Bulldogs Recruiting Rewind: The Red and Black Kirby Smart Recruiting Train is Full Steam Ahead Again

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Bulldogs Recruiting Rewind: The Red and Black Kirby Smart Recruiting Train is Full Steam Ahead Again

 
 
To say that last week was a good week for Georgia Head Coach Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs on the recruiting front would be an understatement as we saw three commitments, a number of scholarship offers, and a very successful three-day camp over the weekend that grabbed the attendance and attention of a large number of prospects. Let’s take a look at all this past week’s action in this episode of Bulldogs Recruiting Rewind.

 

Not one. Not two, but three commitments

 
Will start off with the commitments. In last week’s Bulldog Recruiting Rewind, I posed and pontificated on whether or not Georgia would close out the month of May with a commitment or two? Well, UGA got not one. Not two, but three commitments to the class of 2018 in the span of three days last week. It all started with defensive end Jaevon Becton announcing his decision to commit to the Bulldogs on Wednesday night.
 
 

 
 
Then on Friday night, at the Kirby Smart High School Football Camp, UGA got two more commitments within 15 minutes of each other from offensive lineman Warren Ericson and defensive back Rachad Wildgoose, Jr.
 
 

 
 

 
 
Becton is a 6 foot 4 and 245 lbs weakside defensive end/ outside linebacker out of Ocean Lakes High School in Virginia Beach, VA, and Ericson is a is a 6 foot 4 and 317 lbs OG prospect from North Gwinnett High School in Suwanee, GA. The 5 foot 11 and 190 lbs Wildgoose is a cornerback that hails from Miami-Northwestern High School out of the Miami, Florida area. Those three join kicker/punter Jake Camarda and defensive back Chris Smith II to round out the 2018 class for the Bulldogs which currently stands at five commitments.
 
 

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart looks on as prospects work out at UGA on Friday
Georgia head coach Kirby Smart looks on as prospects work out at UGA on Friday

 

Recruits Flock to Athens for the Kirby Smart Football Camp

 
From Thursday through Saturday morning, Georgia Head Coach Kirby Smart hosted the first of several football camps he and his staff will hold over the next several weeks in June. Recruiting prospects from across the country flocked to Athens to get a chance to visit UGA and to drill and workout for the Georgia coaching staff. This was the high school football camp for rising 9th-12th graders or class of 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021 prospcets. It was organized around four practice sessions over three days with an afternoon practice session on Thursday at 3:30 p.m., a 9:25 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. practice session on Friday, and then a 9:00 a.m. morning session at Sanford Stadium on Saturday before the 11:00 a.m. checkout. The practice sessions on Thursday and Friday were held at the Woodruff practice fields and Georgia’s new Indoor Athletic Facility.
 
 
This is just a small portion of the recruits that attended the camp at UGA over the weekend that I was able to confirm.
 
 
Thursday, June 1st
 
Davis Beville | 2019 QB | Greenville HS, Greenville, SC
Zay Britt | 2020 athlete | Munford HS, Munford, AL
Jacob Brumby | 2018 QB | Pickens County HS, Jasper, GA
Trey Dean | 2018 Safety | Dutchtown HS, Hampton, GA
Tylan Grable | 2018 QB | Wilkinson County High School, Irwinton, GA
Bart Harris | 2018 QB | Belton HS, Belton, MO
Jaycee Horn | 2018 CB | Alpharetta HS, Alpharetta, GA
Jalen Huff | 2020 CB | Athens Academy, Athens, GA
Camron Ivey | 2020 CB | Fayette County HS, Fayetteville, GA
Toot Johnson | 2018 RB | Effingham County HS, Springfield, GA
Cameron Lemons | 2019 DB | Oxford HS, Oxford, AL
Cordell Littlejohn | 2018 Dual-Threat QB | Roswell HS, Roswell, GA
Jo’Quavious Marks | 2020 RB | Carver High School, Atlanta, GA
Quindarius Monday | 2018 Safety | Carver HS, Atlanta, GA
Tyler Mullins | 2019 DB | Greenbrier HS, Evans, GA
Zach Owens | 2019 WR | Pope High School, Marietta, GA
Terrell Perriman | 2018 WR | Miami Central HS, Miami, FL
TaCorrie Russell | 2018 DE | Munford HS, Munford, AL
Jeremy Smith | 2019 athlete (DB, RB) | Jenkins HS, Savannah, GA
Anthony Summey | 2019 RB | Middletown South HS, Middletown, NJ
Mecose Todd | 2020 RB | Villa Rica HS, Villa Rica, GA
Josh Vann | 2018 WR | Tucker HS, Tucker, GA
Winston Wright, Jr. | 2019 athlete | Memorial Day School, Savannah, GA
 
