(photo from Tommy Bush – Twitter)
Today on Bulldawg Illustrated’s UGA Recruiting Daily we look at five 2018 wide receiver prospects which include Rashod Bateman, Tommy Bush, Jalen Jordan, James Mitchell, and Alontae Taylor.
TODAY’S FEATURED PROSPECTS
If position ranking is noted, unless otherwise stated, it is 247 Sports latest composite ranking of the player.
RASHOD BATEMAN
CLASS: 2018
POSITION: No. 61 WR
HT, WT: 6 foot 1.5, and 180 lbs
SCHOOL: Tift County High School
CITY, STATE: Tifton, GA
STATUS: COMMITTED TO MINNESOTA 06/12/2017
UGA OFFER: No.
# OFFERS: 22
NEWS & NOTES: Rashod Bateman has been one of the top performers at wide receiver in the Peach State in 2017 who has been committed to Minnesota since June 12. The Tift County High senior had 7 catches for 154 yards and two touchdowns in Blue Devils’ 33-31 win over the No. 3 team in Class 6A, Coffee County, back on Sept. 22. In the third round of the playoffs, he had 9 catches for 156 years and 3 TDs in a 35-28 loss to Brookwood.
On the year, Bateman has 83 receptions for 1,539 yards and 21 touchdowns, averaging nearly 18.5 yards per catch. That puts in 2nd in the state in receiving yardage, tied for 1st in catches, and 3rd in receiving TDs for 2017. That performance also puts in the top 50 receivers nationally.
So why hasn’t Bateman received more offers and exposure compared to some of the other wideouts in the state? That is somewhat of a head-scratcher; although, he does have over 22 scholarship offers. It isn’t like Bateman was an unknown his junior year as he turned in a solid 56 catch, 825 receiving yards, and 5 touchdown performance, but he has really climbed up the recruiting rankings on both 247 and Rivals this past year.
Bateman was recently offered by both South Carolina and Tennessee. So will Bateman get an offer from Georgia? Not sure, but Kirby Smart and a couple of the coaches on the recruiting trail on Monday were supposedly down at Tift County High School.
2017 HIGHLIGHTS vs. COFFEE CO. – CLICK HERE
2017 SENIOR SEASON HIGHLIGHTS – CLICK HERE
2016 JUNIOR SEASON HIGHLIGHTS – CLICK HERE
TOMMY BUSH
CLASS: 2018
POSITION: No. 37 WR
HT, WT: 6 foot 4.5, and 187 lbs
SCHOOL: Clemens High School
CITY, STATE: Schertz, TX
STATUS: Undeclared
UGA OFFER: Yes, offered on 02/12/2017.
# OFFERS: 46
NEWS & NOTES: Tommy Bush has over 46 offers so far including one from Georgia. The Bulldogs’ staff hit the road and visited Bush last week, and he was supposed to visit UGA this past weekend on Dec. 8th; however, the winter weather system that dumped snow over North Georgia and the Atlanta-metro area put a kink in his travel plans. He plans on trying to get back to Athens this weekend, though, for a Dec. 15th visit.
So will Bush be Georgia’s 3rd receiver in the 2018 class? Hard to say at this point, but UGA is definitely in the conversation here. Bush has also taken official visits to Nebraska, on Oct. 6th, and Michigan State, on Nov. 4th, this fall. Those two schools along with Baylor and Texas are definitely all in the mix.
2017 SENIOR SEASON HIGHLIGHTS – CLICK HERE
2016 JUNIOR SEASON HIGHLIGHTS – CLICK HERE
2015 SOPHOMORE SEASON HIGHLIGHTS – CLICK HERE
2014 FRESHMAN SEASON HIGHLIGHTS – CLICK HERE
JALEN JORDAN
CLASS: 2018
POSITION: No. 88 WR
HT, WT: 6 foot 5, and 210 lbs
SCHOOL: IMG Academy, Bradenton, FL
CITY, STATE: From St. Francis HS, Alpharetta, GA
STATUS: Undeclared
UGA OFFER: Yes, offered on April 18th.
# OFFERS: 10
NEWS & NOTES: Jalen Jordan is a big, tall receiver that the Dogs offered back in the spring and is similar to Georgia’s 2017 signee Matt Landers. For the last couple of months I thought this was a three school race for Jordan between the Bulldogs, GT, and Tennessee, but with the Vols struggling and their athletic and football coaching search in utter choas, the West Virginia Mountaineers have thrown their hat in the ring and are a legitmate contender. Jordan took an official visit to Rutgers on Dec. 8th who recently offered him on Nov. 15th, and he will take an official to GT on Dec. 15th.
