Sentell’s Intel is the latest Georgia football recruiting info. This rep has breaking news with 4-star junior TE Ethan Barbour. He’s the No. 4 TE and the No. 179 overall prospect for 2025 on the 247Sports Composite ratings. The On3 Industry Ranking has him as the No. 5 TE and No. 192 overall recruit.
Ethan Barbour put on the Georgia hat moments ago.
He’s now officially the seventh commitment (and the second TE prospect) in Georgia’s top-rated 2025 recruiting class.
He made his decision a while back. That’s when he told tight ends coach Todd Hartley and then made the call to head coach Kirby Smart.
The 4-star TE had always loved the ‘Dawgs, but he said he knew it was time to commit to the G about four weeks ago.
“I had to make sure that my parents and I were on the same page and after that, I called the man,” Barbour said. “Coach Smart. I called Coach Smart and we got things done.”
How did the head coach of the ‘Dawgs like that?
“Oh, he was full of excitement,” Barbour said. “He was so happy. I was one of the main priorities in the 2025 class. They wanted me really really bad. You know they said they needed me so that alone said a lot. They were marking me as the next Brock Bowers. They want to use me the same way. So that was really really special.”
Smart had already told Barbour what he meant to the program this summer.
“When I went into that 7-on-7 this summer coach Smart said ‘We’re ready when you are’ so that was really really special. They weren’t on my back or anything. They just wanted me to take my time. They were like we are not taking any other tight ends until you commit or until you tell me no.”
He’s aware of the honor it is now to play tight end for Georgia. That conversation with Smart cemented that.
“I just thought that was really really special,” Barbour said. I took that to heart. I kept that in a safe place and I will remember that forever. That was really really special.”
It wasn’t always that easy of a decision
“This was a really really hard decision,” he said. “Being 16. Making one of the biggest decisions of your life. You have got to put a lot of time and effort into it. It came down to what I would say three schools. South Carolina, Auburn and Georgia.”
Georgia was the pick. For a lot of reasons.
“They have been really really consistent with me,” Barbour said. “They’ve been there since day one. Coach Hartley and all the coaching staff. They’ve been recruiting me. Looking at my film. Helping me get better each and every single day. Helping me improve on things that I’m good at. Helping me improve on things that I am bad at. So I really really appreciated that from them.”
The Bulldogs beat out a final group that included Auburn, Alabama, Ohio State and South Carolina. Why was he so ready to go ahead and give the ‘Dawgs his non-binding verbal commitment?
“I would say the recruiting process and the commitment process has been a lot over the past years,” he said. “You see a lot and more and more younger kids commit earlier. Kind of like now it is time to lock up your spot. You want to pick where you want to go to college so that’s what I decided to commit earlier.”
Hartley now has commits from Barbour and 5-star Elyiss Williams at Camden County. Williams is a 6-foot-7 talent who will be a matchup problem while Barbour is the more all-around TE at this point of his career.
That should complete the TE position for the ‘Dawgs in this class. That’s after the ‘Dawgs signed two TEs in the 2023 and already have two highly-regarded commits in the 2024 cycle.
That Hartley fella likes to work ahead with his room. Really. Far. Ahead.
“Coach Hartley he is going to outwork everybody,” Barbour said. “He takes pride in what he does so that is really really special about him. He doesn’t chill and be laid-back and let things come to him. He seeks opportunities. That’s the type of coach you want that will be coaching you at the next level.”
The scouting report on new Georgia football commitment Ethan Barbour
We’ll lead this section off with a reference to one of Barbour’s quotes from above.
There’s not a lot to talk about in the column listing things Barbour is bad at. The 6-foot-3, 230-pound junior at Alpharetta High should be seen as an all-around tight end with no glaring holes in his game. He had 51 catches for 714 yards and 12 scores as a sophomore in 2022.
Barbour tallied up 11 catches for 227 yards and five scores in his first three games as a junior. That will include a breakout game in which he had 200-plus receiving yards and four scores in one quarter.
While those numbers would indicate he’s a receiving-first tight end, that’s not the case. There have been times in Barbour’s career when he has come off the field to the sidelines and doesn’t demand for the ball. He wanted his Raiders to run plays where he could mash and bump and bang on the opponent.
There is a significant physical component to his game here as well.
Check out his early junior film so far below:
The Ethan Barbour file: The things to pay attention to here
While reporting the stories of these young men, we make sure to do a lot of reporting on those priority UGA targets. The Intel we stockpile is vast, but it is hard to show the big picture with all these prospects in a breaking news commitment story.
We’re going to try and be more comprehensive and streamlined with that. We’ve been able to pull a good sample of quotes and feedback on Barbour that shows who he is and what he is all about.
Consider this to be the “Ethan Barbour Essentials” in the middle of this story.
He said he’s been to UGA at least 13 times now. Counting his most recent visit.
“I think it was my seventh or eighth time there before I finally got my offer,” Barbour said earlier this year. “If you want to go there, you’ve got to put that work in. You’ve got to show that you are interested.”
“I’m looking for a school that will develop me as a person and will develop me on the field and that also will teach me life lessons and help me make great connections and great networking for my life off the field,” he said recently.
“I’m going to be kind and polite and help out and be a leader among my team,” he said. “I am going to work hard in school. I’m not just a football player. I am not going to make an impact off the field as well.”
“The best way that I can explain who Ethan Barbour is would be the fact his Dad was in the military and has an MBA from Duke,” Alpharetta coach Jason Kervin said. “That sums up how Ethan is disciplined and regimented and organized and how thoughtful he is. But at the same time, education really matters. His Mom works at Merrill Lynch and she does really well. When you meet with her, she’s a really amazing and serious person, too.”
We are going to start doing this in every commitment story on DawgNation.
Georgia football rallied to earn the Ethan Barbour commitment
This is a special moment for Barbour and his family today, he said.
“Just being a kid that always wanted to play college football one day and just finally making it here to this point is really really special,” he said. “I am going to be thanking all my coaches. My family members. My friends for all the support and it is just going to feel good when I get to tell everybody that I’ve committed to the University of Georgia.”
“It is going to be really really special. I’ve finally made it to the first part of the dream and the next part is going to be making it to the NFL.”
There was a time when Florida was the pick. He was intrigued early in his recruitment with being the next Kyle Pitts in their offense. But then the Gators swapped out coaches and he lost that connection with the Dan Mullen staff.
Ohio State stepped into the fray next. That Big Ten power was another favorite for a time until he took a good look at how the Buckeyes used their tight ends. Was it a version of the “12 personnel” that actually fed the ball to the tight ends?
South Carolina has always been in the mix as well. That was his team for a time growing up. He has a lot of family in South Carolina. Barbour said he still has a Jadeveon Clowney jersey that he used to rock.
There were a lot of reasons for Georgia to pull away here and come out on top, but he settled on one.
“I would just say is the way they use their tight ends,” Barbour said. “Like I’ve said in a bunch of other interviews it is not just your normal ‘12′ personnel it is the ‘12′ personnel where they actually use both of their tight ends. They throw it to both of their tight ends. They make both of the tight ends block. A lot of other schools they can be in ‘12′ personnel but they are not throwing it to both of the tight ends like Georgia does.”
“Georgia’s offensive is basically based on the tight end. Those tight ends are able to dictate the defenses they see and the tight ends are the new part of the game that are making the game grow.”
SENTELL'S INTEL
(check on the recent reads on Georgia football recruiting)
