Want to attack every day with the latest Georgia football recruiting info? That’s the Intel. This rep has the first DawgNation read on 5-star LB Jadon Perlotte. He ranks as the nation’s No. 4 LB and the No. 32 overall prospect for 2025 on the 247Sports Composite ratings.

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Jadon Perlotte, a 5-star LB from Buford High School, committed to Georgia today.

Truth be told, he’s been committed to the Bulldogs for awhile now. He’s known. The way these things work is that sometimes those edits come out a little bit slower during the thick of transfer portal season.

First, let’s get the rankings out of the way:

Let’s get a few of the other basic story establishment things out of the way. He becomes the second commitment for UGA in the 2025 class. He is the highest-rated recruit for the ‘Dawgs in that cycle. Perlotte also puts a chink into the armor a bit about the opinion that UGA has trouble recruiting Gwinnett County and the Buford High School program, to be specific.

Why did he choose Georgia?

“I’ve been up to Georgia over five times,” Perlotte said. “I’ve been all around the world. Ohio State and to all the schools. Georgia just does things so differently. They show so much love. Every time I go up there everybody says ‘What’s up, Jadon?’ and ‘I miss you’ and they give me hugs. I really pay close attention to the little things.”

He said very passionately that UGA has always been his dream school. He wanted to commit early so he will have time to focus on his high school career and not get distracted by the many waves of the college recruiting process.

The 6-foot-4 LB also is another huge 45-pound plate on the bar of the argument that no school in the country is recruiting elite LBs right now than the University of Georgia. Perlotte is a thumper that made plays all over the field for Class 7A Buford this fall.

Here’s his highlight film for his sophomore year.

Now that the bases are covered for what almost everyone will write about Perlotte’s commitment today, let’s take you to the things you are used to reading on DawgNation.

Jadon Perlotte: Why this commitment should stick

Perlotte is a 2025 prospect. I’d expect some eyes will roll about this one. The line that his recruitment is just getting started might come up around this topic.

It is always possible, but he speaks with conviction about the verbal pledge he makes today. He just turned 16 years old and is a true class of 2025 prospect.

“I always knew I was going to go to Georgia,” Perlotte said, “That’s been my dream school ever since I was little. They just do stuff differently over there. Their culture is like a family culture. Everything is about family. Forget about me. I love you.”

He was pretty much sold instantly on the ‘Dawgs.

“When I got the offer, I wanted to commit right there,” he said. “Because I had been to Georgia a couple of times before and I just loved it. That offer was so great. I was like I might just commit right now.”

The reputation of the defending national champions and the nation’s No. 1 team was big here.

“I feel like coach [Glenn] Schumann and coach Kirby [Smart] relate well to players,” Perlotte said. “They relate to me a lot. I’ve spoken to them a number of times and I really love how they talk to me. They came to watch me play at Buford this year. Kirby loved how I played. He talked to me for a little bit at the Georgia game. It was all well and good.”

Don’t expect him to waver here.

“I’m not going to decommit,” he said. “I’m going to be a Bulldog forever.”

His father, Kenny Perlotte, was very much behind this decision.

“My Dad always wanted me to commit there,” Perlotte said. “He didn’t want me to go anywhere else but Georgia. He was always telling me ‘When are you going to commit to Georgia?’ and well now’s the time.”

Perlotte was in Sanford Stadium for the Tennessee and Georgia Tech games this year. Perlotte was one of those 21 prospects with a 5-star ranking on Dooley Field that day for that clash with the Vols.

“I really knew after I saw all their fans,” Perlotte said. “I see no open seats every time I go to their games. I see no open seats. It is always packed out. That’s everything you could ask for.”

He was also at the Oregon game at the season opener in Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

The 215-pound sophomore LB lists his occupation on his Instagram page as an orthodontist. That’s because he likes to rearrange teeth on the football field.

“I like to hit people,” Perlotte said. “I’ve always been that way. That’s what my Dad has always told me. Just hit people hard. Knock teeth out.”

What is his game?

“I am a football player,” he said. “I can play anything.”

Perlotte wears the No. 43 for Buford. There can’t be any weak sauce in a player’s game to get to don that number on defense for the Wolves.

“Korie Rogers he wore that number,” Perlotte said of the former Clemson Tiger. “Malik Spencer he’s at Michigan State now. He wore that number. We all play kind of similarly. Very fierce. Violent. Hit hard. Play all around the field. That’s kind of where I got that number from.”

Perlotte said he will work to bring his talented Buford teammates to come to join him at Georgia. He singled out a few 5-star teammates in the 2024 class at Buford that he will work on.

“I am going to get them at Georgia,” he said. “Especially KJ [Bolden] now. I am going to get him at Georgia.”

Bolden will be at the top of his list.

“KJ is a ‘Dawg,” Perlotte said. “He’s a game-changer. Explosive. He’s one of the fastest wide receivers I have ever seen. He’s both a safety and a receiver. He’s both. He dominates at both.”

Look for him to project to be an off-ball or an on-ball linebacker. He’s pretty sharp in coverage, too.

“I’m very versatile,” he said. “That’s what they tell me.”

5-star LB Jadon Perlotte (Courtesy photo) (Jeff Sentell/Dawgnation)

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Jadon Perlotte: He’s had to grow up far too soon

Perlotte has had to mature beyond his years growing up. He’s dealt with two major deaths in his inner circle already while growing up.

That’s another reason why he speaks with passion about this choice.

The first would be his Aunt Tammy Rucker. Her picture is atop his Twitter account.

“That’s my Auntie,” he said. “She died by a spider bite. It was very sad. I mean I loved her. I had seen her a lot. I work for her.”

She passed away over 10 years ago.

“But it was very sad,” Perlotte said. “Who would expect to die bit a spider bite?”

When his dreams come true in football and on Sundays one day, he will be honoring her.

“I am going to be taking care of her little children,” Perlotte said. “She had three children when she passed away.”

That’s a big reason why he grinds so hard to be great. That’s just part of his why.

“Another reason is I lost one of my coaches,” he said. “That’s Coach Jake He’s coached me since I was five years old. He’s always coached me but he’s always told me to work hard. Don’t settle for anything less. I’ve always kept that in my head. I was there when he died. I was there while he was dying. Through that. Over two hours.”

Coach Jake Marsh made a tremendous impact on his life. His son, Brandon Marsh, plays in MLB with the Philadelphia Phillies.

Marsh passed away about a year ago. He was Perlotte’s youth football coach.

“There was one game and we were playing North Gwinnet and he said somebody about going to go score a touchdown,” Perlotte said. “And I was like what? I didn’t know what he said really. It was in the fourth quarter and he said ‘Go score this touchdown’ and I was like ‘I got you Coach’ and I scored.”

Marsh coached Perlotte for seven years of his youth football career.

“I was like ‘I told you I was going to score’ and that’s one thing I will always remember from him. Because he knew me very well. He was always the one at practice that was kind of me on the most trying to make me the best player I can be.”

With those bad cards dealt his way, where does he find joy?

“Definitely being with my family,” he said. “I love hunting. I love being with my Dad. Spending time with him. Definitely working out. I love going to the field.”

He’s not the only player in the Perlotte family. His older brother, Jordan, also played college ball at Wofford College.

Have you subscribed to the DawgNation YouTube channel yet? If so, you will be able to see special 1-on-1 content with 2023 commits CJ Allen, AJ Harris and Jamaal Jarrett.

SENTELL’S INTEL

(check on the recent reads on DawgNation.com)