Georgia football: How is the 2021 in-state recruiting going so far?

Want to attack every day with the latest UGA football recruiting info? That’s what the Intel brings. This entry takes a quick look at how the Bulldogs are recruiting the talent in the state of Georgia during the 2021 cycle.  

There were a couple of in-state recruiting items to track relevant to the Georgia football program over the holiday weekend.

The first of those came from 5-star OT Amarius Mims. Mims had previously hinted at an October commitment date on his birthday.

The 6-foot-7 OT from Bleckley County (Cochran, Ga.) moved that up considerably. His new Aug. 15 commitment date now means he will make his decision without having the chance to take any further unofficial or official visits.

Georgia 5-star QB Brock Vandagriff even retweeted the news from his good friends. When those two visited Georgia together years ago, Mims said that Kirby Smart even told them that Mims would be blocking for Vandagriff one day.

Mims ranks as the nation’s No. 2 OT and the No. 6 overall prospect for the 2021 class on the 247Sports Composite ratings.

Smael Mondon Jr, the 5-star LB from Paulding County in Northwest Georgia, provided the other recruiting development of note over the weekend. He had also previously teased a June commitment date, but wasn’t able to come to a final public decision during that time.

But he did release a top 5 over the weekend.

Mondon is rated as the nation’s No. 2 OLB for this cycle, but he would be an ILB if he chose to sign with the home-state Bulldogs. The speedy 5-star is rated as the nation’s No. 26 overall prospect for the 2021 cycle.

The news from those two elite 5-star prospects from the state of Georgia provides a good opportunity to check in on how the Bulldogs are recruiting the state’s top-rated talent in 2021. The 2021 cycle was always set up to be a great year for in-state talent for UGA.

The global pandemic and the lack of recruiting visits this year for the 2021 class lends to the thinking the Bulldogs will rely heavily on this year’s Peach State talent this cycle.

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The state of Georgia has a lot of blue chips like 5-star Brock Vandagriff (far left), 5-star Amarius Mims (middle), All-Americans Dylan Fairchild (top left) and David Daniel (bottom left) in the 2021 cycle. (Jeff Sentell/DawgNation)/Dawgnation)

Georgia football: Checking the 2021 Peach State talent crop

Let’s first take a look at the in-state vs. out-of-state recruiting trends for Smart and Georgia over his first five recruiting cycles:

UGA currently has nine commitments for the 2021 class. At this time, the Bulldogs are reversing the trend from the previous two cycles in which they benefitted from the national exposure and increased program profile garnered from the Rose Bowl win and that national championship appearance in 2018.

Those figures there could certainly sport an asterisk, too. RB commit Lovasea’ Carroll is actually from the state of Georgia. He grew up in Warrenton just outside of Augusta, but now plays for national boarding school power IMG Academy in Florida.

He’s classified as an out-of-state recruit by the national recruiting services for ranking and sorting purposes, but could easily be seen as another example of the Bulldogs benefitting from the home state recruiting edge in 2021.

How are the Bulldogs doing so far recruiting the top talent in the state for 2021? Let’s take a quick lap around the status of where the state’s top 15 prospects are trending so far.

Georgia’s top 10 prospects for 2021

(according to the 247Sports Composite rankings) 

1. 5-star OT Amarius Mims/Bleckley County/Cochran, Ga. (undecided)

Ranks: Nation’s No. 2 OT/No. 6 overall

The Mims Intel: The 6-foot-7.5, 315-pound Mims is expected to choose from a top group which includes the likes of Auburn, Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, Florida and Tennessee. He’s been quoted by several outlets of having a top tier of Alabama and Georgia. It is expected to come down to Alabama and Georgia in the end. 

2. 5-star QB Brock Vandagriff/Prince Avenue Christian/Bogart, Ga. (committed to Georgia)

Ranks: Nation’s No. 2 QB/No. 13 overall

The BVG Intel: Vandagriff was committed to Oklahoma prior to his junior season, but wanted to play in the SEC and do it much closer to his family’s roots in Alabama and Georgia. He committed to the Bulldogs in January and has been an anchor recruit since. The 6-foot-3, 205-pounder fared very well at the Elite 11 national quarterback competition last week. He’ll only add to the riches of talent on the QB depth chart in Athens as an early enrollee in January of 2021. 

Brock Vandagriff was once committed to play for Lincoln Riley at Oklahoma. (Jeff Sentell/DawgNation)/Dawgnation)

3. 5-star LB Smael Mondon Jr./Paulding County High School/Dallas, Ga. (undecided) 

Ranks: Nation’s No. 2 OLB/No. 26 overall

The smile for Smael Intel: Mondon’s top 5 is listed above. He’s rated as an OLB recruit by the composite, but he will likely play ILB on Saturdays in the SEC. The Intel here suggests that his decision will come down to Auburn, Georgia and Tennessee. The feeling here is that the Volunteers might not be as big of a player as other outlets are making them out to be. 

