The past week for the Georgia football program has been the definition of madness. The gut-punch of the news of the ACL tear of George Pickens, followed by an exciting trio of blue-chip prospects committing to the Dawgs in the class of 2022, and then yesterday with more bad news on the injury front. Jermaine Burton also has reportedly suffered a knee injury, but there has been no official word from Kirby Smart or the Georgia program on the severity of the alleged injury. If Burton does indeed have to miss time with his knee, the sophomore wide receiver will be the 3rd UGA offensive playmaker to be sidelined during spring practice, along with the aforementioned George Pickens injury and an elbow injury to running back Kenny McIntosh.
There seems to be some good news on the horizon for the Dawgs to end the month in what seems to be the trend for March. Several media outlets are reporting an uptick in interest between Tykee Smith, a rising junior transfer from West Virginia, and the Georgia Bulldogs. Tykee Smith has been tied to Georgia since he entered the transfer portal due to the natural connection to his former Defensive Back Coach at WVU and the current Defensive Back Coach for the Dawgs, Jahmile Addae. It’s unclear if Smith wants to make visits or not before pulling the trigger on his commitment to a new program, but one would think time would be of the essence in this situation, especially when a waiver will be involved. It’s only fair to state that the NCAA is now giving waivers away like Oprah and Ellen give out expensive gifts to audience members.
On the 2022 recruiting front, I’ve spoken to multiple prospects and sources close to them this week, scheduled to be in Athens for the June 4-6 official visit weekend. A handful of these student-athletes appear to have already made up their minds that Georgia is where they want to be but are wanting to do their due diligence on visits and experience some of what they’ve been deprived of due to COVID-19 restrictions on recruiting. Out of respect for the young men, I won’t name names, but I will say that the common thread in this group is that they would be categorized under offensive skill players. It wouldn’t be shocking to see Kirby and company talk one into committing early, either.
A parting bit of information I’ve gathered. Shaleak Knotts is a receiver to keep an eye on in the class of 2022. Georgia was trying very hard to establish a personal connection Pre-COVID, and recent talks with Knotts and the Georgia staff have progressed. Look for the Dawgs to work their way into final contention for the 6’2″ 175-pound, a 4-Star wideout from Monroe, North Carolina.