 
Friday, June 2nd
 
Sergio Allen | 2020 LB | Peach County HS, Fort Valley, GA
Cortez Andrews | 2019 Safety | Amos P. Godby HS, Tallahassee, FL
Justyn Baker | 2018 WR | Notre Dame-Chattanooga HS, TN
Dominick Blaylock | 2019 WR | Walton HS, Marietta, GA
Andy Boykin | 2020 DE | Troup County HS, Lagrange, GA
Ben Bresnahan | 2018 TE | West Forsyth HS, Cumming, GA
Paris Brown | 2019 RB | McEachern HS, Powder Springs, GA
Jamil Burrough | 2020 DE | McEachern HS, Powder Springs, GA
Gunner Cruz | 2019 QB | Casteel HS, Queen Creek, AZ
Torenio Davis | 2018 WR | Bleckley County HS, Cochran, GA
Curtis Fann, Jr. | 2019 WDE | Emanuel County Institute, Twin City, GA
Kendre Gant | 2019 LB | Port St. Joe HS, FL
Kobe Hudson | 2020 WR | Troup County HS, Lagrange, GA
Tyquan Johnson | 2018 WR | Screven County HS, Sylvania, GA
Billy Joseph | 2018 ILB | Edison HS, Miami, FL
Austin Kirksey | 2019 QB | Walton HS, Marietta, GA
Willie T Lee | 2020 CB | Chattahoochee HS, Alpharetta, GA
Ross Malmgren | 2019 QB | North Paulding HS, Dallas, GA
Kyle Mann | 2020 DL | Douglas County HS, Douglasville, GA
Dylan McMahon | 2019 OL | Savannah Christian Prep, Savannah, GA
Tyson Meiguez| 2020 WDE/OLB | Our Lady of Mercy Catholic HS, Fairburn, GA
Myles Murphy | 2020 DE/OLB | Hillgrove HS, Powder Springs, GA
Ty Murray | 2019 OT | Carrolton HS, Carrolton, GA
King Mwikuta | 2019 OLB | Troup County HS , Lagrange, GA
Stone Norton | 2019 QB | Davidson Academy HS, Nashville, TN
Kayode Oladele | 2018 DE | Champagnat Catholic School, Hialeah, Florida
Jay Person | 2018 LB | Bradley Central HS, Cleveland, TN
N’Zoyn Poole | 2020 athlete | Our Lady of Mercy Catholic HS, Fairburn, GA
Tate Ratledge | 2020 OT | Darlington HS, Rome, GA
Michael Robertson | 2020 WR | Savannah Christian Prep, Savannah, GA
Lawrence Shadd III | 2019 WR | Harrison HS, Kennesaw, GA
Kevin Swint | 2020 OLB | Carrolton HS, Carrolton, GA
Ray Thornton | 2019 DB | Central High School, Phenix City, AL
Will Tolbert | 2018 LB | Lowndes County HS
Tommy Tremble | 2018 TE | Johns Creek HS, Alpharetta, GA
Travon Walker | 2019 DL | Upson-Lee HS, Thomaston, GA
Rachad Wildgoose Jr. | 2018 DB | Miami-Northwestern HS, Miami, FL
Courtney Williams | 2018 WR | Callaway HS, Hogansville, GA
 
 
Saturday, June 3rd
 
Note: A number of recruiting prospects that attended the 3:00 p.m. afternoon session on Friday also participated in Saturday’s morning practice session before camp checkout.
 
Cartavious Bigsby | 2020 athlete | Callaway HS, Hogansville, GA
D’Quan Douse | 2019 LB | Calvary Day School, Savannah, GA
JP Palmer | 2018 athlete | McIntosh County Academy, Darien, GA
Michael Wright | 2020 QB | Woodward Academy, Atlanta, GA
 
 
UGA’s next camp will be a kicking camp on Wednesday, June 7th, a basic football skills camp also on June 7th and on June 8th, followed by a youth camp for the 8 to 14 years age group from June 8-10th next weekend. The 7-on-7 and lineman camps are scheduled for June 13th, 14th, and 15th.
 

