Area has some of the states hottest football prospects

Last week recruiting expert Jamie Newberg, who is widely regarded as one of the most knowledgable recruiting analysts in the country, rated the top 100 college football prospects in Georgia on his website (Newbergrecruiting.com).

Several CSRA high school players made the list, but the only Columbia County product listed is Evans High School's Steven Rogers.

In terms of recruiting buzz, Rogers currently is one of the hottest receivers in the state.

On his Web site, Newberg stated, "Rogers turned in some unbelievable shuttle times this summer. Forget his 4.6 40-yard dash time. Anybody that can post a sub-4.0 shuttle times is among the quickest players in the nation."

That is why Rogers went from being a virtual unknown to cracking Newberg's top 50 players in Georgia. The 6-2, 165-pound senior is rated as the 48th best prospect in a state loaded with quality wide receivers.

Rogers is waiting on offers from some of the bigger college programs in the South, and lists the universities of Georgia and South Carolina as his favorites.

Here are the other area players in Newburg's top 100:

Jonna Lee (Butler, 6-1, 217-pound linebacker), No. 100 - likes Auburn, Georgia, Nebraska, North Carolina and South Carolina.

J.K. Saab (Laney, 5-11, 215-pound linebacker/athlete), No. 83 - likes Georgia and South Carolina.

Clinton Willis (Washington-Wilkes, 6-0, 220-pound linebacker/running back), No. 70 - likes Georgia, Penn State, Florida, Kansas State and South Carolina.

Fernando Velesco (Jefferson County, 6-4, 235-pound offensive lineman), No. 30 - has committed to Georgia.

Danny Verdun (Thomson, 6-2, 230-pound linebacker), No. 28 - has offers from Colorado, Georgia and Auburn.

Josh Thompson (Statesboro, 6-1, 289-pound defensive tackle), No. 26 - has committed to Auburn.

Richard Cook (Washington-Wilkes, 6-4, 270-pound tight end/defensive end), Top 10 - likes Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Maryland and Auburn.

Marshall hot hoops prospect

While we're talking recruiting, we might as well give an update on Greenbrier High School basketball star Eric Marshall.

After a sterling showing this summer, the 6-3 guard went from off the radar screen to perhaps being the most underrated prep player in Georgia.

Marshall has a host of schools heavily interested in his services, including College of Charleston, Middle Tennessee State, Winthrop University, Charleston Southern, Valdosta State and Bethune -Cookman.

While all of this attention is great, my advice to Marshall is - be patient!

The more teams that see him play, the bigger and better the scholarship offers will become.

I wouldn't be shocked to see Clemson, South Carolina, Georgia Tech or some other Division I programs start recruiting the Wolfpack senior.