It looks like Jordan may be down to either Rutgers or GT based on the most recent news, with Scarlett Knights having a slight edge coming off his official visit.
2017 SENIOR SEASON HIGHLIGHTS – CLICK HERE
2016 JUNIOR SEASON HIGHLIGHTS – CLICK HERE
JAMES MITCHELL
CLASS: 2018
POSITION: TE/WR – No. 69 WR
HT, WT: 6 foot 4, and 218 lbs
SCHOOL: Union High School
CITY, STATE: Big Stone Gap, VA
STATUS: Undeclared
UGA OFFER: Yes, offered on May 18th.
# OFFERS: 16
NEWS & NOTES: UGA offered James Mitchell back on May 18th, and the Big Stone Gap receiver put the Dogs in his top five on July 20th. He is a name you may not have heard much of, but he put the Bulldogs in his final top three on Sunday, Nov. 5th along with Duke and VT. This is an interesting one to keep an eye because Mitchell is not unlike Charlie Woerner in build; so, the question is whether or not he will play receiver in college or morph into a TE?
I learned my lesson with emphatically insisting a player like Woerner would stay at WR, and boy was I wrong on that one. In other words, it would not surprise me to see Mitchell develop into a TE. Either way, he is a big receiving target who is physical and can line up at either position and be effective. And to say he is a heck of an athlete is an understatement. Mitchell lined up at QB for the Union HS this season when their starting QB went down with an injury. The big man is also a pretty good basketball player.
Mitchell took a visit to Duke this past weekend on Dec. 8th. He plans to announce his decision on December 15th at 2:30 p.m. ET from Union High School.
2017 SENIOR SEASON HIGHLIGHTS – CLICK HERE
2016 JUNIOR SEASON HIGHLIGHTS – CLICK HERE
2017 WEEK 5 PLAYER OF THE WEEK – CLICK HERE
CAMP HIGHLIGHTS – CLICK HERE
2016-2017 B-BALL HIGHLIGHTS – CLICK HERE
ALONTAE TAYLOR
CLASS: 2018
POSITION: Athlete (CB, WR) – No. 23 WR
HT, WT: 6 foot 1, and 182 lbs
SCHOOL: Coffee County Central High School
CITY, STATE: Manchester, TN
STATUS: Undeclared
UGA OFFER: Yes, offered on 02/11/2017.
# OFFERS: 25
NEWS & NOTES: Georgia offered Alontae Taylor back in February. The Machester, TN athlete had been committed to the Volunteers since June of last year, but he de-committed from Tennessee on Sunday, Nov. 12th. What are the Bulldogs’ chances of bringing Taylor into the fold of this stellar 2018 recruiting class?
Since his de-commitment, Taylor’s recruitment has really picked up and Alabama, GT, Louisville, as well as Wake Forest are programs that are really looking hard at the Coffee County Central High product, but just last week, the ye ‘ole magic 8-ball would have said that Georgia stands a very good chance of landing the talented athlete. Oh, but college football recruiting can be a roller coaster ride of twists and turns. Now, it appears Taylor may be leaning back to the Vols.
Taylor took an official visit to Athens on Nov. 18th to see Georgia’s final home game of the season, a 42-13 win over Kentucky. He was scheduled to take an official to Tennessee on Dec. 9th and it was thought he might have cancelled that to make room for an official to Alabama on Dec. 8th. Those plans changed the official to Bama was cancelled and he ended up visiting Tennessee over the weekend after all. Before the official to Knoxville, Taylor took one to Wake Forest on Dec. 2nd. Taylor will be announcing his decision on Dec. 18th, and he plans on being an early enrollee as well as signing during the early signing period between Dec. 20th and Dec. 22nd.
I’ve featured Taylor as a defensive back prospect as well and that is because he could potentially play at either wide receiver or at cornerback at the collegiate level. And it looks like the Georgia coaching staff is pitching to him to be able to come in and compete at both to see where he is a best fit at.
2017 SENIOR SEASON HIGHLIGHTS – CLICK HERE
2016 JUNIOR SEASON HIGHLIGHTS – CLICK HERE
2015 SOPHOMORE SEASON HIGHLIGHTS – CLICK HERE