This is the weekend to not think so hard about those 5-star recruits. Please pour some of your mental energy and boundless appreciation toward our 50-star recruits instead.
Those prospects signed a binding letter of intent to serve the United States of America. There were no reporters around when they did. Every signee also started out with the exact same ranking.
I’m sure the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines made a lot of top 4s when those decisions were being weighed. When that commitment was made, there was no problem whatsoever respecting that decision.
Take some time out this weekend to honor our military. The Josh Belk storyline will still be there. So will the most recent thoughts from 5-star ILB Nakobe Dean and his family. Yes, it looks as if Georgia will get a much-needed, methodical two-day visit from Derick “Rambo” Hunter early next month, too.
Want a speed read on the week? These were the major DawgNation recruiting storylines over the last seven days:
- Elite 2020 safety Lejond Cavazos continues to tout UGA as his top school
- Mother of 5-star Nakobe Dean on UGA: ‘Best visit so far’
- Georgia doesn’t seem to be in any ‘Trouble’ with elite LB Rian Davis
- Why the nation’s No. 2 RB Noah Cain still sees a possible future at UGA
- Report: Clemson transfer Josh Belk plans to visit UGA
- Nation’s No. 1 RB Trey Sanders still has a lot to say about Georgia
Where UGA recruiting ranks in 2019
Georgia has eight commitments for 2019. Trezmen Marshall, a 4-star athlete, was the most recent pledge back on April 27. Marshall, the nation’s No. 7 athlete and No. 98 overall prospect, did extend a silent pledge to the program a few weeks prior to the public reveal.
UGA sits at No. 6 nationally in the 247Sports composite team recruiting rankings. The Bulldogs actually moved up a slot in those standings after a recent de-commitment affected the ranking of another school.
Georgia still is the only team in the nation’s top 14 that has fewer than nine commitments. Georgia has an average rating of 95.78 per commit. That’s the highest average per pledge in the nation.
Alabama has 14 pledges and continues to hold the top spot. Texas A&M and its 12 pledges rank No. 2 in the SEC and chart at No. 3 nationally.
Jadon Haselwood, a 5-star wide receiver (Cedar Grove H.S./Ellenwood, Ga.), is the highest-rated Georgia commit. He is the No. 5 overall player in the nation, according to the composite. Haselwood is ranked as the nation’s No. 1 receiver prospect for 2019.
UGA also has two pledges for 2020. The latest is tackle Broderick Jones. He committed to the Bulldogs twice earlier this year and revealed that decision to DawgNation last month. The 4-star prospect drips with 5-star potential and rates on 247Sports as the nation’s No. 36 prospect for 2020.
Jones slots as the nation’s No. 6 tackle in his class, according to 247Sports.
If you’d like to see the big picture on UGA recruiting each week, please join that Sentell guy on Facebook Live. That’s where we stream our Wednesday Night Live recruiting special every week.
That program has been going strong for more than two years on Facebook.
Did you see Before the Hedges earlier this week?
Do you know the drill? Hannah Chalker hosts a weekly UGA recruiting show called Before the Hedges every Monday night on the DawgNation Facebook page.
We did our own scavenger hunt this week on the program, looking for the missing pieces and the pieces to watch out for that might check off certain positions of need for the 2019 class.
As a courtesy reminder, we will offer our regular Monday Before the Hedges program next week. That will be Memorial Day for all of us and our families, too.
How the 2019 UGA recruiting class is being built
June 11, 2016: 4-star tackle Luke Griffin (North Murray/Chatsworth, Ga.) commits to UGA
Jan. 29, 2017: 5-star DE Nolan Smith (IMG Academy/Bradenton, Fla.) commits to UGA
Feb. 18, 2017: 4-star DT Rashad Cheney Jr. (Washington High/Atlanta) commits to UGA
March 16, 2017: 5-star WR Jadon Haselwood commits to UGA
July 15, 2017: 4-star LB J.D. Bertrand (Blessed Trinity/Roswell, Ga.) commits to UGA
July 16, 2017: 5-star WR Dominick Blaylock (Walton/Marietta, Ga.) commits to UGA
Oct. 30, 2017: 4-star CB Jalen Perry (Dacula/Dacula, Ga.) commits to UGA
Jan. 25, 2018: Rashad Cheney Jr. de-commits from UGA
Feb. 7, 2018: 4-star TE Ryland Goede (Kennesaw Mountain/Kennesaw, Ga.) commits to UGA
March 18, 2018: 4-star DE Bill Norton (Christian Brothers/Memphis, Tenn.) commits to UGA
April 1, 2018: Luke Griffin de-commits from UGA
April 27, 2018: 4-star ATH Trezman Marshall commits to UGA
Which players are 2019 misses for UGA recruiting?
Owen Pappoe chose Auburn on May 1. That was a rare miss of late of a highly sought in-state prospect. The Bulldogs have been reeling in the big fish for Georgia as of late.
But no college program goes 100 percent with its top-tier targets. Which 2019 priorities have the Bulldogs have missed on? Pappoe tops the list, but he wasn’t the only one UGA would’ve liked to have seen join its 2019 class.
