This Sentell’s Intel rep previews the confirmed listing of Georgia football recruiting targets that are expected in Athens this weekend for the first big recruiting weekend of the 2025 recruiting calendar.
DawgNation has a weekly list of the “Top Targets” for Georgia football recruiting each week on its “Before the Hedges” 8 p.m. Wednesday show. It streams across the DawgNation Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook social platforms.
The show also streams on the DawgNation.com home page. For the last month or so, we’ve been listing the top targets for the 2025 recruiting cycle.
The recruiting of those top targets gets real this weekend.
That’s because DawgNation expects at least five of the top 10 targets for the 2025 class to be at UGA on unofficial visits. That’s not counting any 2026, 2027 or 2028 recruits that might also be in town.
Check out the short attention span breakdown of who will be in town here:
- 5-stars: 4
- Top 50 overall recruits: 7
- Top 100 overall recruits: 11
- Top 150 overall recruits: 13
- Prospects committed to programs that made the last college football playoffs: 2
The list is headlined by 5-star Savannah Christian DT Elijah Griffin. He’s rated as the nation’s No. 3 overall prospect for 2025 for both the 247Sports Composite and the On3 Industry Ranking, respectively.
Griffin has long been seen as one of the top three targets for Georgia in the 2025 class. The fact that he is a homegrown recruit only amplifies the Bulldog interest there.
He won’t be the only 5-star in town. Rising senior LB Zayden Walker will be making what is estimated to be his seventh trip to check out UGA. The Schley County standout is rated as the nation’s No. 1 LB and the No. 9 overall recruit for the 2025 class.
He’s been an alpha priority for the ‘Dawgs for multiple years now with this class and the ‘Dawgs have made him feel like a most wanted prospect on the board for some time now.
There’s a big extra to this January visit: Walker told DawgNation he plans to bring his mother, Zabia Solomon, with him for the first time in almost a year.
“Mama’s first time going in a long time,” he told DawgNation. “I want them to show her why they are one of my top schools.”
Georgia will, counting its commitments, have at least eight of the state’s highest-rated prospects in town this weekend. (247Sports Composite rankings) While those travel plans are always subject to change, that’s a big deal for the ‘Dawgs given their entire 2025 class is made of home-grown commitments.
That’s an early departure from the out-of-state flavor of Georgia’s last two recruiting classes. Georgia signed 19 of the 28 high school members of its 2024 class from out of state. The 2023 class had 21 of its 26 signees come from outside the state, including its six highest-rated signees.
Westlake junior WR Travis Smith Jr. is another big name who plans to be in town this weekend. He’s the highest-rated WR prospect in the state this year. He’s the No. 23 WR for 2025 for the 247Sports Composite, but the On3 Industry Ranking has him as the No. 8 WR and the No. 73 overall prospect.
Smith’s teammate at Westlake is also a big-time prospect. That’s 6-foot-7-plus OT Juan Gaston Jr. from the 2025 class. While initially expected to be in Athens, he told DawgNation on Friday afternoon that he will not be able to make it to UGA this weekend.
The Bulldogs are also expected to have several of their 2025 commitments in town this weekend. We’ve been able to confirm that 5-star DL Justus Terry, 4-star LB Jadon Perlotte and 4-star TE Ethan Barbour also plan to be there at this time.
Barbour told DawgNation just how important Smith is to this year’s class. He feels that Smith has an 80 percent chance to catch any ball that’s thrown in the air within his vast catch radius.
“He is a true ‘X’ receiver,” Barbour said. “When you have an 80/20 guy when that ball is in the air it is a game changer. We need him because it would elevate our offense even more. You can’t key in on one guy when you have playmakers all over the field.”
Check out DawgNation’s running list of the top players expected in Athens for “Junior Day” this weekend.
| Star | Position | Name/Hgt and Wgt. | City/State | Rankings (247Sports Composite) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | EDGE | Christian Gass | Covington, GA | No. 40 EDGE (Rivals) |
| 4 | WR | Thomas Blackshear | Savannah, GA | No. 42 WR and No. 307 overall |
| 4 | DL | Kevin Wynn | Greensboro, GA | No. 26 DL and No. 241 overall |
| 4 | WR | Travis Smith | Atlanta, GA | No. 23 WR and No. 186 overall |
| 4 | IOL | Mason Short (BAMA) | Evans, GA | No. 8 IOL and No. 159 overall |
| 4 | DL | Christian Garrett | Bogart, GA | No. 14 DL and No. 132 overall |
| 4 | IOL | Cortez Smith | Lilburn, GA | No. 7 IOL and No. 129 overall |
| 4 | CB | Chris Ewald (Michigan) | Hollywood, FL | No. 11 CB and No. 86 overall |
| 4 | RB | Alvin Henderson | Elba, AL | No. 7 RB and No. 83 overall |
| 4 | EDGE | Bryce Davis | Greensboro, NC | No. 8 EDGE and No. 64 overall |
| 4 | LB | Tavion Wallace | Jesup, GA | No. 8 LB and No. 56 overall |
| 4 | S | Anquon Fegans | Alabaster, AL | No. 3 S and No. 38 overall |
| 4 | CB | Jontae Gilbert | Atlanta, GA | No. 6 CB and No. 28 overall |
| 4 | EDGE | Jared Smith | Alabaster, AL | No. 3 EDGE and No. 27 overall |
| 5 | QB | Jared Curtis (2026) | Nashville, TN | No. 2 QB and No. 20 overall |
| 5 | OT | Josh Petty | Roswell, GA | No. 3 OT and No. 20 overall |
| 5 | LB | Zayden Walker | Ellaville, GA | No. 1 LB and No. 9 overall |
| 5 | DT | Elijah Griffin | Savannah, GA | No. 1 DL and No. 3 overall |
**- (These players are all in the Class of 2025 unless otherwise noted):
SENTELL’S INTEL
(check on the recent reads on Georgia football recruiting)
