SPORTSDAY

Allen defensive back Steven Terrell (5-10, 175) said he has orally committed to Texas A&M. Terrell (shown at right) chose A&M over Kansas, Michigan, Louisville and Arizona among nearly 20 other offers. Terrell plays free safety in high school, but he is headed to A&M as a cornerback.

After speaking with Aggies' defensive back coach Charles McMillian for two hours on Tuesday during an unofficial visit, Terrell decided commit. Head coach Mike Sherman was not on campus when Terrell was there, but he will meet with him in person when he goes there for a camp July 13.

"[A&M] has been No. 1 for awhile," Terrell said. "I wasn't 100 percent sure about A&M when I went down there. I love the campus and all the surroundings, but I wanted to be sure by talking to my position coach. He's a genius. I liked everything he had to say."

Terrell led Allen in four categories last season - tackles (96), interceptions (4), pass breakups (15) and blocked field goals/extra points (7).

Mansfield Summit's Eric July has signed with Memphis to run men's track.

July finished eighth at the 5A state meet in the 100 (10.90) and ran a season-high 10.73 at the 4-5A district meet.

Mansfield Summit guard Alisha Filmore has given an oral commitment to play women's basketball at SMU.

Filmore averaged 11.1 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.8 steals for Summit, which reached the 5A regional semifinal round.

Rice, Missouri State and Louisiana-Monroe also courted the 5-7 Filmore, but it was SMU that had the right combination.

"They like to use a running game and really get up on people on defense, and I really love that about the game," Filmore said. "I met the teammates, I met the coaches and it just seems like it will be a great fit for me and them."

SMU's pre-med program was also a draw, Filmore added.

Oral commitments are non-binding. The earliest a member of the class of 2009 can sign a national letter of intent is in November.

Today marked the third week of the Summer Visit series on hsgametime.com/dfw. This week I met with St. Mark's WR Terdema Ussery and his coach Bart Epperson. Because this Friday is a holiday, the video will be posted on Wednesday.

Ussery (6-3, 182), the son of Dallas Mavericks President/CEO Terdema L. Ussery II, said that his top schools are Vanderbilt, Stanford, Cal, Virginia, Princeton and Illinois. The WR hopes to commit by August after he makes a few more college visits.

When asked about his greatest strength, Ussery referenced his ball control. Epperson said that it was Ussery's speed, evident through his 4.4-second 40-yard dash.

On top of working out and training, Ussery hopes to pursue his passion for photography this summer. He recently returned from a school photography trip to Bhutan and Thailand.

Seagoville's Ezedrick Evans (5-11, 185) said he has orally committed to Louisville. Evans said Louisville was the top school on his list, and he'll play safety there. Evans is a running back and strong safety in high school.

"I already liked it and when they offered, I was grateful," Evans said.

Mansfield Timberview wide receiver Aaron Burks (6-3, 180) said he has orally committed to Boise State after taking an unofficial visit there last week.

"Boise State has always been one of my favorite teams to watch," Burks said. "Playing video games as a kid, I was always liked their blue field. The way they've played the last couple of years also attracted me."

Burks also considered an offer from Army.

South Grand Prairie wide receiver Dewayne Peace (6-0, 177) said he has orally committed to Michigan. Peace committed Tuesday, one week after attending a football camp at Ann Arbor. Peace worked out one day at wide receiver and the other at cornerback. He said Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez told him that he could play on either side of the field.

No problems there for Peace, who didn't have an offer from the Wolverines heading into the camp.

"I feel blessed," Peace said. "I didn't think I'd get a chance to play at Michigan."

Peace has nine offers and highly considered Kansas, Texas A&M and SMU, all of which want him as a wide receiver. Peace is a wide receiver and a nickel back in high school.

Mabank quarterback Kolton Browning (6-2, 185) didn't waste time in orally committing to Louisiana-Monroe Wednesday. He decided to commit after taking an unofficial visit there that day. He originally planned on waiting a couple of days to decide.

"Some other schools wanted me to wait and see if any scholarships opened up," Browning said. "[Louisiana-Monroe] offered me, and I took a tour of the school and I decided to commit."

So far, it's Browning's only offer. He could open some more eyes this fall as Mabank makes moves up a class to 4A. Browning accounted for about 4,000 yards (3,000 passing) last season. Mabank will play in District 15-4A with Lancaster, West Mesquite, Red Oak, Mesquite Poteet, Forney and Terrell.

DeSoto lineman Chris Atchison (6-3, 265) said he has orally committed to SMU. Atchison said he chose SMU over offers from Notre Dame, Arizona, Houston, Oklahoma State and Tulsa.

He said he chose SMU because of its architecture program. That's his Plan B in case the football deal doesn't quite work out. On SMU's Ford Field, Atchison said he will either play on the offensive or defensive lines. Either way, it's all good with Atchison.

"I'll be comfortable playing anywhere," Atchison said. "I'm athletic enough to play anywhere."

He has certainly shown his versatility at DeSoto. Atchison was primarily a left tackle last year, but he has played every position on the offensive line in his three seasons on varsity. He will also play defensive tackle this fall. He also said he'd like to add 10 more pounds before the upcoming season to help him transition into college football.

