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QB Antonio Henton (transfer to Ga. Southern and FT. Valley St.)

Some mention of Henton in todays dispatch....

They don’t have to look for the next Troy Smith. They believe they accomplished that in June, when Fort Valley (Ga.) quarterback Antonio Henton committed to the Buckeyes.

Henton is a dual-threat player who welcomes the comparisons with Smith. He knows Smith’s success has provided the template OSU coaches now follow when looking for quarterbacks.

"I see the things he’s doing and I feel I can do those same things in a year or so," Henton said yesterday. "That’s why the coaches said they recruited me, because I reminded them of Troy."

Henton is 6 feet 2, 220 pounds with speed (4.65 in the 40-yard dash) and a strong arm.

"I think Troy probably is a step faster," said Rance Gillespie, Henton’s coach, "but Antonio throws the ball better at the same age.

"Antonio has taken a lot of pride in being considered a quarterback, not just an athlete. He has the courage and ability to sit in there and take licks, make throws and do what needs to be done."

His team, Peach County, lost its first three games while he was recovering from off-season ankle surgery. Upon his return, the team ripped off 12 straight wins, culminating with a Class AAA state title last weekend.

Henton finished his two-year run as a starter with more than 3,700 yards passing, 900 yards rushing, 57 touchdowns (48 passing, nine rushing) and 11 interceptions.
Henton is one of nine OSU commitments for next season, and the coaching staff is scouring the country looking to push that total to about 20 by signing day, Feb. 1.
 
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I see he responded saying that he turned him in as a 4*... that means the others don't agree at this point... That's the thing with scout. The don't collaborate on the regional rankings, only the national ones. So you will see inconsistencies in them.

Not to belabor this topic, but I had to laugh at the exchange i had with Newberg.

So I asked the question on the scout main board and kennedy's response was discussed. I then attached that response to a PM to Newberg. I asked him if he was going to be upgraded, and he gave me the line about national rankings being done differently etc...

I then told him that this was quite contradictory to his comments from last year. I showed him his response to me regarding Mo Wells. He said that Wells was downgraded 10 spots at his position within a week because of his fall in the regional rankings.

I asked him to explain what seemed to be hypocritical statements on his part. I don't foresee a response.

I would like to point out that this debate has nothing to do with the number of *'s henton has. It is moreto do with the contradictory statements that Newberg makes regarding scout's rankings. If you're going to downgrade guys, or not move up players accordingly because they have committed early, say so. don't talk out of both sides of your mouth about it.
 
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I asked them why Ross Homan was downgraded after finishing 2nd in the Mr Football voting and having an amazing year (2000 total yards, 30+ TD, 200+ tackles, etc) and he said they just liked other guys better.

I asked what Ross would have had to do in order to get upgraded and got no response. Apparently having a year like that means you're overrated.

They do a good job over there, but they can't explain the moves in rankings. I don't put a whole lot of stock in them to begin with, but you don't just move someone for the hell of it. You move someone because you have a reason to move them.
 
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You have to give them some credit for even trying to make some kind of sense of the rankings. Some many kids to keep track of. :biggrin: They can't have sufficient resources.
I wonder how many of these guys do this full time?
 
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Cavball9 said:
I asked them why Ross Homan was downgraded after finishing 2nd in the Mr Football voting and having an amazing year (2000 total yards, 30+ TD, 200+ tackles, etc) and he said they just liked other guys better.

I asked what Ross would have had to do in order to get upgraded and got no response. Apparently having a year like that means you're overrated.

They do a good job over there, but they can't explain the moves in rankings. I don't put a whole lot of stock in them to begin with, but you don't just move someone for the hell of it. You move someone because you have a reason to move them.
its simple my friend. kids who havent verballed yet its pretty $imple to $ee to me.
 
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you need look no further than the 06 basketball rankings with all of the UNC recruits.

exactly.

does anyone remember the end of last recruiting season when almost every single osu recruit dropped in the rankings? Steve Helwagen even went and asked newberg about it because he thought it was quite odd, which really says something.

Looking at this year, Henton is a good illustration. Bryant Browning continually rose up the scout OL rankings, garnering a 4th *. Shortly after he received an osu offer he went from 4* #43 OL to 3* #59 OL. 16 spot fall. But I'm sure that had nothing to do with the fact that he was basically signed, sealed, and delivered to osu.
 
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Personally, I pay very little attention to the Top 100, star ratings, and such. The coaches interest in a prospect is how i rank them.

For instance....the coaches offered Henton and not Tebow, so in my book they obviously think Henton is a better player and that is all i need.
 
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ol104 said:
Personally, I pay very little attention to the Top 100, star ratings, and such. The coaches interest in a prospect is how i rank them.

