Evan Pryor has been quick with his college recruiting journey. That sort of mirror how he finds a crease and turns on the jets.
The 4-star RB started checking out schools in his sophomore year. He did so with the pace of a rising senior.
He spent the month of January making sure which programs were going to get his official visits. He was pretty sure about which schools would make the cut from the 11 approximate schools he was talking too.
But he knows for sure today.
When the William Amos Hough High (Cornelius, NC) standout released his final six on his Twitter account on Thursday, it made a lot of sense. The nation’s No. 5 RB for 2021 (247Sports Composite) plans to move through his five official visits in short order.
It will lead to a college decision over the summer prior to his senior season.
He included Georgia, Ohio State and Penn State among his final six schools. Those were expected, but he also noted that he will give strong final consideration to North Carolina, Oklahoma and Southern California as well.
How does he feel about Georgia? Pryor visited the Bulldogs in January and told DawgNation shortly after that visit that the Bulldogs were set to make the final cut and receive and official visit.
“I’m down to about five or six schools,” he said earlier this month. “I will just pick five out of those five or six schools, take my officials and hopefully be done with this thing by July.”
There’s a distinct reason why the Bulldogs made that next-to-last cut.
“They get all these five stars and huge linemen,” Pryor said of Georgia. “They are competing for something every year. It is kind of hard not to take a look and say that’s a good school and go visit. And then on top of that they are sending running back to the league left and right so it almost a must to see Georgia if you are one of the top running backs in the nation.”
Evan Pryor: He can cook up more than touchdowns
He’s a shifty back that measured in at 5.9.5 and 190 pounds at his Opening regional showing in April of 2019.
He topped the 1,000-yard mark last fall as a junior, but there’s more to his skill set than that.
He also had 38 catches for 646 yards and and eight touchdowns in the passing game.
Those totals averaged out to 17 yards per catch. All told, it means he was good for an average of 130 all-purpose yards per game last fall. Amos Hough finished last season with an 8-5 record.
Pryor is keenly aware of the elite talents looking at Georgia. Expect the Bulldogs to take two more backs in the 2021 cycle. That will be vital after taking just one back in 2019 and then expecting to see James Cook and Zamir White explore their professional opportunities after the 2020 season.
The running back tradition will help Georgia. Pryor felt he was a good fit for what Georgia has shown over the years with its rushing attack and the ability to feature elite backs. But he knows he will also be a great fit for the new wrinkles coming with Todd Monken’s offensive scheme.
What else stands out about the Bulldogs?
“They are close to home,” he said. “They are competing for a national title. I am comfortable with the staff. I feel like those are the three main things that are keeping Georgia in the game.”
When he left Georgia after that unofficial, the staff made sure he knew that he was a priority for the 2021 class.
“Georgia just told me how highly they thought of me,” Pryor said. “They were only looking at five or six backs in the class and that I was one of them. They said I was one of them who would say if I wanted to commit right now, then I would be able to commit. It is a committable offer and they want me. So just getting that message across to me and letting me know how much I am wanted in Athens.”
According to his player profile at MaxPreps.com, he racked up 1,130 rushing yards on 164 carries as a junior for Hough. Those attempts were good for an average of 6.9 yards per carry and 11 scores. Those totals are beefed up by a long run of 84 yards.
Pryor owned up to having a unique talent off-the-field. He recently told DawgNation that he actually feels quite a home in the kitchen.
“I am a great breakfast guy,” he said. “I like to cook breakfast a lot.”
The go-to meal here would be a Pryor plate of chicken and waffles.
“I do that very very well,” he said. “I do pancakes well. Eggs. Bacon. I’m a big grits fan. I’ve done an omelette here and there but I feel I can improve upon my omelette game. It can step up a little bit. But I’m definitely a breakfast guy.”