Quincy Acy, who just graduated from Mesquite Horn weeks ago, confirmed on Wednesday that he has orally committed to play college basketball for Baylor.

Acy, a 6-8, 220-pound forward, originally considered attending prep school before beginning his college career, but he changed his mind and said he will sign a national letter of intent with Baylor in August.

Justin Northwest post Shauntal Nobles has given an oral commitment to play women's basketball at Texas Tech.

Nobles averaged 19.5 points and 15.5 rebounds per game in 2007-'08 and was named offensive player of the year in 5-5A.

A visit to the Tech campus left Nobles excited about the possibility of attending the school and expanding her skills under the eye of associate head coach Bill Brock.

"It was really important that they liked me as much as I liked their program," said Nobles, who was also courted by Baylor, New Mexico, SMU and Louisiana Tech. "I was really happy that they want me, too, because I was really interested in their program."

Oral commitments are non-binding. The earliest a member of the Class of 2009 may sign a national letter of intent is during the early signing period in November.

I met today with MacArthur LB Tariq Allen and his coach Brian Basil for the second installment of the Summer Visit series. The interview will be posted online Friday at hsgametime.com/dfw.

Allen (6-2, 231) has committed to play college football at Texas. He is currently enrolled in summer school so that he can graduate by January and then head down to Austin.

Basil said Allen's speed was his greatest strength, evident through the LB's 4.63-second 40-yard dash.

Kansas got two commitments from Arlington Bowie over the weekend in quarterback Christian Matthews (shown at right) and free safety Dexter Linton.

Everyone all together now ... "Rock, Chalk, Jayhawk, KU!"

Matthews (6-2, 185) was one of the area's top quarterbacks last season. He threw for 2,786 yards and 25 touchdowns and led Bowie to the 5A Division I Region I finals. Matthews chose Kansas over Louisville and Tulsa.

"I liked everything about Kansas - the facility, the classrooms, the coaches, everything," said Matthews, who is ranked the No. 30 dual-threat quarterback nationally in the Class of 2009 according to Rivals.com. "They have come out of nowhere, and their program is going in the right direction."

Linton, ranked the No. 22 safety nationally by Rivals.com, had 103 tackles and two interceptions his junior season. Linton (6-0, 185) is one of the area's most dangerous defensive backs - and arguably one of the most underrated. His 4.42-second 40-yard dash meshes well with his solid tackling and cover skills.

An excited Bryce Petty on Thursday confirmed that he has orally committed to play football for Tennessee.

Some of you right now are reading this and saying, "Bryce who?" And that's fine. That's exactly how the Midlothian quarterback wants it.

"I love being the hidden gem," said Petty (6-3, 212). "I'm not the guy with 60 offers, and I don't mind being the underdog. Being the guy no one knows about, you can just pop up and do your thing."

Spruce wide receiver Daniel Mayberry is returning home, so to speak.

Mayberry, an incoming senior, on Thursday said he has orally committed to play football for North Texas. Mayberry (6-1, 179) used to live in Denton and is excited about playing for the team he's always rooted for.

Southlake Carroll defensive end Brayden Burnett has committed to play college football at Missouri.

Burnett received 25 scholarship offers to play college football and narrowed his choices down to Colorado, Michigan, Arizona State and California before deciding on the Tigers.

"It was a school I had always liked, just with them being successful," Burnett said. "I went up there and took a trip a week ago, and I just loved it. I didn't see why not."

Missouri's defense is tailor-made for the 6-3, 245-pounder.

"I like the fact they run a 4-3, whereas some schools were recruiting me as an outside linebacker in a 3-4 scheme," added Burnett, who will major in business."

Oral commitments are non-binding. The earliest a Class of 2009 recruit may sign a letter of intent is Feb. 4.

Spruce incoming senior free safety Donovan Bonner on Tuesday confirmed that he has orally committed to play football for Colorado State.

Bonner, a beast in the secondary at 6-2 and 228 pounds, chose Colorado State over several schools, including Utah, Tulsa and Wisconsin. Big 12 schools Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Kansas and Nebraska also were in the mix.

Two Lake Highlands athletes signed letters of intent to play in college.

Austin Cordova received a wrestling scholarship with Colorado School of Mines. Cordova was a three-time state place and a 2007 UIL state champ.

Austin Busse also signed to play baseball for South Dakota State University. The pitcher and first baseman was selected all-district last season.

Ashley French, a track athlete from South Grand Prairie, has signed a national letter of intent to run track at Kansas, according to KU media relations.

Jesuit senior kicker Nick Tausch (6-1, 175) on Tuesday said he has orally committed to play football for Notre Dame.

Chris Sailer Kicking.com ranked Tausch as the second best high school kicker in the nation. Tausch hit a kickoff with a 4.61 hang time last April during a kicking camp.

Tausch said Notre Dame was his top choice all along. It only took him an hour to make his decision after he got the offer on Tuesday.

"It's just a great honor to become part of the Irish," he said.

Oral commitments are nonbinding. The first day a Class of 2009 recruit can sign a national letter of intent is Feb. 4.