Derek Morris looking for a new home

The Derek Morris saga continues.

Morris, an All-American offensive tackle prospect from Huntersville (NC) North Mecklenberg High School signed with Ohio State in February. Morris, now 6-6.5 and 360 pounds, selected the Buckeyes over the Georgia Bulldogs. When he reported to Columbus, Morris was not qualified. But that changed in mid-September. Ohio State has since released Morris from his letter of intent.

"Derek now has his test score," said Derek Morris Sr. "He scored a 21 on the ACT. We found out on September 14th. They didn't want Derek to play this season. I pushed the issue hard with the coaches up there. You know how involved I am and I was upset. Derek was upset. Derek wanted to play and he could have helped them this season. But they didn't see that and Derek asked for his release."

Morris now is free to sign with school. Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, Miami, Oklahoma, Nebraska, NC State, and Boston College are teams that Morris is thinking about right now.

"I contacted Tennessee yesterday and I guess we have to go through this all over again," said Derek Jr. "I am trying to contact other schools as well. They have been trying to get a hold of me, but because we just moved back to North Carolina, they have had to go through my high school coach."

Morris said his high school coach fielded 40 calls from different schools yesterday alone. Morris would like to get the decision done sooner rather than later.

"I will probably go to Georgia if things work out right,” Morris said. “I should have gone to Georgia in the first place. I know I could have played early and I love the OL coach. Ohio State just didn't work out. I really felt I could have gone in there and started and helped those guys out. What's done is done and I am just trying to move on."

Morris and his family moved to Columbus only to move back to North Carolina four days ago. They are now living in Durham, N.C. Morris continues to work out and train everyday. At the moment, he is bench pressing 475 pounds (five times) and squatting over 700.

Jordy Lipsey Ready to Pull Trigger

Jordy Lipsey, a five-star rated offensive line prospect from Longwood (Fla.) Lake Brantley High School, has narrowed down his choices to Virginia and Miami and Lipsey will make his decision by the end of the week. Lipsey, 6-4 and 270 pounds, is the nation’s top rated center prospect. He has already taken official visits to both UVa. (Sept. 7) and Miami (Sept. 21). Lipsey has eliminated Florida, Tennessee, Northwestern and Stanford.

-- Jamie Newberg, TheInsiders.com

Explosive Florida WR Favors Two

Andre Caldwell is one of the most explosive players from the state of Florida. He is a wide receiver prospect now playing quarterback for Tampa (Fla.) Jefferson High School. They are 4-1 this season and Caldwell has played QB in the last three games. And in those games, he has 456 yards passing, 385 yards rushing and 8 touchdowns. In regards to recruiting, Caldwell now has two big leaders.

"Florida State and Miami are my top schools," said Caldwell. "That could change anytime because I switch teams so much. But that is how it stands right now. Florida, USC, LSU and Tennessee are still in the mix. I just need to look at the big picture."

-- Jamie Newberg, TheInsiders.com

TI’s No. 2 Linebacker Sets Two Visits

At 6-foot-2 and 232 pounds, Brandywine (Md.) Gwynn Park standout linebacker Wes Jefferson has been off to an outstanding start this season. In helping his team to a 5-0 start, Jefferson has registered 68 tackles, six sacks, three caused fumbles, and one blocked punt. He also plays offense on occasion.

"I only play on offense whenever the coaches need me," Jefferson said. "I don't play much, only in certain situations."

Jefferson, who is fully qualified inside the classroom with a 1030 SAT score, said the recruiting process is starting to get tougher. "It's been getting crazy," he said.

"The coaches can call every week and I still have a lot of them calling. I guess that'll keep going until I narrow down my list. Right now, the only two that I know for sure that I'll visit are Miami on December 13 and Maryland on December 20."

The talented linebacker said he's not sure on his other three yet. "I'm still looking at a lot of others," he said. "I'm looking at Notre Dame. Surprisingly, I'm looking at Hawaii and it's not because of the location. They are well coached. June Jones has NFL coaching experience. I'm also looking at Penn State, Virginia, and Ohio State."

Jefferson, who said all of the schools he's still considering have offered him a scholarship, said he doesn't have any favorites right now.

"I really couldn't say," he said. "Every last one of our games are on Saturdays, usually at 2, so I don't get to watch much college football. I rarely get to see any of these teams play and I usually can't go to any games. I was able to go to the Maryland-Florida State game but that's been it. I'll know a lot more about where I want to go after my visits."

