There are few high school recruits recruiting services typically give five-star rankings across the country.
Henry County wide receiver Markeith Ambles was labeled as one of those recruits by all national recruiting services (ESPN, rivals.com and scout.com). Before Ambles’ senior season began, Ambles was committed to Tennessee under head coach Lane Kiffin. On Jan. 12, Kiffin left Tennessee after just one season for the University of Southern California.
“The main reason that I chose Tennessee was [Lane] Kiffin,” Ambles said. “I really didn’t like Tennessee until I met their staff. When [Kiffin] left, I didn’t feel as comfortable with the new coaches and wanted to look around.”
Along with many other recruits, Ambles withdrew his commitment from Tennessee and opened up his recruitment again, which set Ambles into a frenzy two weeks before National Signing Day.
“It was kind of crazy because you had to set up [interviews] at certain times, and coaches could not run into [each other] while you were at home,” Ambles said of the final two weeks before Signing Day. “It wasn’t that bad, but it was crazy setting up three or four interviews in one day.”
Southern Cal originally recruited Ambles when former coach Pete Carroll sought him. However, some disciplinary trouble in Ambles’ sophomore year caused Carroll to shy away from Ambles.
Outside of Ambles considering Kiffin’s staff a factor in his decision, he needed the support of his family to travel over 3,000 miles to attend college in Los Angeles.
“They want me to go see different things, especially my grandmother, because my uncle traveled around the world,” Ambles said. “My folks are still going to get tickets [to see games]. They’re just real happy for me to be going to school and to get a chance to get my degree.”
Ambles comes from a tradition of Henry County High School wide receivers in recent seasons, as they all contributed to the passing records set by current Georgia State quarterback Drew Little.
Stanford wide receiver Jamal-Rashad Patterson knows what Ambles went through, as he was similarly a five-star recruit out of high school and reached California after a long recruitment. Georgia Tech wide receiver Chris Jackson came out of the same group, and should contribute next season for the Jackets.
Although Ambles and his teammates remain friends, a friendly rivalry is brewing between now-Pacific 10 Conference rivals Ambles and Patterson.
“It’s going to be real funny because he texted me the other day, ‘I’m getting tired of whooping [USC] in the Coliseum. Y’all need to come on over to our stadium, so we can beat you over here,’” Ambles said of Patterson on Signing Day.
“I told him that it ain’t going to happen like that this year. I’ll make a big difference.”