Colleges keep eye on area's football players

Last week I took a look at the college recruitment of Evans High School football player Steven Rogers.

While Rogers will be Columbia County's most highly-recruited prep player, he isn't alone.

As the recruiting season heats up over the next three months, I'll keep you updated on where our local athletes may be headed.

For now, here's a quick rundown of the current recruiting outlook at Evans, plus an overview at each of the county's high schools.

Evans

Steven Roger (wide receiver): colleges showing interest - Georgia, South Carolina, Auburn, Memphis, Mississippi State, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest.

Tanis Maynor (defensive back): interest from smaller schools, mainly Division 1-AA and II programs.

Osmond Brinson (defensive back): Ivy League schools are showing interest, because as good as Brinson is on the field, he's even better in the classroom.

Greenbrier

Ben Tankersley (kicker): Presbyterian College.

Scott Henchel and Curtis Henchel (offensive linemen): The Henchel brothers are so strong and hard-nosed, some colleges will come courting.

Harlem

Kelvin Sturgis (running back/defensive back): Sturgis likely will start his college career at Georgia Military, a junior college program in Milledgeville. Schools such as Troy State and Georgia Southern would love to have him in two years.

Josh Wilmoth (linebacker): Wilmoth is banged up right now, but he is still being sought by several schools. Georgia Southern is the biggest, but other Division I-AA and Division II colleges will also go after him.

Lakeside

Charles O'Byrne (lineman): Appalachian State, Tusculum and North Greenville Junior College lead the charge of small schools seeking his services.

Rahul Singh (offensive line): offers could arrive from North Greenville, Tusculum and Lenoir-Rhyne.

Galen Jones (tight end/linebacker): Tusculum and a few other small-college programs are interested.

Augusta Christian

The Lions are having a great season, and according to AC coach Bruce Lane, several of his players are college material. Lane believes as many as seven seniors could be playing on Saturdays next fall.

"I'm not saying they all will play college ball, but they've had inquiries, and I think all of them could play at the college level," he said. "The credibility in our league (the Georgia Independent Schools Association) increases every year. Hopefully the tide is turning in our favor."

While some past Augusta Christian players have advanced to the next level, Division I college scouts sometimes overlook talent in the GISA. For instance, GISA standout J.T. Wall, who was coached by Lane at John Milledge Academy, moved on to Southwest Baptist College and later had to work his way onto the squad at University of Georgia.

Also, record-setting Augusta Christian tailback Joel Whinghter got the snub last season, and was forced to walk on at Troy State.

Here's a look at the AC players who could prove themselves at the next level: David Nelson (kicker); Matt Lane (tight end/defensive end); Scott Brantley (linebacker); Ryan Bates (receiver/defensive back); Trey Pitts (linebacker); Lance Tucker (defensive end); and, Brock Ballis (defensive end).