Big weekend pays off for Nebraska recruiting

Two big California commits on way
California natives Jordon James and Joshua Shaw are two of the best players in the nation. They are scheduled to make their college announcements in the next couple of days.

James, a four-star running back from Corona, Calif., will announce his decision Thursday. James has narrowed his choices to Arizona, Cal and UCLA. James just visited Arizona this past weekend and took an official visit to Berkeley in early October.

He has taken multiple unofficial visits to the UCLA campus, and a lot of the speculation has James as a big lean toward UCLA. But sources at Corona say Cal could be the real team to watch because he fell in love with Cal’s campus on his trip and the Bears can sell James on early playing time.

Shaw, of Palmdale, Calif., will announce his decision at 10 a.m. Nov. 17 at a news conference at his high school. Shaw ranks as the nation’s No. 3 cornerback. LSU, USC, Ohio State and Florida are the top candidates on his list. Shaw has visited both Florida and Ohio State twice, and he has also visited Notre Dame and LSU.

His most recent trip was to Gainesville, Fla., this past weekend, and many believe the Gators leaped ahead of Ohio State after the visit. Shaw, however, has gone back and forth with his decision multiple times, and you can’t count out USC or Ohio State.

“It’s been a long process,” Shaw said. “I was going to wait until Christmas to announce, but I need to start focusing on the playoffs and graduating early. There’s a lot to consider, so I’m going to go where I feel comfortable. It’s where I feel I can succeed as a student-athlete. But I got to see a lot of schools, and it was an honor to be recruited by each.”

Etc.

• Most of the talk about what school will finish with the nation’s top class has been focused on Texas and Alabama, but a team to watch out for is Tennessee. The Volunteers have already cemented themselves a spot in the top five and should climb even higher over the next couple of weeks, especially if they continue to add standouts like four-star offensive lineman Jawuan James. The 6-6, 293-pound James on Tuesday committed to the Vols over Georgia.
• Los Angeles Crenshaw coach Robert Garrett said his star junior athlete De’Anthony Thomas is already a wanted man and has plenty of early attention. “I’ve had several coaches tell me De’Anthony is better than any of the recruits in the state now,” he said. Garrett, however, said Thomas wants to keep a low profile with the recruiting process and isn’t a fan of the media attention. “He’s had so many people around here in the community try to tell him how great he is, but he’s such a humble kid,” Garrett said. “He wants to keep the focus on all of his teammates, and you have to appreciate that.”