McAllister even more sold on FSU

Rivals.com lists talented Alonso DT Demonte McAllister as a "soft" Florida State commit. That means he has told the 'Noles he plans to play there, but still intends to take official visits to other schools. The question is, can someone else lure him away from FSU?

At this point in time, it's not looking good.

Two months ago, the 6-foot-3, 265-pound McAllister told the Times he was "70 percent" sure he would sign with FSU. Tonight, he said that number has jumped to "90 percent."

"It's solid," McAllister said of his FSU verbal. "But I'm looking (at other schools) to see what they've got to offer. I want to hang out and see what their programs are like."

McAllister said he has scheduled official visits to Georgia, LSU and Miami. His remaining officials will go to FSU and Southern California. McAllister made an unofficial to Tallahassee this weekend for the FSU-Florida game. "It was wet," he said. "It rained the whole time."

FSU's struggles against Florida didn't bother McAllister. Instead, when he looks at the 'Noles, he sees potential. "They're up and coming," McAllister said. "As far as playing time, they don't have a lot of depth on the defensive line, so I know I'll play as a freshman."

McAllister set a school record with 20 sacks this season. Rivals.com rates him as a four-star prospect.

--KEITH NIEBUHR

Sportswriters gone bored

From all of us with the Times prep staff to all of you: We hope you had a happy Thanksgiving and wish you the best during the upcoming holiday season ...

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Folks, our first effort was such a smashing success, we did what any group of superstars would have done: We quickly got back into the studio to produce a sequel ....

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

--KEITH NIEBUHR

Vols, new coach not giving up on Giles

A report in the Knoxville News Sentinel says that new Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin is already at work trying to get heralded Gaither RB Jarvis Giles back on board. The 5-foot-11, 178-pound Giles committed to the Vols over the summer but de-committed when longtime coach Phil Fulmer recently was let go. Kiffin, who is being hired to replace Fulmer, apparently is making a run at Giles.

“He already called me this morning at 7 o'clock,” Giles told the News Sentinel today. “He said ‘I sat down and watched a little bit of your film online. From what I’ve seen, you’re pretty impressive.’ He said he was going to sit down and watch some more tonight and see how I can fit into this offense.”

The Vols could be helped by this: Former South Carolina assistant David Reaves, the person most responsible for his recruitment with the Gamecocks, is expected to join the Vols coaching staff. Kiffin is Reaves brother-in-law.

Giles recently visited South Carolina and had the Gamecocks at the top of his list after returning to Tampa. Giles visited Nebraska this weekend.

--KEITH NIEBUHR

Is there anything Orson Charles can't do?

Not only is Plant TE/WR Orson Charles arguably the area's top pass catcher, he might be its top all-around player. In Friday night's come-from-behind 13-7 win at Bradenton Southeast, the 6-foot-3 senior, who also saw extensive action at DE, did the following:

• Made six catches for 40 yards, giving him 61 this season for 1,145 yards and 17 TDs.
• Had two sacks.
• Pressured Southeast QBs into at least (and there may have been more) two errant passes.
• Batted down a pass on Southeast's final offensive series.
• Recovered a Plant fumble on the Panthers 32 late in the third quarter -- when his team trailed 7-3.

"He's a complete athlete," Plant QB Phillip Ely said. "He's just a team player. We love having him."

On his fumble recovery, Charles, who is being recruited by many of the country's elite college programs, outraced three or four Seminole players to the ball, then hung onto it as several of them tried to strip it loose in the scrum.

"When that happens, you don't pick it up," Charles said. "You go get it. (Under the pile) it was a dogfight. That's a dogfight nobody sees. But if I let that ball go, then I let my team down."

Charles, whom Rivals.com rates as the country's 79th-best senior prospect, said Sunday he will wait until Plant's season is over before setting up his official visits. The Panthers (11-1) host Armwood (12-0) on Friday in the third round of the Class 4A playoffs.

