teens in numbers.
Here are some highlights of Calabrese absolutely destroying the opposition while foaming at the mouth...
THE DAILY DUMP
The Daily Dump is SportsCrack's review of the day before today while sitting on the porcelain throne, sometimes painful, sometimes oh so sweet...
MLB
-The Braves completed the 4 game sweep of the pathetic New York Mets yesterday behind an exceptional pitching performance by Tim Hudson and some timely hitting by Met-killer Larry Jones.
The crowd was electric last night with the brooms out in full force as the Braves mounted a comeback against lefty ace Johan Santana by scoring 3 runs in the 7th thanks to a RBI single by Chipper to take the lead with runners on first and third.
I might have been wrong about the Braves this season. I didn't think they could compete in a division with the Phillies and the Mets with their pitching but starters Tom Glavine and especially Jair Jurrjens have both been pleasant surprises. The Braves are now a NL best 20-5 at home but still have the major leagues worst road record at 6-16. The bullpen has a lot of question marks too but the lineup is really coming together with Mark Teixeria, Kelly Johnson and Brian McCann all heating up as the Ted gets hotter in late May. The Diamondbacks come in for a 3 game series starting today in what should be a good barometer of this Braves team in that the D'Backs are clearly a better team than the Mets.
-Speaking of the D'Backs, they come to Atlanta after being sweeped in a 3 game series by the Florida Marlins. Young lefty Andrew Miller(acquired in the Cabrera trade) shut out the D'Backs for seven innings while striking out 9 batters to improve the Marlins record to a NL East best 27-19. With a $22 million payroll and a roster full of young guys it would be hard to imagine this Marlins squad playing this well so far into the season. The Marlins are playing great baseball and didn't even commit an error during the 3 game sweep.
-The Chicago White Sox won their 8th in a row with a 3-1 victory over the slumping Cleveland Indians. The Indians can't hit worth a shit and are last in the Majors in batting average and runs scored.
-What are the Reds waiting for in Jay Bruce? The Major League's top overall prospect, Bruce is tearing it up in the minors with a .369 batting average with 24 extra base hits. The Reds suck balls right now so why not call him up? Maybe Dusty Baker has plans of blowing out Cueto and Volquez's arms before calling up Bruce.
-I'm going to say it once and that is it: Instant replay is stupid in baseball.
NBA
-Down go the Celtics on their home court. The Pistons tied the series last night handing the Celtics their first home loss in the playoffs. The NBA's nightmare scenario could come to fruition if the Spurs beat the Lakers tonight on their home court. Of course David Stern won't let this happen just like he wouldn't let the Bulls not get the #1 pick in the draft.
NHL
-Nothing remotely fucking interesting happened yesterday other than one more painful day till the Stanley Cup Finals begin.
NFL
-Teammates are already taunting Matt Ryan. Only a matter of time before he goes into Ryan Leaf meltdown mode playing behind a questionable offensive line.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
-Some big recruiting news for both Notre Dame and Georgia Tech. I will have more on this later as the Fighting Irish land a punishing linebacker and the Yellow Jackets get a verbal from an option QB.
MLB
-The Braves completed the 4 game sweep of the pathetic New York Mets yesterday behind an exceptional pitching performance by Tim Hudson and some timely hitting by Met-killer Larry Jones.
The crowd was electric last night with the brooms out in full force as the Braves mounted a comeback against lefty ace Johan Santana by scoring 3 runs in the 7th thanks to a RBI single by Chipper to take the lead with runners on first and third."You live for that moment." "It was awesome; we played great," said Jones, who went 2-for-4 to raise his major league-leading average from .410 to .412. "When we look back at the end of the season ... most fun we had all year on the field. Just great.""
I might have been wrong about the Braves this season. I didn't think they could compete in a division with the Phillies and the Mets with their pitching but starters Tom Glavine and especially Jair Jurrjens have both been pleasant surprises. The Braves are now a NL best 20-5 at home but still have the major leagues worst road record at 6-16. The bullpen has a lot of question marks too but the lineup is really coming together with Mark Teixeria, Kelly Johnson and Brian McCann all heating up as the Ted gets hotter in late May. The Diamondbacks come in for a 3 game series starting today in what should be a good barometer of this Braves team in that the D'Backs are clearly a better team than the Mets.
-Speaking of the D'Backs, they come to Atlanta after being sweeped in a 3 game series by the Florida Marlins. Young lefty Andrew Miller(acquired in the Cabrera trade) shut out the D'Backs for seven innings while striking out 9 batters to improve the Marlins record to a NL East best 27-19. With a $22 million payroll and a roster full of young guys it would be hard to imagine this Marlins squad playing this well so far into the season. The Marlins are playing great baseball and didn't even commit an error during the 3 game sweep.
-The Chicago White Sox won their 8th in a row with a 3-1 victory over the slumping Cleveland Indians. The Indians can't hit worth a shit and are last in the Majors in batting average and runs scored.
-What are the Reds waiting for in Jay Bruce? The Major League's top overall prospect, Bruce is tearing it up in the minors with a .369 batting average with 24 extra base hits. The Reds suck balls right now so why not call him up? Maybe Dusty Baker has plans of blowing out Cueto and Volquez's arms before calling up Bruce.
-I'm going to say it once and that is it: Instant replay is stupid in baseball.
NBA
-Down go the Celtics on their home court. The Pistons tied the series last night handing the Celtics their first home loss in the playoffs. The NBA's nightmare scenario could come to fruition if the Spurs beat the Lakers tonight on their home court. Of course David Stern won't let this happen just like he wouldn't let the Bulls not get the #1 pick in the draft.
NHL
-Nothing remotely fucking interesting happened yesterday other than one more painful day till the Stanley Cup Finals begin.
NFL
-Teammates are already taunting Matt Ryan. Only a matter of time before he goes into Ryan Leaf meltdown mode playing behind a questionable offensive line.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
-Some big recruiting news for both Notre Dame and Georgia Tech. I will have more on this later as the Fighting Irish land a punishing linebacker and the Yellow Jackets get a verbal from an option QB.