BIG 2019 MISSES
Owen Pappoe, 5-star OLB, Grayson High/Loganville, Ga: Pappoe committed to Auburn. The Bulldogs recruited him to play ILB and that’s a better fit for him than on the edges of an SEC defense. Auburn hopes to see him play a role at the Star or Money position in their defense. That’s probably the best position fit for a 6-foot, 209-pound athlete with rare acceleration and explosiveness.
Chris Hinton, 5-star SDE, Greater Atlanta Christian/Norcross, Ga.: Hinton chose Michigan last August. The 5-star defensive end is the son of former NFL great Chris Hinton. He ranks as the nation’s No. 15 overall prospect in 2019. Hinton and his family stress academics. UGA will continue to recruit him until he signs. But things could get interesting if the Wolverines have another average season.
Kyle Hamilton, 3-star S, Marist/Atlanta: Hamilton chose Notre Dame right after G-Day. Don’t let his 3-star rating fool you. The 6-4, 188-pound prospect starred as an all-state performer for a state finalist team last season. We’re told Kirby Smart only needed to see the first two or three plays of his tape to offer. Hamilton spent a lot of time with UGA freshman Justin Fields on his unofficial visit for G-Day. He also values the academic fit, having scored a 30 on his ACT.
OTHERS TO CONSIDER: 4-star DL Antonio Alfano (Alabama); 4-star OLB Stephen Herron Jr. (Michigan); 4-star tackle Amari Kight (Alabama)
UGA recruiting by position in 2019
Which positions are the major priorities for 2019? The receiver spot was one, but that has been checked off by a pair of 5-star prospects (Blaylock and Haselwood), who rate as the nation’s top two receivers.
Here’s a look at the cupboards left to stock in terms of positional priorities for the class:
- Defensive tackle (2 or 3 more)
- Tackle (2)
- Cornerback (1 or 2)
- Safety (1 or 2)
- Inside LB (at least 1 more)
- Quarterback (1)
The weekly pinch of UGA recruiting perspective
Georgia’s 2019 class is ranked No. 6 nationally and No. 3 in the SEC.
The Bulldogs had only one member — two if we count Adam Anderson, who de-committed and eventually re-committed — on the board at this time a year ago. That was eventual 4-star cornerback Chris Smith. Lest we forget, the Bulldogs wound up with the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class for 2018, according to the 247Sports team composite ratings.
That class broke a seven-year run for Alabama at the top spot. Georgia will not sign as many prospects as it did in the 2018 class (26) and that should keep it from successfully defending the No. 1 ranking in 2019.
Check out the UGA recruiting Question of the Day feature
DawgNation answers a Recruiting Question of the Day on Tuesdays and Thursdays. You can ask questions on Facebook Live, Twitter or the DawgNation Message board forum. Previous questions can be found on our question of the day archives page. You also can send your queries to jeffsentellajc@gmail.com.
We do appreciate the supply of questions we get from our readers. The aim is for our audience members to feel engaged and that they can ask anything they might want to know about UGA recruiting.
In case you have missed any, here are the most recent questions:
- Which non-border states could UGA do better recruiting in the future?
- How will class size affect the final 2019 UGA team national ranking?
- What will the late spring and early summer recruiting calendar look like for UGA?
- Has the hyped in-state recruiting class for the state of Georgia lost a little steam?
- Which top uncommitted targets can UGA sign in 2019?
- What do the stats say about UGA recruiting the elite prospects from Metro Atlanta?
- Breaking down an ideal scholarship breakdown at UGA
- What will be the instant impact from the No. 1 class on the team this year?
- Who are the big targets fans aren’t talking about yet?
- How were the UGA commits and targets affected in the latest rankings?
- Is it fair to say that UGA has come up short on elite DT prospects?
- What is the OL recruiting snapshot for 2019?
2019 UGA recruiting offers by the numbers
- Reported offers: 259 (+3 since last week)
- 5-star offers: 31
- Florida recruits offered: 59 (+1)
- In-state recruits offered: 42
- Texas recruits offered: 37
- Mississippi recruits offered: 13
- California recruits offered: 16
- Louisiana recruits offered: 13 (+1)
- Receivers offered: 33
- Cornerbacks offered: 28
- Tackles offered: 24 (+1)
- Safeties offered: 21 (+1)
- Defensive tackles offered: 22
- Quarterbacks offered: 18 (+1)
- Running backs offered: 13
- Inside linebackers offered: 3
- Athletes offered: 19
2019 UGA recruiting position breakdown
Here’s a breakdown of the number of commits by position and how many are projected to be signed:
- QB: 0/1
- RB: 0/1
- TE: 1/1 (Goede)
- WR: 2/2 (Blaylock, Haselwood)
- OL: 0/2
- DE: 1/2 (Norton)
- DT: 0/3
- LB: 0/1
- ILB: 2/2 (Bertrand, Marshall)
- OLB: 1/2 (Smith)
- CB: 1/2 (Perry)
- S: 0/2
- Totals: 8/21
Geographical UGA recruiting breakdown
Here’s a breakdown of the current UGA commits by state:
- Georgia: 6 (Bertrand, Blaylock, Goede, Haselwood, Marshall, Perry)
- Florida: 1 (Smith)
- Tennessee: 1 (Norton)