--KEITH NIEBUHR

What’s next for playoff survivors

THIS WEEK'S FOOTBALL GAMES

5A
Chamberlain (11-1) at Lakeland (12-0)
Winner plays Pensacola Pine Forest (11-0) or Orange Park (10-2)

Charlotte (11-1) at Largo (11-1)
Winner plays Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas (12-0) or Stuart South Fork (9-3)

4A
Armwood (12-0) at Plant (11-1)
Winner plays Palm Beach Dwyer (11-1) or Miami Washington (10-1)

3A
North Marion (9-3) at Pasco (11-1)
Winner plays Tallahassee Godby (10-2) or St. Augustine (12-0)

2A
Miami Gulliver Prep (10-1) at Tampa Catholic (9-3)
Winner plays Madison County (11-0) or Jacksonville Bolles (12-0)

Report: Clearwater star headed to FSU

Warchant.com reported today that Clearwater basketball star Okaro White has committed to Florida State. A junior, he's listed at 6-foot-8, 195-pounds.

White is a power forward.

"I committed to Florida State," White told Warchant.com. "I just knew I wanted to stay somewhere in Florida for a while now and it was really going to be out of Florida and Florida State."

White reportedly also had scholarship offers from programs such as Florida, Miami, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Indiana and Memphis.

--KEITH NIEBUHR

Friday Night Rewind: Boom!

Wharton-Chamberlain delayed

The start of the Class 5A region semifinal game between Wharton and Chamberlain has been delayed because Wharton arrived at Chamberlain's John Adcock Stadium 15 minutes after the scheduled 7:30 kickoff.

Wharton offensive coordinator Craig Rainey said problems with the team's busses was the reason for the delay.

The Wildcats were given an ovation from the visiting stands as they unloaded from the team buses.

The game is scheduled to begin at approximately 8:22.

- EDUARDO A ENCINA

Gulf refuses all-SAC patches

In what may be an unprecedented display of solidarity, the seven Gulf football players chosen for the all-Sunshine Athletic Conference team requested to have their names withdrawn from the team.

Gulf principal Steve Knobl confirmed Wednesday night all seven returned their all-SAC patches to coach Jay Fulmer as a collective show of disappointment over the coaches’ selections. Gulf, which faced Pasco in the second round of the Class 3A playoffs Friday, had only one first-team pick — tailback Adrian “Bubba” Golden — and 10 fewer players on the team than the Pirates.

Golden, who set county single-game (432 yards) and regular-season (2,197, 32 TDs) rushing records, was bypassed for the SAC’s offensive player of the year honor in favor of Pirates tailback Jamall Haynes (1,265 yards, 12 TDs). Bucs quarterback/linebacker Madison Burr, who has totaled more than 1,600 yards and collected 54 tackles, wasn’t recognized.

Knobl said he will contact SAC officials, including Bucs athletic director Paul Girardi, to see if the players’ names can be removed.  Fulmer has declined to comment on the voting.

“I don’t want to take anything away from any kid because they all work hard,” Knobl said, “but this is ridiculous.”

Joey Knight, Times staff writer

Plant cracks top 10 in national rankings

The Plant volleyball team, fresh off winning its third straight Class 5A state title last week, has surged to No. 10 in the prepvolleyball.com national rankings. The Panthers finished the season 29-3. They were 12th in the rankings one week ago.

Plant is the highest-ranked Florida team.

Berkeley Prep, which went 28-3 and lost to Orlando Lake Highland Prep in the 3A final, fell from No. 11 to No. 42. However, the people who do the rankings had this to say about the program: "Two freshmen, two sophomores and two junior starters suggest that, if everyone returns, the Buccaneers will vie not only for a state title but also a national title in 2009."

Plant, by the way, also returns many of its top players next season.

Translation: The Tampa Bay area should be in for another exciting fall in 2009.

--KEITH NIEBUHR