Want to attack every day with the latest UGA football recruiting info? That’s what the Intel brings. This entry is about all things Noah Josey as a possible member of the offensive line class for the Bulldogs in 2021. 

It is not often we go back to a picture from two summers ago to help inform the DawgNation reader something about a prospect for the current recruiting cycle.

To be honest, we need to workshop that phrase a little bit more.

We’ve never used a photo of a prospect from two summers prior within the featured image slot of an Intel blog post before.

Yet this one with Noah Josey makes sense. It provides a clear visual image of how big 4-star OL Noah Josey was the summer prior to his sophomore season at Brentwood Academy in Tennessee.

The June 2018 visit checks that box, but it also shows how far the relationship goes back with Georgia line coach Matt Luke. That image is the first recruiting image he shares on his Twitter timeline.

“I’ve known coach Luke for a long time since I was a freshman,” Josey said. “Brentwood Academy is a huge pipeline down to Ole Miss. We have a lot of players who have gone there. The son of one of my o-line coaches played for Matt Luke. That’s Bryce Matthews. …. He played for him. I’ve definitely known about coach Luke for a long time. I’ve obviously heard nothing but great things about him. He’s a great guy. Great family man.”

“When I heard he was going to Georgia, that definitely spiked my interest a lot because I value his character greatly.”

That picture also conveys impressive size for a rising sophomore lineman. Josey will now hit the 6-foot-5 mark on the height chart and weighs just over 300 pounds.

Georgia first offered him in February of 2019, but he couldn’t say for sure whether or not Luke formally re-offered him. That point seems moot.

He had a virtual visit with the UGA staff late last month, including head coach Kirby Smart.

“I got to talk to Coach Smart for about an hour with my family that I really appreciated,” Josey said. “The day I talked to him was actually on [NFL Draft] day. He had a lot going on, and he had sat apart that time for me which I really appreciated.”

“We really just talked about everything. Academics. Football. Where they want to be and about what they need to get there. We talked about how they are going to get there. It was just an all-around great conversation for sure and I really appreciated his time.”

Josey believes the number of offensive linemen the Bulldogs will take in 2021 calls for four more names.

“I’ve heard four or five,” Josey said. “They already have Micah [Morris] committed so four [slots] is what I think they have open now.”

The quick-hit things to know about Noah Josey 

When it comes to the first DawgNation profile we write about a player with a strong interest in UGA, we try to establish a foundation of what this potential Bulldog is all about. With Josey, there are a lot of options.

  • His father, Bryan, was an offensive tackle at Vanderbilt. He lettered during the 1993-1994 seasons.
  • Bryan Josey is still a couple of inches taller than his son.
  • His mother, Shannon, has been on the faculty at Middle Tennessee in the College of Health and Human Performance for more than 20 years.
  • Josey has taken the ACT one time and scored a 27 before his junior year. It was basically a baseline try to figure out what he needed to work on for his actual invested attempt.
  • His academic profile at one of the better private schools in Tennessee tracks a 3.7 grade-point average.
  • The 4-star ranks as the nation’s No. 17 OG and the No. 320 overall recruit for 2021 on the 247Sports Composite ratings.
  • Georgia looks at him as a guard/center prospect for the line. He agrees with that evaluation.
  • His decision plan was set to be this summer but feels it will now likely push back to at least a few games into his senior season.
  • He cannot enroll early graduating from Brentwood Academy. The football program at that school has won 14 state championships in its storied history.
  • His faith matters here. It inspired his No. 77 jersey choice. “The first reason I wear number 77 is the number seven is definitely a holy number. I can’t be number seven because of the position I play so I tried to get it as close as I could.”
  • When you watch his tape, be sure to spy how he finishes his blocks. That’s something he places a priority on.

The recruiters he has spoken to share their own scouting report.

“I honestly think of myself as a guard,” Josey said. “But I’ve had many coaches tell me I could play tackle because I have pretty long arms and my feet are pretty quick. A lot of the tackles who are playing really well right now are pretty close to my measurements.”

“But I also have no problem playing center. I practice snapping. I go out with our centers every day before practice to snap and get that down. I know at some point in my career I will probably have to play center. Especially with the way the game is going with how huge a lot of the players are getting.”

Check out his junior film. There’s a screen pass along that reel where he shows off his mobility. There’s also a rep where he takes his defender for a ride and dumps them about 10-15 yards downfield, too.

Noah Josey on UGA and Matt Luke 

The second reason he will wear that No. 77 jersey is because of Taylor Lewan of the Tennessee Titans. The former first-round pick out of Michigan has been selected to three Pro Bowls.

Lewan was a two-time All-American with the Wolverines.

Noah Josey has known Georgia line coach Matt Luke since his freshman season. (Noah Josey/HUDL)/Dawgnation)

“He embodies what I love which is being physical and nasty and basically a jerk on the field,” Josey said. “I love it.”

Where would he go if he had the ability to visit schools again? He noted the Bulldogs here. His last visit to UGA was back for G-Day in 2019.

