SAN ANTONIO, Tex. — The wait is over for Kelee Ringo. He is now a public Georgia Bulldog.
He has signed during the early period but opted to keep that choice on the hush until his public decision announcement on the All-American Bowl stage out it Texas.
Ringo chose Georgia over Alabama, Ohio State, Oregon and Texas from inside the Alamodome in front of a live declaration ceremony broadcast nationally on NBC at the 20th annual All-American Bowl.
Shortly after he announced his commitment, Georgia announced that Ringo had officially signed as well, making him a member of the 2020 class.
The 5-star CB with elite size and speed promised that his decision announcement was going to be unusual and creative. At least a little bit.
The nation’s No. 1 CB and No. 8 overall prospect (247Sports Composite ranking) certainly got that one right.
Ringo kept it simple this week about why he made the decision that he did. He didn’t have a spreadsheet. Or a legal pad full of evaluations for each program with pros and cons.
This just came down to a gut feeling along his unofficial and official visits.
“Feel comfortable where I am going,” he said. “I feel like I want to live there for the next three or four years. Just built a great relationship with [coaches] and also my everyday life outside of football is a big factor as well.”
The 6-foot-2, 205-pound speedster is not able to enroll early. He will run track during his senior year at Saguaro High in Arizona.
The former high school receiver will bring a hard-nosed mindset to the position in Athens to play for defensive backs coach Charlton Warren.
“Just the want to in order to get better at every single thing man,” he said of how he has built himself into the player he is today. “Just like when I just go home at night I am thinking about the one rep that I lost. If I won 10 and I lost that one, then I am thinking about the next thing I can do to get that one back.”
RELATED: A snake, an viral official photo and a new NCAA rule previews the Kelee Ringo decision
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What does this mean for Georgia? Well, it will hit on several levels. The decision moves the Bulldogs ever closer to Alabama for the nation’s No. 2 recruiting class in 2020. Clemson is No. 1 with a 247Sport Team Composite score of 311.90, Alabama follows with 310.39 and Georgia now sits at 309.05.
Let’s just hit the surface area first.
- Ringo now becomes the highest-rated commitment for Georgia in the 2020 class. He slots in at No. 8 overall and that’s higher than 5-star TE Darnell Washington at No. 10 nationally.
- He is now the fourth commitment or signee in the class with a 5-star rating. He joins Washington (signee), Broderick Jones (commitment) and Mekhail Sherman in that column. 5-star RB Zach Evans is also looming as another potential addition to the 2020 class.
- This decision now moves Georgia’s class to 19 signees and two solid verbal commits in Jones and Sedrick Van Pran-Granger. Those two will now sign during the traditional signing period in February.
- The elite defensive back pipeline to Athens get another chain. Georgia also learned that Richard LeCounte will be returning for his senior season.
- His decision also adds another state to the string of No. 1 program from other states outside of Georgia who have chosen the Bulldogs. Ringo, Sherman and Washington were all the No. 1 players from Arizona, Maryland and Washington, D.C. (Note: For the purposes of state rankings on the 247Sports Composite scale, the D.C. Metro area is regarded as a state.)
- That state tally now extends to 13 top-rated prospects from other states since Kirby Smart became the head coach at Georgia. That tally does not even include junior college prospects or it would include three more Bulldogs, too.
- With Ringo, it also means that the Bulldogs have signed one of the nation’s top 3 cornerback prospects off the 247Sports Composite ratings for the third consecutive recruiting cycle. (Tyson Campbell (No. 2 CB in 2019), Tyrique Stevenson (No. 3 CB in 2019) and now Ringo.
- The decision declaration marks the second player in the 2020 class who holds the nation’s No. 1 overall rating at their position. Washington rates as the nation’s No. 1 ATH for 2020.
- That string also extends the trend of signing the No. 1 player at their respective position in the Smart era of recruiting in Athens. Ringo’s choice now marks the 11th time the Bulldogs have signed the top-rated player at a position since his first class in 2016. That decision can also swell to one more player in this cycle with the looming decision from Evans.
DawgNation: All-American game coverage
- Kelee Ringo: The decision primer includes a viral photo, a snake and a new NCAA rule
- Darnell Washington breaks down why he chose to be a Bulldog
- 5-star Georgia RB target Zach Evans explains why he delayed another announcement
- 5-star ATH Darnell Washington has made his college decision
- Zach Evans: Georgia signee talk up his “Heisman” potential
- The TE that didn’t choose Georgia shares his wish for Darnell Washington to be a Bulldog
- Arian Smith made sure the morning after that tough LSU loss wasn’t so bad after all
- WATCH: Brodrick Jones and Jalen Carter reps highlight the Day 3 one-on-one battles
- WATCH: Marcus Rosemy, Arian Smith explain what they’re bringing to the Georgia football wide receiver room
- How Georgia football ended up missing on Tank Bigsby, Theo Johnson and some of its top targets
- PHOTOS: Check out the Georgia football recruits on Day 2 of Under Armour All-American Bowl practices
- Elite RB signee Kendall Milton chooses to report earlier than expected to UGA
- WATCH: Georgia signee Arian Smith wins “Fastest Man” challenge at Under Armour
- Even before hiring Matt Luke, Chad Lindberg knew he was ‘the guy’ for Georgia football
- Sedrick Van Pran-Granger: All-American OL still feels ‘comfortable’ as a Georgia commit
- Incoming freshman Jalen Carter feels he can play a Tyler Clark-type role as a freshman
- What we learned about Georgia football recruits, targets at Under Armour All-American game media day
- Dontae Manning contrasts Georgia football and Oregon ahead of announcement
- All-American week snapshot: Which UGA signees and targets play where
- Jordan Burch: Why Georgia didn’t even crack his final 3
- 5-star RB Zach Evans shares ‘strongest connection’ and scope of decision prior to Jan. 2 announcement
- Even Mekhail Sherman was surprised when Kirby Smart, Georgia football flipped Jermaine Burton
- Broderick Jones: The 5-star OT details why he is still committed to Georgia