One of the top uncommitted 2012 football recruits in the state, Florence standout Beniquez Brown has for months listed Alabama as his favorite. Now, the Crimson Tide isn’t in his top three prospective college programs.

Brown has adjusted his short list to include three out-of-state Southeastern Conference schools, adding Tennessee to previous favorites Mississippi State and Florida.

The decision came down to which programs could offer the best chance for early playing time, Brown said.

“It really was just going to be a waiting process at Alabama,” he said. “They have a lot of talented players. You have to learn their system. Going to other places I’d have a chance to play early. That’s what I’m looking for, and at those three schools, I feel like I have a chance to do that.”

Rarely coming off the field for the Falcons this season, Brown (6-foot-2, 215 pounds) plays running back, safety and returns punts. He’s listed as an athlete by the major recruiting websites, but he previously said he’d been recruited as a safety by Alabama.

Brown has rushed for 645 yards and seven touchdowns on 120 carries through seven games season. Defensively, he came into last week’s game against Decatur with 26 tackles, two interceptions, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. He also has an 84-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.

Brown isn’t sure which position he’ll play at the college level, saying Tennessee has talked to him about running back and safety, while Mississippi State has recruited him as an athlete.

He said he’ll take some more visits and make a decision in the coming weeks.

“I’ll visit those schools in the next couple weeks and decide for sure,” Brown said. “I’ll go to Mississippi State this week, then Tennessee. Florida, I know what it’s like since I’ve been there. When I come back from Tennessee, I’ll probably make a decision then.”

Mississippi State hosts South Carolina on Saturday. Tennessee plays at Alabama next week but hosts South Carolina the following week.

Ten area teams headed to volleyball regionals

The volleyball postseason will kick into high gear Saturday with 24 regional tournaments around the state.

Ten area teams will compete in regionals, with the top four in each eight-team field advancing to the sub-state round Oct. 20.

That makes Saturday’s regional-openers must-win matches for area teams. Lose and the season is over.

Class 2A No. 4 Hatton is the only area team to host a regional. The Hornets will face Oakman in their opener at 10 a.m. Also in that regional, Mars Hill will play Altamont (10 a.m.) and third-ranked Lexington will face Sumiton Christian (11:15 a.m.)

The area’s two other ranked teams — Class 4A No. 4 Wilson and No. 5 Deshler — will travel to Columbia High School, the site of the regional hosted by seventh-ranked Pope John Paul II of Huntsville.

Deshler will play Haleyville at 10 a.m., while Wilson will face Fayette County at 11:15 a.m.

In Class 5A, Muscle Shoals will play Curry at 10 a.m. at Alabama A&M.

In Class 1A, Covenant Christian will face South Lamar (10 a.m.) and Waterloo will play Berry (11:15 a.m.) at second-ranked Addison.

In Class 3A, Lauderdale County will play Carbon Hill (10 a.m.), while Colbert County will open against Cordova (11:15) at sixth-ranked Danville.

Former Trojan honored in wood bat league

Former Muscle Shoals baseball player Evan Mansell had a successful season in the New York Collegiate Baseball League.

Mansell, now a senior third baseman at Freed-Hardeman, batted .314 with six home run and 24 RBIs and had a .988 fielding percentage to earn second-team All-NYCBL honors.

Mansell was the starting third baseman for the Geneva Red Wings for 34 regular-season and four playoff games. His batting average was third-best for the Geneva Red Wings, and he led the team in homers.

NYCBL alumni include Tim Hudson and Hunter Pence.

Bryan App can be reached at 256-740-5730 or bryan.app@TimesDaily.com.