“I’d definitely have to go down to Athens,” Josey said. “For sure, that would be at the top of the list. I’d probably like to get up to Ohio State one more time. Maybe down to Alabama one more time. I don’t really know. I’ve started to get a little interest in Auburn, too. So maybe down there.”

He has visited all of those schools except for Auburn. That G-Day trip remains in his mind.

“It was impressive for sure,” Josey said. “The number of fans that showed up for a spring football game and it was raining and stuff. I thought that was really neat.”

He understood DawgNation a little better after that.

“It shows how the university and the entire fan base values Georgia football,” he said. “It is worshipped like a religion down there. People love it. They go crazy for it.”

Georgia is a strong candidate to get an official visit. If those things happen anytime soon.

“The main thing [the Georgia staff] has been telling me is that you don’t have to go to the west coast to Stanford or wherever up in the east to get a great education,” Josey said. “You can get that right here in Athens and you can also play on the highest level possible.”

What’s the biggest reason why he is considering UGA?

“Definitely how much they have bought into the program,” Josey said. “Everyone is all in on Georgia football and Georgia. Everything is built around the football team. Coach Smart has an incredible staff. They are building up even more incredible facilities right now. It is crazy that it is all donor-funded. A lot of it just shows how passionate the fan base is down there.”

Did two former Bulldog offensive linemen getting picked in the first round matter much here?

“I already knew a lot of great players who have gone to Georgia,” he said. “I knew the talent level down there was immaculate so it didn’t really surprise me that they had two linemen go in the first round.”

Did you know the weekly DawgNation.com “Before the Hedges” program is now available as an Apple podcast? Click to check it out and download. 

How the pandemic will affect the Noah Josey decision 

The Under Armour All-American also throws the discus and track for his high school team. He’ll throw his shot about 48 feet. His most impressive heave would be the discus. He can hit 150 feet with that effort.

His decision plan has been skewed by the pandemic.

“My plan before was definitely to be done with my recruiting after my officials,” Josey said. “I was going to take my officials this summer. Like I knew a lot of people were. I had a couple set up. But because of all this, I am probably going to wait until at least a couple of games in the season.”

That’s based on feedback from college recruiters.

“What I’ve heard from a bunch of coaches is that recruiting might not be back until September,” Josey said. “So I doubt I will able to take any officials over the summer. I doubt it. I was actually looking forward to that.”

Josey said he could possibly make his decision without taking any more officials.

“But if they return in the fall, I’d like to wait for that,” he said.

What is he looking for in the right college fit?

“It would definitely be a high-level academic school,” he said. “Academics are very important to me. A big football school as well. That’s where football is valued greatly, and the fan base is very big.”

Location doesn’t really matter here.

“I’ve heard from a lot of guys in college right now that you only get to come home from the football team maybe three or four times a year max,” he said. “At the end of the day, how far away from home isn’t that too big of a deal.”

The best guess at a timeline? It would be when “normalcy” happens. He wants to see open campuses return before he makes a commitment.

“Normalcy is a great way to put it,” Josey said. “Where I can go and really be sure about my decision before I make it.”

Noah Josey: How he’s handling quarantine in Nashville 

Josey has wanted to play college football for as long as he can remember. It helped to have a father who played in the Southeastern Conference.

“I went to a bunch of really fun games as a kid and got to see all the roaring crowds and stuff in the SEC,” he said. “I’ve always dreamed of doing that one day. That’s obviously a huge driving factor for me.”

He said his weight was right around 305 pounds, but he plans to drop down to 290 for his senior season. That doesn’t mean his strength and conditioning levels have not been prioritized during the quarantine.

“It really hasn’t been that bad,” Josey said. “Where I live is really hilly and me and my buddies we all had like one or two weights and different apparatuses so we all came together and built our own little ‘Redneck Gym’ together. We’ve been actually getting after it. I’ve been a lot sorer some of these days after finishing online school than some days after workouts during a day of regular school.”

MacGyver would applaud the ingenuity. There are some support beams and some chiseled-down fence posts that are now used to rack their bars. He feels the work they are doing now will pay a dividend once the season comes around.

It is no different than any other season, but the pandemic has created a bigger hurdle for every player to still get that work in.

“We know what we need and go get it,” Josey said. “We’ve got a little makeshift squat rack and stuff and go kill it on some hills. It is no joke. I’ve been enjoying it and it has also been a really good team-building experience. All of this is without coaches. So all of us are stepping up and getting it done.”

He’s also used this time to brush up on his future academic goals.

“I want to study business finance or maybe investments,” he said. “I’m really big into the stock market which isn’t going great right now. But I have a little money in the stock market now that I mess around with.”

Remember that part about the investments the Georgia boosters continue to make in the program? That certainly makes an impression on Josey here.

“The biggest thing I’ve gotten to do during this downtime during quarantine has been to study stocks more,” he said. “I’ve gotten to spend a lot of this time learning a lot of stuff that I didn’t know before and kind of learning how the market works. It is kind of hard to do that right now because the market now isn’t how it usually is, but definitely just studying the stock market more now for sure.”

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