Jefferson talked more about the Hurricanes.

"Miami's a good school," he said. "I know it's a real small school. The coaches do a great job there and I like the player personnel. Coach Hargreaves is real cool. He seems like a real good guy and I know he coaches the linebackers. He wants me to play middle linebacker there but I can play both inside and outside. Miami's definitely on my list."

Lately there has been a lot of talk about Jefferson likely staying close to home.

"I've never said anything like that so I don't know why people think that," he said. "Maryland's a great school and they're on my list, but so is Miami and some other schools that aren't around here. I'll just go where I best fit in."

-- Mike Bakas, TheInsiders.com

Wisconsin Bags a Big Commitment

Wisconsin received tremendous news last night when coach Barry Alvarez received a call with the Badgers' newest football commitment, and it's a huge one.

The Badgers landed their sixth verbal commitment of the year last night, as wide receiver Ernest Mason of Fort Worth Dunbar (Tex.) called to give his verbal to Coach Barry Alvarez.

Mason, a 5-11, 176-pound receiver, made his official visit to Madison last weekend and was obviously blown away by the experience. He is turning down offers from schools including Notre Dame, Alabama, Kansas, Oklahoma State, Colorado, Baylor, Iowa, Iowa State, LSU, Arkansas and TCU.

One of the fastest players in the country, Mason has been timed as fast as 10.2 in the 100-meters. He ran a 10.4 in the 2000 USA Nationals Track and Field Championship. He also posted a 20.9 200-meter and his team finished second in the mile relay and third in the 4x100 relay. This past summer, they won the mile relay with a time of 3:09.

Mason's coach Bobby Jones,, played high school for Alvarez, and Jones has coached at UW's summer camps. The Badgers have also offered two other Dunbar standouts, 5-11, 190-pound tailback Michael Turner, and Terion Caldwell, a 6-2, 190-pound safety.

-- Ron Whitworth, BadgerNation.com

West’s Top OL Still Likes Four

Drew Radovich, 6-4, 270 pound offensive lineman from Mission Viejo (Calif.) has had a great senior season and is living up to his rating as the top OL in the West region. Anyone who had a chance to see Radovich on Fox Sports Net a few weeks back against perennial power Mater Dei saw what a dominating high school lineman should look like.

Radovich is rated one of the nation's top lineman for his great athleticism, feet and technique. What he showed against Mater Dei, always one of the state's most physical teams was a strong desire to dominate and be as nasty as you can be.

"I was really motivated for that game," Radovich said. "I think it was probably the most physical I've ever played. I saw on different web sites where people were accusing me of being a cheap artist but I just really wanted to win. I wanted to keep our streak of beating Mater Dei alive because they're a really tough team."

Radovich is so quick on his feet, he's able to block the lineman in front of him and get down the field and hit a linebacker or a safety as well. He's the kind of player that keeps going until the whistle blows and in this game, sometimes even after the whistle.

Radovich had another tough match-up last weekend when the Diablos played Crenshaw and their standout defensive lineman Brandon Mebane.

"I went against him on every play," Radovich said. "He's really good, one of the two best players I've ever gone against. He's not quite as big as Sedric Ellis (Chino DL) but he's just as strong and very quick. He plays hard on every play and is a real tough player. He likes to bull rush a lot. I didn't give up any sacks against him but he was tough."

On the recruiting front, Radovich has the same top four of Washington, UCLA, Colorado and USC with the Huskies and Bruins out in front.

"Washington is still my top school and UCLA is right behind them," Radovich said. "Colorado is No. 3 and then USC is also still in the mix. UCLA moved up since they offered me."

-- Greg Biggins, PacWestFootball.com

Woodley Off To Big Start

Lamarr Woodley, from Saginaw, Michigan, is a super prospect and he is having a super senior season. He has led Saginaw to a 5-1 start with 46 tackles and 11 sacks.

"I guess I am playing pretty good," said Woodley. "They (the opposition) are trying to run away from me."

So far, Woodley has lined up three official visits -- Michigan (11-2), Michigan State (11-19), and USC (11-29). This week, Saginaw will take on Bay City Central High School.

-- Jamie Newberg, TheInsiders.com

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