Defensive back was a clear position of need for Georgia in the 2022 recruiting cycle. That’s why the addition of 4-star cornerback Julian Humphrey is a welcome one.
The Bulldogs dipped into Houston to land the 6-foot-1, 185-pound cornerback. As of this writing, he’s one of four defensive back Georgia signees in the 2022 class, a number that could grow depending on what becomes of 5-star prospect Kamari Wilson and committed defensive back Daylen Everette.
Humphrey quickly became one of the more vocal recruiters for Georgia in this cycle. But he wasn’t always destined to be a Bulldog. For much of the cycle, Humphrey was actually committed to Georgia’s top rival, Florida.
Julian Humphrey backs off pledge to Florida
Things had begun to unravel for Dan Mullen even before his team lost 34-7 to the Bulldogs. The week of the Georgia-Florida game, Humphrey backed off his commitment to the Gators. At that point in time, he was the highest-ranked commitment in Florida’s class.
Humphrey’s de-commitment came just days after 4-star linebacker Shemar James de-committed from Florida. The Gators eventually went on to lose against Georgia, South Carolina and Missouri, which prompted the firing of Mullen. He was replaced by Billy Napier. Humphrey was re-offered on Tuesday by Florida, but in the end he stuck with his pledge to Georgia.
Julian Humphrey commits to Georgia
Before Mullen was officially given his walking papers, Humphrey decided to go ahead and commit to the Bulldogs. He did so on Nov. 12 and very quickly began recruiting other top prospects to join him in the 2022 recruiting cycle.
Related: Top 100 cornerback Julian Humphrey commits to Georgia
“He just has a naturally competitive nature to challenge the guy that is ahead of him or the guy that is older or maybe even better than him when he was younger,” Clear Lake assistant coach Rocky Granville said. “To me, he has basically always been that way.”
As it stands, Humphrey is one of two players in this class with ties to the state of Texas, with 4-star defensive tackle Bear Alexander being the other.
Georgia has gone into Texas before to land defensive back prospects, as it signed Jalen Kimber in the 2020 recruiting cycle. The Bulldogs also pulled Lewis Cine out of Texas, where he spent his senior season after moving from Massachusetts.
Julian Humphrey could be part of an all-time great defensive back haul
Shortly after his commitment, Humphrey began floating the idea that Georgia could end up putting together one of the all-time defensive back recruiting classes.
Entering Wednesday, Georgia has a commitment from six players who line up in the defensive backfield. All six of them are rated as 4-star recruits.
Including Humphrey, five of them also rate in the top 102 prospects in the country. Two of those are 5-stars in Malaki Starks and Jaheim Singletary have already signed. Georgia also holds a commitment from 5-star cornerback Daylen Everette. 5-star safety Kamari Wilson is set to announce his decision on Wednesday.
Julian Humphrey highlights
Julian Humphrey recruiting profile
On3 Consensus: No. 91 overall player, No. 12 cornerback, No. 18 player in Texas, 247Sports: No. 87 overall player, No. 13 cornerback, No. 17 player in Texas, Rivals: No. 43 overall player, No. 6 cornerback, No. 11 player in Texas, ESPN: No. 177 overall player, No. 19 cornerback, No. 32 player in Texas
Will Julian Humphrey enroll early?
Yes, Humphrey is expected to enroll early at Georgia