4. 4-star LB Barrett Carter/North Gwinnett/Suwanee, Ga. (committed to Clemson) 

Ranks: Nation’s No. 4 OLB/No. 45 overall

The Carter Intel: Carter was a definite need for the Bulldogs in the 2021 cycle as the program did not sign a single ILB prospect in its top-ranked 2021 class. But he favored both the Auburn and Clemson Tigers over the chance to play for UGA. He’s committed to Clemson and the de-commits and flips from that program are quite rare. Georgia has since prioritized other targets like Mondon and a trio of other out-of-state prospects in this class. 

5. 4-star OL Terrence Ferguson/Peach County/Fort Valley, Ga. (undecided) 

Ranks: Nation’s No. 2 OG/No. 47 overall

The Ferguson Intel: Ferguson is another in a long list of All-Americans in the state this cycle. He’s a name that Georgia fans on the DawgNation message board certainly hope might be among one of the next to commit to the program.  His last two visits before the pandemic were to Alabama and Georgia in January. He actually took two trips to check out UGA and meet with new line coach Matt Luke in January. 

6. 4-star OL Micah Morris/Camden County/Kingsland, Ga. (committed to UGA) 

Ranks: Nation’s No. 9 OT/No. 57 overall

The Morris Intel: Morris committed to Georgia shortly after the pandemic hit America. He had hoped to take his visits but saw no need to string things out. Morris told DawgNation after his commitment that he had been a silent commitment to UGA for the majority of his junior season. He managed a 4.85 grade-point average this spring and has a bench press that is now well north of 430 pounds. 

Micah Morris is an All-American OT prospect who could also play guard for the Bulldogs in the future. He plays for Camden County High School in Coastal Georgia. (Micah Morris/Twitter)/Dawgnation)

7. 4-star WR Deion Colzie/Athens Academy/Athens, Ga. (undecided) 

Ranks: Nation’s No. 9 WR/No. 66 overall

The Colzie Intel: Colzie committed to Notre Dame in October of his junior season, but de-committed in mid-March under the premise he made a hasty decision. Colzie wanted to see more schools and fully research his options. The irony there is telling. He hasn’t had the chance to do so as of yet. Notre Dame remains a major factor, but the Bulldogs have almost all of the 247Sports “Crystal Ball” predictions for a future commit. The opinion here is that doesn’t seem likely to happen in the near future. Georgia signed five receivers with its 2020 class and appears to be prioritizing speed demon receivers first and foremost rather than an all-around All-American WR type like the 6-foot-4 Colzie. 

8. 4-star ATH David Daniel/Woodstock High School/Woodstock, Ga. (committed to UGA) 

Ranks: Nation’s No.4 ATH/No. 74 overall

The Dope Intel on Daniel: Daniel committed to Georgia early in his junior year and has not looked back. He’s the longest-tenured commitment in the class and the future hard-hitting safety has performed well so far in the role of a class leader behind the scenes. He recently committed to play in the Under Armor All-American Game next January in Orlando. Former Georgia DB Glenn Ford has compared him to a former Alabama great who is now in the NFL with the Jacksonville Jaguars. 

David Daniel will be an athletic and hard-hitting safety for Georgia in the 2021 class. (Jeff Sentell/DawgNation)/Dawgnation)

9. 4-star CB Jordan Hancock/North Gwinnett/Suwanee, Ga. (committed to Clemson) 

Ranks: Nation’s No. 6 CB/No. 76 overall

The Intel on Hancock: Hancock was never prioritized by the Bulldogs in this class. He’s a very strong prospect that did get an offer, but his interest quickly centered on both Clemson and Ohio State. There is some chatter that the Buckeyes will still have a shot here once things open up. If that happens, it would be rare. 5-star DE (and major Georgia target) Korey Foreman was a very rare de-commit from the Tigers over the last few cycles. 

10. 4-star CB Nyland Green/Newton/Covington, Ga. (undecided) 

Ranks: Nation’s No. 8 CB/No. 88 overall

The Intel on Green: He certainly fits the profile of an ideal Georgia CB target due to his size and length and physical ability. Green has hinted on his social media account that he might be progressing toward a decision. Georgia has always been right in the thick of things here with this decision. It seemed like he was trending toward Alabama for a time and now Auburn and Clemson loom as major contenders for his eventual decision. Green hasn’t named any leaders recently and if he did it would not likely be the Bulldogs here.

That’s the top 10. The Bulldogs are also doing well within the top 20 in the state of Georgia. It is another strong year in the state as the state’s No. 20 prospect for 2021 will rate him as the nation’s No. 213 overall recruit.

SENTELL’S INTEL

(the recent reads on DawgNation.com)