Dylan Lonergan is plain and simple a special athlete. The class of 2023 dual sport star has offers from the University of Georgia in both baseball and football as of this past Saturday, September 19th. Scott Stricklin and the UGA baseball program offered the Brookwood standout over a year ago, and it’s obvious why. There aren’t many in-state prospects that consistently hover in the low 90’s off the mound that go without serious interest.
However, as impressive as Lonergan’s prowess and potential in baseball is, his achievements so far on the gridiron for the Brookwood Broncos are right on par. Starting as a freshman and helping your team reach the playoffs is impressive in itself, but the steps forward that Lonergan has taken so far as a sophomore are outstanding. In just two games Lonergan has completed 67% of his passes in route to racking up 707 yards, 7 touchdowns, and recording only 2 interceptions.
It’s also worth noting, while Lonergan is listed as Pro-Style quarterback by 247 Sports and Rivals, he showed his wheels off in the second contest of the year versus Walton. Lonergan was lethal in the zone read running game tallying 128 yards on 5 carries and recording a rushing touchdown. With that effort, Lonergan helped secure the most important stat to him and his teammates in 2020 so far, and that’s a 2 – 0 record.
Lonergan had offers from Penn State, where his father was a quarterback in the early 1980’s, LSU, Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Auburn, Georgia Tech, West Virginia, and South Carolina entering the season. After tremendous performances against Dacula and Walton, it didn’t take long for the Georgia Bulldogs to pull the trigger on the 6’2″ 210 pound, multi-faceted, signal caller. We caught up with Lonergan, before he received the offer, to talk about his stellar season so far and his recruitment.
Lonergan on preparing through COVID and the excitement around the Brookwood program with such a talented roster.
“It’s definitely been very weird for all of us getting ready for this year but we got through and we’re all excited to play. I don’t think any other team in Georgia has the talent and potential we have and I think we can do something special these next 3 years.”
**Marquis Grove-Killebrew – 2021 DB committed to Georgia, Sam M’Bake – 2022 receiver with an offer from Georgia, Denylon Morrissette – 2022 receiver with an offer from Georgia**
Lonergan on his recruitment and contact with Georgia
“LSU, Auburn, Tennessee, Penn State and Oregon stand out right now. Because I really like the coaches.”
At the time we spoke, Lonergan was just hours away from receiving his offer from Georgia and said, “Not sure about UGA. I’m speaking to them a lot though and I feel like it’s been great so far.”
**Todd Monken and Buster Faulkner are the coaches that Dylan specifically mentioned talking to frequently**
Bulldawg Illustrated reached back out for a comment after the offer from Georgia was extended and “honored and excited” were the words used for the Lonergan family. Also, Dylan has, “trained for a good amount of time with DJ Shockley.”
In the big picture of Lonergan’s recruitment, the coaches and the offensive system in place are going to be the two major driving factors for him in his football recruitment. We have subsequently learned that Dylan would like to pursue playing both football and baseball at the next level as well. This would seem to put Georgia in a nice spot here as they are one of a handful of schools that Lonergan currently holds and offer in both sports from.
The size and athleticism that Lonergan displays is remarkable for a young man two game in to his sophomore season in high school. Lonergan plays with great poise as well, seemingly unfazed by pressure packed situations like the multi-overtime win versus Dacula and a come from behind victory on the road versus Walton. Lonergan has a quiet confidence and is also an excellent student in the classroom.
Lonergan has a bright future ahead, and to be honest he’s just tapping into his potential. Scouts and evaluators at the Walton game this past Friday night were taken aback by the talent that Lonergan brandished. Georgia is high on this young man and it would not surprise me if he becomes ‘the guy’, priority number one, that the Dawgs hone in on in the class of 2023 at the quarterback position.