Update 8/19: Linked to articles on AR CB Darius Winston, FL S Angelo Hadley (video, fluff), FL CB Josh Robinson, MA OL Brennan Williams, VA OL Morgan Moses, TX QB Shavodrick Beaver. Did Marcus Hall drop us or not drop us (and does it matter)? (As per usual, some links from VB.)

Removed GA WR Braxton Lane (chose baseball).

Fluff on the Pahokee kids.

Moved TX K Anthony Fera to committed.

Editorial Opinion:

Winston probably to Mississippi, for some reason

This got asked a thousand times in the chat yesterday despite it  getting answered twice: it appears AR CB Darius Winston is staying in the south. He suddenly moved up his announcement date to September 5th and has canceled his scheduled official visits except for one. He wasn’t shy about letting the cat out of the bag in this SuperPrep article:

What stands out about Ole Miss?

"I just love that whole coaching staff. I feel like they are going to turn it around at Ole Miss. I would love to be a part of that. I plan on taking an official visit to Ole Miss on Labor day weekend, when they play Memphis."

Anymore official visits on tap?

"That is it."

Should people read anything into that?

"I guess you could say that, yes sir (laugh)."

Frustratingly, Ole Miss appears to be the destination. Someone in Winston’s camp must be super best friends with Houston Nutt.

Fera Commits

So that’s lame. Not lame: the commitment of Texas kicker Anthony Fera. If you remember the zen peace you achieved watching Zoltan the Inconceivable sky punts on youtube, you will want to watch this practice video of Fera:

I am the world’s greatest expert on these matters and declare him a future first-round pick. Others agree: Fera is one of only a few kickers to pick up a third star from Rivals and is their #2 rated kicker overall. ESPN gives him an 80—a better score than Will Campbell received—and says thusly:

Good leg extension and follow through on kickoffs. Consistent field goal kicker that demonstrates the ability to make field goals well into the 40's distance wise; longest is 58 yards.

Also there is this from their ticker:

"Fera gets all 230 pounds into his kicks. He has an extremely strong leg and powers his kickoffs into the endzone and has made several field goals of forty plus yards including a 58 yarder in competition. The Under Armor All-American kicker also is a decent punter and can be used as a back-up if needed at the collegiate level."
The 230-pound kicker was 15 for 16 on field goal attempts as a junior and had a long of 58 yards.

That guy said Rodriguez would “get a kick” out of Fera, though, so you might want to ignore him. Or kick him in the giblets. Either way.

Specialist offers are relatively rare, so Fera’s collection of Michigan, Penn State, Kansas State, and Ohio State (grayshirt) is impressive, especially because Ohio State just took a kicker last year. He’s one of the top kicking prospects out there this year and has to be the favorite to start when Kicking Competency Lopata’s graduates. Bryan Wright appears to have washed out; Michigan will probably carry two kickers in 2009 and not extend him a fifth year.

Beaver enrolling early

This Free Press article on TX QB commit Shavodrick Beaver has quotes like this…

“It’s not about getting a shot as soon as I get there, it’s about going in there, lifting weights and getting stronger and faster with the team,” Beaver said. “Then my shot will come with the competition and everything. I’m just going to be competing everyday, working hard and going in to lead the team.”

Guy who’s probably not coming here prolongs the tease

Conflicting information on OH OL Marcus Hall. TSN says we got dropped:

Hall, rated the No. 7 offensive tackle prospect in the nation by Rivals.com, has whittled it down to Ohio State, Illinois and Southern Cal, he revealed to Sporting News Today.

Bucknuts says we didn’t get dropped and that USC never even offered:

"I want to say it's down to three (schools). It's somewhat down to three. It's Illinois, Ohio State and Michigan. But I still have my eyes open."
Hall added that LSU and Miami-FL sit behind his three favorites. Additionally, the Trojans now seem out on contention, after not extending an offer.

The ESPN article is from two days later so it’s likely to be the accurate one. Probably moot given Hall’s presence at OSU feeder Glenville.

Guy who doesn’t know what conference UCF is in has Michigan offer

Keep an eye on FL CB Josh Robinson from inappropriately-named powerhouse Plantation. He’s moving up the Rivals rankings and reports a Michigan offer. I don’t think this report of a Florida offer…

Robinson’s top two schools are UCF and USF right now, but he could generate more interest during his senior season. Florida and Michigan have also offered Robinson.

… is accurate but he’s at least got serious interest. Oh, and apparently favors USF and a CUSA school over, like, Michigan. Hopefully that changes if/when Michigan can get him on campus.

Etc.: MA OL Brennan Williams has dropped Maryland; Pahokee kids run up a dike.