AD: Nickell Robey ‘probably not going to sign with Georgia’
6:22 pm January 25, 2010, by Chip Towers
Nickell Robey is probably not going to sign with Georgia.
That was the assessment of Frostproof High School athletics director Charles Loveless, who spoke to the AJC on Robey’s behalf Monday afternoon.
Robey, a 5-foot-8, 175-pound cornerback, is still listed as a Georgia commitment. But he has been looking around at other schools for weeks now. He visited West Virginia this past weekend, will travel to Southern Cal next weekend and has somebody in his ear from South Florida nearly every day.
From where Loveless is sitting, it appears imminent that the dynamic two-way athlete will probably end up elsewhere.
“Georgia’s listing him as a soft commit but I don’t think he’s going to Georgia,†said Loveless, who has helped marshal Robey’s recruitment since coach Brad Metheny resigned at the end of the season. “I’m a close friend of Mark Richt from our Florida State days. But basically [Robey] liked Coach [Willie] Martinez a lot and wanted to play for him. He told them when all that happened he was not happy with the change. You have to realize, Coach Martinez was sitting in his living room one day and was gone two days later. That’s pretty tough on a kid.â€
Loveless said the four-star cornerback has dutifully listened to Georgia’s pleas to wait out the search for a new defensive coordinator and honor his commitment.
{[Assistant coach] Bryan McClendon has been calling a lot,†Loveless said. “They’re still doing a nice job of recruiting him. But in the end I think the Willie Martinez thing is going to be too much to overcome.â€
Meanwhile, Robey has shut down all media contact while he figures out what he wants to do.
“He’s not answering phone calls or returning messages right now,†Loveless said. “He had a visit from West Virginia this morning to follow up on his visit up there. Skip Holtz [the new South Florida coach] was here last week and is trying to get him to come down there. He’s planning to visit Southern Cal next week. Monte Kiffin has been very persistent. He’s probably been in here more than is legal. Of course they don’t pay attention to the rules.â€
Loveless said there’s a good reason there remains so much fuss over Robey.
“I don’t think a lot of people realize what kind of athlete he is,†Loveless said. “Do you realize three times he has been state runner-up in the long jump? He’s jumped 24-7 (24 feet, 7 inches). His vertical (leap) at the Under Armour combine was 42 inches. I don’t know where people are getting that his 5-7. He’s probably 5-8 1/2 or 9. This is the most explosive athlete I’ve ever seen. And he’s a good football player. Probably better on offense if you want to know the truth.â€
So where does Loveless think he’ll end up?
“Southern Cal is a long, long way to go. Too far probably,†Loveless said. “I think West Virginia is probably in there. And Virginia Tech is probably in there, too. That’s a team that has been kind of under the radar but quietly recruiting him all along. He camped down there and likes the coaches and they’ve been very consistent and kind of low-key with him. Honestly, Georgia is probably a poor third right now. His best bet might be South Florida but they’re playing catch-up with Skip Holtz.
“I’d say he’s probably pretty confused right now. I don’t think see him making up his mind until signing day.â€
http://blogs.ajc.com/recruiting/2010/01/25/frostproof-ad-nickell-robey-probably-not-going-to-sign-with-georgia/
