Jacolbe Cowan. Remember that name for Class of 2020.

The DawgNation readers out there who like to horde the names of the big recruiting targets in the next class need to keep that one close. They likely already have been.

Jacolbe Cowan has known UGA defensive line coach Tray Scott since he was a middle schooler back in the spring of 2015. That was when he was just in the seventh grade. (Jeff Sentell/DawgNation)/Dawgnation)

That’s because the Bulldogs are likely to get an official visit from the big man out of North Carolina.

He hasn’t set his official visits yet so no school is a definite. But it is safe to say that he’s been thinking about it.

Cowan, who just turned 17, has a long-standing relationship with UGA defensive line coach Tray Scott.

It dates back to his middle school days.

That was when the nation’s No. 5 strong-side DE prospect for 2020 (247Sports Composite rating) was a camper when Scott was coaching at North Carolina.

That was way back in the spring of 2015. Scott pretty much jotted the name Jacolbe Cowan down, too.

“Back then, he treated me the same as he does now,” said Cowan, who attends Charlotte (N.C.) Providence Day School. “He approached me like any other coach would approach a player now even if they were in the 10th grade, the seventh grade or a senior about to graduate. He has never changed and always been the same energetic guy. [As] I said, we started building a relationship then and we are still continuing to build that relationship.”

Scott was able to position Georgia as the first school to offer Cowan a scholarship. He’s known the big 6-foot-6 DE as long as any coach or recruiter that is currently in contact at this time.

The UGA line coach will call Cowan “Colbe Colb” from time to time. That’s the name that Cowan’s mother called him growing up. That should never be seen as a bad thing.

“If I were to choose Georgia or anyplace else it would just be because it is the place that I feel the most comfortable at,” Cowan said. “My eventual choice will be the place that is the right place for me and it is the place that will help me succeed and will set me up for the future to be successful.”

Cowan recently shared his top 12 on social media. It was no surprise to see Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State, North Carolina, North Carolina State and even UGA in there.

He’s working on a few things with his school in terms of early enrollment.

“Looking forward to it,” he said. “Right now I am still trying to get some things figured out as far as enrolling early with my school. But yeah definitely if that is an option I definitely want to do that.”

A lot of progress has been made there and he still plans to enroll in January of 2020.

He was thinking in January he could see himself committed before his senior year. That is in need of an update.

“As of right now I won’t be committing until I have taken all five of my official visits,” he said.

Those will be geared to fill in any remaining blanks with his decision.

“I think it is all a matter of which place and the right time where I feel and where I do feel comfortable at,” he said.

Why UGA made the top 12 for Jacolbe Cowan

Cowan is now seen as a strong-side defensive end in college. When a young man is already at the 6-foot-6 mark at 265 pounds and still just a junior in high school, it is hard to see anything else. His frame and mass is not going to shrink in an elite college weight program.

But he’s still an athlete.

He posted a 34.5-inch vertical leap last year at 260 pounds. That was just pure jumping. He didn’t drill or train for that effort at a prospect camp.

The nation’s No. 52 overall prospect wears jersey No. 12, but that’s not because he was a former QB or anything. That’s a tribute to his uncle Rydell Cowan. He played cornerback at Appalachian State.

4-star strong-side DE Jacolbe Cowan already knows that UGA will be one of his official visits. (Jeff Sentell/DawgNation)/Dawgnation)

What’s the big reason why the Bulldogs in that top 12?

“I think very highly of Georgia,” Cowan said. “I know it is a top-tier program which it has been for years and now really it is up there with the Clemsons and the Alabamas and schools like that.”

Cowan said that he’s been communicating freely with several Bulldogs. He has an easy rapport with 5-star DT signee Travon Walker and 5-star OLB Nolan Smith from the 2019 class.

But he is also in touch with 4-star DT commit Jamil Burroughs from the 2020 class.

“They all love Georgia,” Cowan said. “That’s why they are committed there and why they will all be there in the next year or so. They want me to keep coming down there and to keep checking it out. It is a very unique place. I love Athens.”

He’s thinking about a few spring officials but will reserve a few for the fall as well.

The vibe he has with Scott is strong, but he does feel that he is getting to know Larry Johnson at Ohio State and Tracy Rocker at Tennessee on a strong level, too.

Cowan has been to Athens a lot, but he feels he has seen Clemson and North Carolina a good bit, too. Ohio State has been a contender ever since he was offered by both Johnson and former head coach Urban Meyer.

North Carolina has probably been recruiting him the hardest over the last 2-3 months.

Check out the highlight reel for Jacolbe Cowan

Cowan doesn’t have a posted reel of his junior season highlights. That’s the disclaimer when viewing the clips that are embedded below.

That is what he looked like when he was a high school sophomore for the 2017 season.

Cowan has already committed to the 2020 Under Armour All-American Game next year.

To use a classroom example, he always comes across to me as a prospect who is advanced in his process. This guy always sounds as if he’s been reading three or four chapters ahead when it came to researching and vetting his options.

“Really and truly I don’t have a lot of questions about the schools with the coaching staffs who have been there for a while,” Cowan said. “I know Georgia recently with coach [Mel] Tucker he left but I know they will replace him with a great guy.”

“Kirby [Smart] is a defensive coach so that won’t take too long for him there. I’m not too worried about what Georgia will do with that. I think coach Scott is there to stay for a while. I think coach Smart will be there for a while and that coaching staff will be there for a while.”

“Really and truly I feel that way about all the schools with the staffs who have been at that top tier and their coaches and those staffs that have been in place for a while. I have very few questions about those schools. The Clemsons and the Alabamas and places like that.”

Check out the DawgNation roll call on 2020 targets

Cowan isn’t the only prospect that DawgNation has tried to scatter and smother and cover so far in 2019. Check out the work that is already on the site in regard to 2020 targets.