Want to attack every day with the latest Georgia football recruiting info? That’s the Intel. This rep has the latest with 5-star junior OT prospect Josh Petty. He ranks as the nation’s No. 2 OT and the No. 15 overall prospect for 205 for both the 247Sports Composite ratings and the On3 Industry Ranking. We don’t see that symmetry all that often.
When Fellowship Christian School 5-star OT Josh Petty starts talking, you see something. It comes first as a feeling. He’s telegenic and a strong communicator, but it is just not that.
This just-turned-16-year-old prospect is what you want on your football team.
Or debate team.
Or marching band.
There’s a passion behind his eyes that carries to his words.
“Josh has got it,” Fellowship Christian School coach John Thompson said. “That ‘it’ if you know what I mean. It is like Bobby Bowden said whatever that ‘it’ is Josh has got that.”
Thompson would know. His glowing coaching resume includes stops as the defensive coordinator at Arkansas, Florida, Ole Miss and South Carolina. He was the head coach at East Carolina for two seasons and was Georgia State’s first defensive coordinator in 2008.
Petty dislocated his pinky in the sectional wrestling finals last winter but endured that to come from behind to win the match. He went on to lose in the GHSA Class 1A finals to the defending state champion.
“He’s the real deal,” Thompson said. “What you see right here is that he’s got a little bit of everything in him. He’s fun to be around. He can take hard coaching. He knows how to step up and when it is time to step up.”
“I will say this. He’s the face of this school. I mean it’s not hard to see who he is. He’s head and shoulders above everybody else when you see him. You can’t not see him because of his size and he’s taken on that role to handle all of this. With all of the attention he’s getting and all the things he’s getting he’s done nothing but work hard and get better. Most people respect talent. They see the talent. But there is a lot more to see with Josh than just that talent.”
“His Mom and Dad are awesome and I think they have got their priorities in order and I think that Josh has got his priorities in order.”
He is a rare Power 5 player at 1A Fellowship Christian. Charlie Patterson (Class of 2021 3-star Virginia signee) was another Power 5 Paladin. Petty will be the first All-American in Fellowship Christian football history.
There were 70 schools that came through this spring to see Fellowship. Petty was the draw and it helped other Paladins get noticed.
“I think he knows that he carries the flag for us right now,” Thompson said. “He’s going to pass the eye test and he’s got everything that these schools and looking for on and off the field.”
The nation’s top teams love his approach to the offensive tackle position.
“I really hope people see how dominant I am and how I love to pancake people,” Petty said. “I mean, if you look at my film I’m driving guys 10 yards off the ball and I’m finishing my block every time. As well as my ability to climb to the next level.”
The 6-foot-5, 265-pounder was kicked off the flag football team in the fourth grade. Why? Too nasty.
“Because I ran over a kid so they were all like ‘Ok it is time to put him in tackle football now’ after I did that,” Petty said.
Watch him on the backside of a power play. He’s adept at coming across and getting to the ‘backer to create a lane for his back to cut to wide-open green grass. Like any OL, he “100 percent” prefers run blocking to pass pro.
“I get to go out there and put another man on his back and take what he wants to do from him,” Petty said. “We both worked hard but obviously I’m showing him I’m working harder and putting him on his back.”
Stanford wants him, among others. When Petty started to rattle off the schools on his mind, it was the first time that an-state 5-star led with Georgia Tech in quite some time.
That said, the University of Georgia has already made quite an impression.
How does Josh Petty feel about the ‘Dawgs?
Petty grew up in Georgia, but was an early fan of the Tennessee Vols. His father was a big fan of Rocky Top and recently found an old picture of Josh in a Peyton Manning jersey.
Tennessee and Stanford were the first schools to contact him on August 1. That’s when college coaches were now permitted to reach out to the class of 2025. North Carolina and Oregon were two other schools that are showing him a lot of interest at this time, along with the back-to-back national champions.
