The day has come where one of the most gifted, natural athletes in the entire class of 2022 will make their college decision. Malaki Starks, a 5-Star Athlete in 2022, projected to play Star or Safety in college, will announce his commitment later today. The Jefferson, Georgia native will be selecting from 3 of the preeminent powers in the college football landscape in Alabama, Clemson, and Georgia. Living less than 30 minutes from the Arches and Sanford Stadium while also possessing a truly remarkable amount of God-given ability, it goes without saying that Starks is one of, if not the most desired prospect for the Dawgs in the class of 2022.

Starks has kept his recruitment rather close to the vest. Of course, that has not swayed the recruiting media, including Bulldawg Illustrated, from exploring all avenues in trying to gather insight into the relationship between the 5 Star and his college finalists. One thing that has been made clear through public interactions and posts on social media is that Georgia has pulled out all the stops along the way. Also, a strength that gets mentioned to me by nearly every recruit I talk to that is seriously considering UGA and has been thoroughly recruited by the Dawgs is that Georgia both prioritizes them and their families as people first and that the staff itself feels like an extension of family. That family feel will likely have played a big part in Starks’ recruitment as he is very close with his mother and has a strong bond with his father. By the way, they’re both Georgia Bulldog fans.

Talking to sources throughout the last couple of days, it’s apparent that this recruitment has been and remains up until this morning very close. Clemson has really been working to make a late run at Malaki and Alabama; well, they’re Alabama. The Crimson Tide’s recruitment approach does not change; it’s just a matter of whether or not the player sees himself there. As of this morning, just like I’ve been saying for the last couple of weeks, I like Georgia to be the hat Starks puts on when the time comes for the announcement this evening. This would be huge for Kirby Smart’s squad going forward. The secondary is not a very deep unit for the Dawgs in 2021. An infusion of a combination of raw ability, ferocious competitiveness, and natural leadership would go a long way toward fortifying the DB room’s future.

I plan to be in Jefferson tonight for the announcement. Lord willing and the internet cooperates, I’ll live stream the event on Twitter. Stay tuned for details on that in the board below. A recap of the event will be posted to Bulldawg Illustrated the next morning as well.