When Alontae Taylor spoke to DawgNation a while back, he wasn’t sure if he was going to take an official visit to Georgia.
He had Notre Dame and Ohio State offers to weigh. Louisville and Wake Forest were also on his radar.
Well, things have escalated quickly with the Bulldogs.
Taylor told DawgNation on Tuesday afternoon he will be in Athens on Nov. 18 for the game against Kentucky.
“I wanna see what the hype is about with DawgNation and its senior night,” Taylor said.
The 6-foot-1, 180-pound player could be whatever he wants to be at the next level. He ranks as the nation’s No. 29 wide receiver, but he could just as well wind up on an All-SEC team at cornerback or even safety.
That’s the kind of athlete Georgia is still looking for in its 2018 class.
The 4-star prospect took an official visit to Notre Dame last week. Taylor has been committed to the Volunteers since June 2016. He told DawgNation earlier this month he’d likely take all of those officials committed to Rocky Top.
Would a coaching change at Tennessee affect that? It could, but that’s simply a hypothetical at this point.
Taylor said the Bulldogs had dropped off in their communication since the Tennessee game earlier this season. Consider that another quick escalation.
“They’ve been talking to me hard lately,” Taylor said.
The 2 other reasons for Alontae Taylor to consider UGA
Taylor said earlier this month he believed the best academic fit for his major in sports management would be at Georgia. He made that comment without the slightest breath of hesitation.
If things move forward with UGA, there would also be an immediate connection with 5-star QB Justin Fields.
“I joked with Justin a lot at The Opening,” Taylor said. “It was like, ‘Hey, man, wherever you go to school I am going. I will de-commit. I will do anything, but that was just us joking.’ But Justin Fields is a great quarterback and when he committed to Georgia, it made me think about that a whole lot.”
He will play with Fields in the Under Armour All-America Game in January.
Taylor was offered by offensive coordinator Jim Chaney. He camped at UGA this summer but hasn’t visited since.
The Georgia staff had made it clear to Taylor that they planned to take two receivers in 2018. But that came with an asterisk.
“Basically Georgia was just telling me that they are waiting for me,” Taylor said. “I was also told they were only taking two receivers in the 2018 class and they had those two receivers committed. But they said that would have room for an extra one just for me if I wanted to come to Georgia. They really wanted me to come to Georgia.”
Taylor now plans to take official visits to Georgia Tech, Tennessee and Wake Forest. He had initially planned to sign on Dec. 20 but said he now will do so on Dec. 22.
When asked the reason for the extra two days, he said it was because it would be two days closer to his grandmother’s birthday on Christmas Eve.