Akinola Ogunbiyi made his first trip to UGA over the weekend. There were clearly a few highlights for his unofficial visit.
“I had fun,” he said. “It was a great trip.”
Georgia All-Everything candidate Jake Fromm chatted him up before the spring scrimmage. He got to watch the Bulldogs work with fellow 2020 OL target Cooper Mays. The 16-year-old Texas resident ate very well.
But let’s just fire off the line here: Line coach Sam Pittman made sure the two had a singalong to “Escape” by Rupert Holmes on the trip.
Why? Well, that is actually pretty much Ogunbiyi’s favorite song right now.
“We did acapella,” he said. “We did an acapella to it in his office.”
Can he coach ball and ‘croon, too?
“He can sing,” Ogunbiyi said.
That song choice might not even be the most unique thing about this Houston resident. He’s the nation’s No. 12 OG prospect per the 247Sports Composite ratings despite his high school team throwing approximately three passes in 2018.
Yep. Three passes.
Georgia was in his top six heading into the visit. The Bulldogs might have even been a lot higher than that. Ogunbiyi said he even took the rare step of looking at YouTube videos and other tour videos showing him around Athens and UGA prior to the visit.
He did a little advance scouting on this one.
“Nothing really changed on the visit,” he said. “The same thoughts I had going in were the same thoughts I left with.”
Here’s what else he had to say about the UGA trip:
- “It was really the players that stood out. I watched the scrimmage. I spoke to the players and spoke to the coaching staff. It was a very nice feeling about Georgia.”
- “The players at Georgia just said it was a great place and that I should take my time with my decision. Which I am going to do.”
- “I already knew what it was going to be. I just wanted to get up there so I could really see it in person for myself.”
- “The talk I had with Coach Pittman was probably my most favorite part. … It was just chatter. Just having fun.”
- “I got a lot from the visit. I got everything that I needed to see. It answered all my questions. I am definitely going to take my time to make my decision and everything.”
Akinola Ogunbiyi breaks down the UGA O-line
He had a good view of how the current Bulldogs performed for Pittman on Saturday.
“They looked good,” he said. “Physical. Strong.”
Jamaree Salyer spoke with him briefly along the visit, too.
“He just said he loved the place,” Ogunbiyi said. “He felt like he made the right decision. He’s from Georgia, though. But he really loves it over there. I spent a little bit of time with him.”
Ogunbiyi said he wasn’t sure about whether or not UGA will draw an official. He said he’s basically seen everything the campus and program would have to offer a player prospect save for the gameday experience.
“I’ve seen it,” Ogunbiyi said. “It is a great place. I want my officials to be saved for places that I can’t get up to.”
He placed Ohio State in that category. It was a solo trip to UGA for Ogunbiyi. His mother is still recovering from a stroke she suffered recently. He reports that she is doing well.
“She liked the pictures,” he said when asked what was her opinion of what he shared from the trip.
He now plans to take an official visit to Oklahoma this weekend. It will be his third visit.
The other takeaways from the Akinola Ogunbiyi visit
Ogunbiyi did appreciate the chance to try on the UGA gear.
“I look good in red,” he said. “I didn’t know that I was going to look that good in that uniform now. I’m not going to lie. I like how I looked in red. It fits me.”
When he was leaving campus, he said he kept the following thought in mind.
“The place was amazing,” he said. “It was great but I was just thinking that you know, keep my options open. I have to check out every place that I can before I come to a conclusion about how I feel about the place.”
The former Texas A&M commit has seen several schools by now. There have been those trips to Oklahoma and College Station to consider.
But he will also remember the facilities at UGA for some time.
“Georgia has great facilities,” he said. “I think they might have the best facilities I have seen so far.”
“Not necessarily like the best best. But the way it is laid out. The way they have it all set up is very convenient compared to other places.”
He’s planning a few more visits at this time.
“I’m not sure when I want to make my decision,” he said. “But I think a few more trips just to make sure whatever I choose will be the right place.”