What sticks out to him about the ‘Dawgs?
“The developmental piece and the fact that you are going to win national championships if you play for the Georgia Bulldogs,” he said.
What’s the most appealing piece? Is it the winning? NFL development? Did he notice that former left tackle Andrew Thomas just signed a $117 million dollar extension?
“I believe it is the developmental and the NFL piece as well as the winning piece,” Petty said. “It takes a lot to win at that program and do what they are doing. Back-to-back national championships are not an easy accomplishment. The fact that the ‘Dawgs have had that is very impressive.”
He has taken two visits to Georgia. The first was in the spring when he got the offer. Petty returned to camp in Athens this summer.
What’s the message from line coach Stacy Searels?
“That I am important and they want me there,” Petty said.
Petty aims to commit sometime before his senior season. He said the developmental piece is the biggest thing he is looking for at every school. That’s both on and off the field.
“I want to come out of college a new man,” he said. “Spiritually. Physically. Mentally. I want to be more mature. I want to be in a better place and want to see the differences from my freshman year to my senior year when I am graduating. The location isn’t huge for me. I know a lot of people say that location is big for them. I’m willing to go as far as it takes for a great college.”
“I want to go to a place where I can get a meaningful degree. The coach also matters. I know in current college football coaches are constantly changing and going everywhere. I want to know that I am in the hands of a guy that is going to take care of me.”
Petty is also looking for stability. He wants to play for coaches that will be there when he graduates.
Josh Petty: What the colleges see in this 5-star
He was a first-year starter as a freshman at the crucial left tackle spot. He’s gotten a lot of attention since but hasn’t let it get to his head.
“God is very important in my life,” he said. “Yes sir. He’s always number one for me as well as my school. My father is very very keen on me about my school. I had a 4.14 (grade-point average) last year and it comes first before football. Family is big for me. I love my family and spending quality time and I am a very social guy. I love talking to people.”
He wears No. 77. His father wore No. 77. His grandfather also wore the No. 77. Petty comes from a football family and playing on Sundays has been his dream. His father played Division II football in Texas.
Petty had a dominant preseason camp. Look for him to play both ways for Fellowship Christian as a left tackle and on the defensive line. He started out as a ‘3′ tech, but he will line up on the edge. With his length and athleticism, he can close his side of the field down to the boundary.
Thompson noted that Petty showed great maturity over the last year by embracing his worth on both sides of the ball. He might not have loved being a defender before, but he does now.
“That was a big deal and he started liking it and he’s played so much better on defense since,” Thompson said.
He’s added strength since last season. His bench press is now at 300 pounds. The squat is up to 375 pounds.
The 6-foot-5 junior saw his weight dip below 270 during fall camp. That will be worth paying attention to.
There is some wait-and-see to this evaluation because his 265 approximate pounds won’t cut it in the SEC. Petty is the nation’s No. 2 OT for the 2025 cycle. Yet there is also some pause out there with the nation’s No. 1 OT, too. That would be the sensational 5-star David Sanders Jr. up in Charlotte.
That might say something. Or it might say something about the skill sets of the two elite prospects. Broderick Jones was that same size when he was a junior in high school, too.
Not everyone can be a future first-rounder in Jones. But the former Lithonia star was never rated as highly as a junior as both Petty and Sanders are today.
He’s been measured with an elite 84-inch wingspan by college coaches. That length is why the elite programs see him at tackle.
Petty’s movement skills are what really stand out right now. Ask him about the best play on his tape. The reply is most uncommon for a left tackle.
He brought up a rep where he’s running stride for stride with his back. He’s never been timed in the 40 but feels like he can crack the 5.0 mark with room to spare.
“Some people might not know this but I am quite quick,” he said. “You can see my quickness out there. I was outrunning our running back.”
Check out his sophomore tape below.
SENTELL’S INTEL
(check on the recent reads on Georgia football recruiting)
