The University of Georgia has missed out on a lot of great in-state recruiting opportunities. Since 2013 UGA’s recruiting class hasn’t ranked better than 7th place and Mark Richt’s staff has been heavily criticized for those players left behind.
Deshaun Watson, Demetrius Robertson, Robert Nkemdiche, Carl Lawson, Montravious Adams, Kyle Davis, Arden Key, Mitch Hyatt, and Raekwon McMillan are just a few of the top 100 players in ESPN’s 300 from Georgia that the University of Georgia didn’t sign to become Bulldogs.
Then Kirby Smart enters the picture.
The former Georgia safety and first year head coach has made in-state recruiting a bigger priority and his hard work is paying off.
This year’s recruiting class consists of defensive end Robert Beal, DeAngelo Gibbs, and defensive back Richard LeCount III. These are just three of the five all-star players that have already made a verbal commitment to Georgia.
The total 2017 recruiting class at Georgia so far has 14 ESPN 30 player commitments and seven of those players are in the top 100.
Even with his in-state recruiting success Smart has not neglected out-of- state prospective players. Isaiah Wilson, five star offensive tackle from New York and the sixth ranked running back in the nation D’Andre Swift from Pennsylvania have both committed to be Bulldogs. Just next door in Alabama ESPN 300 linebacker was swayed to change his LSU commitment to UGA.
With all of these recent commitments Georgia has become the coolest recruiting team in the nation. The only school pulling ahead is Alabama but Georgia still has prospects that could become commitments before signing day, including ESPN 300 defensive tackle Aubrey Solomon.
Smart and his team are doing an amazing job of taking advantage of all the talent Georgia has to offer.