For instance....the coaches offered Henton and not Tebow, so in my book they obviously think Henton is a better player and that is all i need.
or they thought we had a better chance to land Henton...I am in no way saying that Henton is a bad QB but it seems like with JT he only goes after the guys that truely have interest in us and doesn't just throw out offers...this is something that i really like about him
 
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AJC

image_2051555.jpg


AJC PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Ohio State-bound QB is top Peach

By CURTIS BUNN
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 12/18/05
FORT VALLEY — This is the kind of leader quarterback Antonio Henton was for Peach County: In the regular season against Stephens County, hard-hitting linebacker Keaton Thompson bore down on Henton on a blitz. Instead of throwing the ball away or using his outstanding running ability to avoid the rush, Henton held on to the ball until the last possible second so his receiver could complete his route.

He took a vicious hit from Thompson, but not before making the throw for a 35-yard gain.

"Antonio saw the linebacker coming. He's the same linebacker we saw on film against Chestatee nearly take a guy's head off the week before," Peach County coach Rance Gillespie said. "Antonio knew if he held on to it he'd take a lick.

"He could have avoided the hit, but he has the courage to stand in there and take a shot like that to make the play. That's the kind of player he is. Special."

Henton's ability to take a licking is only part of a dazzling repertoire that helped carry the Trojans to their first state championship — and helped make him The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Player of the Year.

Stats to match talent

At 6 feet 2, 215 pounds, he can make all the throws, as evident in his stats this season: 2,200 yards passing, 30 touchdowns and only seven interceptions.

"To tell the whole truth, to say I was surprised by his season would not be accurate," Gillespie said. "I saw so much potential. But week-to-week, I'm still amazed at how incredible Antonio performed."

Henton's stellar performances were not limited to his passing prowess. He rushed for more than 800 yards and 10 touchdowns.

"He has great arm strength and makes good decisions on where and when to throw the ball," Stephens County coach Travis Noland said. "But he has an uncanny ability to not just escape the rush with his ability to run, but when to turn it upfield and when to pass on the run.

"He's such a smart quarterback. And that makes him so hard to defend. To make the play, he'll take a hit like he did against us consistently. Just a great player."

Such flattery makes Henton blush. Beloved around school because of his humility and high academic achievement — and even more now after leading the Trojans to the Class AAA state title — Henton enjoys adulation. But he insists he is not driven by it. "His humbleness is going to take him a long way," said his father, Anthony Simmons.

"My mom always told me that football is not everything and that an education is important and treating people right is important," Henton, 18 said. "I've always remembered that."

Henton has committed to Ohio State, where he'll likely redshirt his freshman year and take over as the Buckeyes' starting quarterback in 2007. "Antonio's a Big Ten player," Gillespie said.

He is close to his parents and five siblings and once thought he'd attend either Georgia or Florida, which would have suited his family just fine. But neither offered a scholarship.

"I'd rather he be closer, but he visited Ohio State and felt comfortable up there," Debra Henton, his mother, said. "It's not like he's sleeping over someone's house and will be back the next day. I'm going to miss him, but I know he's going to be all right."

Henton said he looks forward to starting a new life far from Peach County. "I love the people here," he said. "It's home. It's something I'm going to really miss.

"But I figure they have everything we have here, only it's better up there in Ohio. I went up there in the summer and had a fun time. I took a journey around the campus and enjoyed it. And I like all the coaches. It's snowing up there right now, but I can get used to that."

Gillespie became used to watching Henton awe onlookers. So comfortable was the coach that he allowed his quarterback to call the plays at the line of scrimmage from a short list of options.

"For high schools, our verbiage is very involved," Gillespie said. "It's very complicated. But we've been spoiled with the amount of it that Antonio can handle. People came to expect him to make plays. And he did."

Biggest day on big stage

For sure. He lists his four-touchdown performance — two passing, two rushing — against LaGrange in the semifinal game at the Georgia Dome as his signature effort.

"It was at the Dome, for a chance to get to the championship," Henton said. "We had to have that game."

"In 1991, we were USA Today national champions and we had a quarterback, Rodney Hudson, who led us," LaGrange coach Steve Pardue said. "Rodney was maybe the best high school quarterback I've ever seen. After we lost to Peach, I got home and my wife said she saw Rodney Hudson [in the stands] at the Dome. I told her, 'I did, too — and he wore No. 7 for Peach County.' That's one of the best compliments I can give the young man. Just a great player. He's talented and smart and fundamentally sound."

To become a Peach County folk hero, Henton — with help from star talents Chris Slaughter and Duranzo Brown, among others — had to lead the Trojans to the title the next week against Dougherty. Henton directed a gem. This time, he again rushed for two touchdowns and passed for two in the 35-14 victory. Hero status confirmed.

"We go about viewing our quarterback position this way: Do you want to be an athlete or do you want to be a quarterback?" Gillespie said. "Antonio, although a great athlete, is a quarterback."

Inexplicably, with all has he accomplished this year, Henton was left off the Georgia Athletic Coaches Association (GACA) all-star team. "At first, I didn't get it," he said. "But my coach told me to not worry about it and that we had a championship, which is better."

Asked how his peers could have excluded Henton as an all-star, Gillespie said: "No comment."

Then he smiled. "Antonio's the best quarterback in the state," he said.
 
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