Larrell Murchison was giddy about the thought of playing at Georgia. That giddyness made it hard to understand where the Bulldogs are in his pecking order after his official visit.
When he said Georgia was at the top, that conveyed something. Yet there was also a shade of ambiguity to that statement.
Is he still committed to Ole Miss? Murchison said yes. Did the Bulldogs scrape and claw to get a couple yards of an edge on Ole Miss?
Murchison couldn’t say that.
“Well, since Ole Miss is the school I am committed to they are going to be first, you know,” he said. “However, Georgia right now, really I mean Georgia really took care of me. I’m in love with Georgia. It is only five hours away from my house. I definitely love Georgia. Georgia is definitely top in my opinion for me.”
The 6-foot-4, 295-pounder said he felt that both Georgia and Ole Miss were the best choices for him now. He could say that. It sounds like he has a clear top 2 and has all but eliminated Texas going forward.
When asked directly about that, the 3-star DT confirmed that was likely the case.
“Georgia and Ole Miss are the co-leaders,” Murchison said. “That’s it.”
He mentioned a few first impressions that wowed him on the visit.
“Definitely just a great environment as far as education-wise and campus-wise and safety-wise,” Murchison said. “Just the amount of love that’s shown as far as the players. The coaches definitely take care of the players. They train you to play at a high level.”
Murchison said that every coach at every position made sure he was doing great whenever they saw him. They held a conversation with him and shared things that he thought he did very well on his highlight film.
When did he have a chill bump moment in Athens? Well, it sounds like there were plenty.
“I basically felt like I could see myself at Georgia all weekend,” Murchison said.
The first time it hit him was when he walked on the field. He spoke to his player host. That was John Atkins.
“He told me he watched my tape,” Murchison said. “He told me where he saw me at and what could happen with me being a ‘3’ technique and how many guys they try to put in the game and how Coach (Tracy) Rocker coaches. After that, I was like ‘I can be a Dawg’ and ‘I can really play here’ at Georgia.”
That good vibe extended to how well he was received by the players.
“The players let me know how the system worked and they let me know how Coach Rocker coached,” Murchison said. “That was great and really good for me to know. It was all I really needed to know. They answered all my questions I had.”
Atkins hosted him on the first night, and freshman defensive tackle Tyler Clark hosted him on the second night.
He called it the best visit he’s been on.
“I enjoyed Texas last week but Georgia took it for me as far as from a love standpoint,” he said. “I really felt it.”
He felt he’d have his decision all squared up next week by the Tuesday after his Ole Miss official visit. The 3-star DT said he would commit if he needed to with the coaches at the school he will sign with.
“I will probably let people know on signing day,” Murchison said. “Or either before. It might be before.”
He felt the communications program at UGA would be a “top program in the South.” Murchison said he would wear No. 92 if he chose to play for the Bulldogs.
Georgia coach Kirby Smart also told him his track record with 16 junior college players at Alabama. He said he’s never redshirted any of those guys on one of his defenses. That would be the case with Murchison in Athens, too.
“They are looking for me to come in and give them a boost,” Murchison said. “If I come in here, then they expect me to play.”
He also said Smart considered him a defensive tackle with the skill set to stay on the field for all three downs.
“He said he liked the way I played,” Murchison said. “(Smart) liked the way I run on the field sideline-to-sideline and he told me he felt I could play every down at Georgia,” he said. “He said ‘we want you’ and when he said that, he said we want to offer you a scholarship.”
What were his favorite things about the UGA official visit?
“The student interaction and just the academic center are very straight,” Murchison said. “It is definitely a learning situation there at Georgia.”