UGA football offers from May 29th – June 4th

 
A number of offers went out from the Georgia coaching staff last week. Of note, the Bulldogs continued to offer defensive backs for the 2018 class and they have put forth well over 50 offers for that position group. Offered on Tuesday, May 30th were Noah Boykin, a 6 foot 2.5 and 169 lbs cornerback out of Woodson High School in Washington D.C., and Judson Tallandier II, a 6 foot 2 and 180 lbs cornerback out of DeMatha High School in Hyattsville, Maryland. Tallandier committed to the University of Pittsburg on Friday, June 2nd.
 
 

 
 

 
 
The Bulldogs also offered Boykin’s teammate at Woodson High School, 2018 inside linebacker Juan Wallace. He is currently committed to Syracuse since May 4th, 2017.
 
 

 
 
Here is a full list of offers from the past week:
 
 
Monday, 05/29/2017

None
 
 
Tuesday, 05/30/2017

Noah Boykin – 2018 DB (CB) | Woodson High School, Washington, DC
Judson Tallandier II – 2018 DB (CB) | DeMatha High School, Hyattsville, MD
Juan Wallace – 2018 ILB | Woodson H. D. High School, Washington, DC
 
 
Wednesday, 05/31/2017

Johnnie Brown | 2020 DL/LB | Tampa Middleton High School, Tampa, FL
 
 
Thursday, 06/01/2017

None
 
 
Friday, 06/02/2017

Sergio Allen – 2020 LB | Peach County HS, Fort Valley, GA
Andy Boykin – 2020 DE | Troup County HS, Lagrange, GA
Dontae Lucas – 2019 OG | Miami Senior HS, Miami, FL
Jamil Burroughs – 2020 DE | McEachern HS, Powder Springs, GA
 
 
Saturday, 06/03/2017

Myles Murphy | 2020 DE | Hillgrove High Schol
Shemar Pearl | 2019 WDE/OLB | Plano West High School, Plano, TX
 
 
Sunday, 6/04/2017

None
 
 

Brice Ramsey and Shakenneth Williams
Brice Ramsey and Shakenneth Williams

 

More college football recruiting news

 
While not technically recruiting news, we did hear some important information regarding the University of Georgia football program for 2017 this past week. And that was that quarterback Brice Ramsey would not transfer and remain at UGA, finishing his final year as a Bulldog in 2017. That is big as Georgia only had two scholarship quarterbacks, Jacob Eason and Jake Fromm, for fall until Ramsey’s announcement.
 

Closing thoughts…

 
While Ramsey announcing that he will remain with the Dogs is great news and addresses Georgia quarterback depth for 2017, it still means that until UGA will be back down to two scholarship QBs for 2018 after this season. Picking up a QB commitment in the 2018 recruiting class is still imperative in my opinion. And the question of who that could be is still up in the air. Can the Dogs flip Justin Fields from Penn State, or can they sign one of the seven undeclared QB prospects they have offers to currently?
 
 
Even with the question marks still surrounding the 2018 QB recruiting, what a great way for Georgia to end the month of May and begin June with the three commitments from Becton, Ericson, and Wildgoose. And I expect there to be several more commitments for the Bulldogs this month as well. All eyes will be on Zamir White on June 27th as he announces his decision. And despite reports that would seem to indicate that the number one running back is now favoring Ohio State, I don’t buy it. Why? Just because two Ohio State recruiting analysts make crystal ball predictions for Zamir to pick the Buckeyes does not mean that he has changed his mind about UGA nor does it mean that Ohio State has taken the lead in his recruitment. As of right now, nothing much has changed in the last six months in regards to Zamir White’s relationship with the Georgia coaching staff and how he and his parents feel about Athens. As of right now, the Bulldogs are still the team to beat here. I expect “Zeus” to pick Georgia on June 27th unless something drastic happens in his recruitment between now and then.
 
 
Yes, indeed my Bulldawg friends. It looks like the red and black Kirby Smart recruiting train is once again steaming full speed ahead for Georgia.
 
 


 
 

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The University of Georgia 1991-1994. Lanier Tech 2009-2012. Writer and graphic artist covering UGA athletics, college football, and recruiting. Peach cobbler fears me!