BROOKLYN, N.Y. — We will begin with a wink.
It was an Isaiah Wilson-sized wink. The 5-star offensive tackle from Poly Prep in Brooklyn said he left a little hint with Georgia’s prized Class of 2017 commitments at the tail end of his official visit last weekend.
“One person asked me if I was coming and I made the most obvious wink ever,” Wilson said.
That wink went to the man it should in Georgia’s class: Richard LeCounte III.
“He just nodded his head and went about his business,” Wilson said.
That was one of many haymaker-level answers he delivered dropping multiple sound bytes during his post-decision press availability.
Wilson said his choice was essentially made two weeks ago. The official visit he took to Georgia last weekend didn’t cinch. It merely reinforced it.
Why Georgia?
“I saw the class that they built,” Wilson said. “I was around the guys during my official visit. Everything just clicked. It seemed like we knew each other for forever. We are definitely going to do something special over the next 3-4 years.”
Wilson would later define just how special those four years are going to be. His answer involved multiple national titles.
He moved his decision up from New Year’s Day to Christmas to a holiday school assembly on Friday. His reasoning was clear.
“Why delay something if you know its right for you?” Wilson said. “That’s the best way I can put that. I knew and once I knew I talked to my parents and let them feel it out for themselves.”
The coaches at Georgia didn’t know. At least for sure.
Wilson felt that maybe they had a hint that he’d be enrolling in June. But nobody can ever really tell these days in the fickle world of college recruiting.
They watched the assembly and then joined Wilson on a Facetime call shortly afterward.
How close was the decision?
Wilson said for a time he was stuck between Alabama, Georgia and Michigan.
“And then slowly Bama crept ahead and then slowly Michigan evened it out and then Georgia took off like Usain Bolt and started smiling when they finished the race.”
Was it close in the end? Not hardly.
“It was the difference between a world record 9.56 (in the 100-meter dash) and an 11.10,” Wilson said.
He said his decision was final and he was 100 percent committed to the Bulldogs going forward.
The Bulldogs “Bolted” ahead for several reasons. Wilson’s mother got to meet with UGA President Jere Morehead. That gave her every assurance that the future Terry College of Business major would be getting a degree that’s every bit as stout as the one he’d receive at Michigan.
Poly Prep offensive coordinator Kevin Burke said line coach Sam Pittman was a major factor.
But Wilson clicked off several more reasons.
“I think just evaluating everything that school had to offer me,” Wilson said. “The idea of playing early. The Top 20 Terry School of Business. The coaching staff is going to be there for the next three-to-five years. Three referring to Coach Pittman. Five referring to Coach Smart. At least five. Coaching security was big. When I camped with Coach Pittman (in the summer) I knew that I really liked the way he coached and I could see myself playing for him.”
He shared a vivid message for Georgia fans.
“I’m going to be the best recruiter that doesn’t get paid,” Wilson said.
He wasn’t worried about playing opportunities being better at Georgia compared to Alabama or Michigan. Wilson plans to line up at right tackle to start off at Georgia.
He will be a natural bookend to 6-foot-5 junior college signee D’Marcus Hayes at left tackle.
“I don’t want to come off cocky but I’m very confident in my abilities,” Wilson said. “I believe that anywhere I go I would have played. Granted there would have been places where there would have been more competition but I definitely think I would have seen the field my first year.”
He loved the connection to the current Georgia commits. He named all of the guys basically but the first names that came to his mind were Netori Johnson and then Malik Herring. Wilson also described QB signee Jake Fromm as hilarious.
“It is kind of like when you meet a family member that you haven’t seen in years and you guys still click,” Wilson said. “Like you guys had never left. That was the feeling I got. It just seemed like it was meant to be.”
He was asked what he expects out of his three-to-four years at Georgia. The 6-foot-7 senior measured that question and upscaled that topic to four years.
Wilson brought up four rings. When he was asked to clarify exactly what that meant, he said four national championship rings.
The massive young man checks off several incredible metrics: An 84-inch wingspan and a pair of webs for hands that measure at 10-plus inches. He currently wears a size-18 shoe.