(photo from Tyson Campbell / Twitter)
Today on Bulldawg Illustrated’s UGA Recruiting Daily we look at Georgia’s 2018 defensive back recruiting focusing in on the cornerbacks and four 2018 prospects.
Right now, the Bulldogs have three DBs committed: safeties Aaron Brule and Rachad Wildgoose, Jr. and cornerback Chris Smith. There is the question of how many DBs the Georgia staff will take in 2018 after taking seven in 2017. Plus 2017 signee and freshman receiver Mark Webb, Jr. has switched to defense and CB.
UGA will lose three senior starters from the secondary after this season in defensive back Aaron Davis, cornerback Malkom Parrish, and safety Dominick Sanders. Deandre Baker and Tyrique McGhee look to be the guys on the current roster that will be the start corners in 2018, Baker will be a senior and McGhee a junior. The question will be who takes over at safety and step into Aaron Davis’ role as a guy who Kirby Smart and Mel Tucker depending on the offense they are facing. J.R. Reed has stepped up to become a big-time budding star in Georgia’s secondary this season and who is most likely to be the heir apparent to Davis.
Richard LeCounte likely will take up Sanders spot at safety. But the staff are continuing to develop depth on the backend of the defense, especially at CB. I would really like to see Georgia take at least one more CB in this 2018 class to go along with thumper Chris Smith, and American Heritage’s Tyson Campbell would be a huge pickup in that regard. Either that or flipping Gilbert Frierson from Miami. Let’s also look at Nadab Joseph and Thompson High School’s Christian Tutt.
TODAY’S FEATURED PROSPECTS
If position ranking is noted, it is 247 Sports latest composite ranking of the player.
TYSON CAMPBELL
CLASS: 2018
POSITION: DB – No. 3 CB
HT, WT: 6 foot 2.5, and 181 lbs
SCHOOL: American Heritage High School
CITY, STATE: Plantation, FL
STATUS: Undeclared
UGA OFFER: Yes, offered on 10/31/2015.
# OFFERS: 22
NEWS & NOTES: Campbell is a phenomenal CB that the previous Bulldog coaching staff offered and the current staff has continued to recruit. He visited UGA over the summer on July 20th and also visited Clemson and Alabama to close out the month of July. His recruitment is wide open at the moment, but Georgia could have a shot here as the Dogs are in Campbell’s top five: Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, Miami and Ohio State. Campbell recently visited the University of Miami on October 1st. There are a lot of predictions to Alabama and Miami as of late, but I think the Bulldogs have really impressed Campbell over the last couple of months. This is definitely one prospect to keep an eye on.
Tyson and American Heritage High School are undefeated, 7-0, on the year, ranked No. 3 nationally, No. 2 in the state of Florida and No. 1 in Class 5A. American Heritage will play (2-6) Hallandale on Friday, October 27th, and then they will close out their regular season versus (3-2) Coconut Creek at home on November 3rd.
2016 JUNIOR SEASON HIGHLIGHTS – CLICK HERE
2015 SOPHOMORE SEASON HIGHLIGHTS – CLICK HERE
GILBERT FRIERSON
CLASS: 2018
POSITION: DB – No. 19 CB
HT, WT: 6 foot 1, and 185 lbs
SCHOOL: Coral Gables High School
CITY, STATE: Coral Gables, FL
STATUS: Committed to Miami since 02/23/2016
UGA OFFER: Yes, offered on 01/23/2016.
# OFFERS: 15
NEWS & NOTES: Frierson has been committed to the Hurricanes for over a year, but there have been rumors since spring that he is also a potential flip to Georgia. He visited UGA back on May 20th and was in Athens again for the weekend of July 15th. If Kirby Smart and company can pull off flipping Frierson to UGA, it would be a big pick up for the 2018 class for the Dogs. So is there any new news here? Frierson was seen sporting some Georgia gloves during a game, but I don’t know if that means anything or not. Cannot hurt, though. He also Tweeted out this last month for the Bulldogs game versus Tennessee:
#BeatTennessee 🐶 pic.twitter.com/gVNJZHDPDE
— GB3 (@_gbe2) September 30, 2017
But outside of that, there has been no news or “smoke” about Frierson flipping to the Dogs. Frierson’s high school, Coral Gables, picked up a win last Friday on Oct. 13th, 35-0, over Coral Park to move to 3-4 on the year. They were off this past weekend and will be back in action, hosting (7-1) Columbus, out of Miami, FL, on Friday, October 27th.
2016 JUNIOR SEASON HIGHLIGHTS – CLICK HERE
2015 SOPHOMORE SEASON HIGHLIGHTS – CLICK HERE
2014 FRESHMAN SEASON HIGHLIGHTS – CLICK HERE
NADAB JOSEPH
CLASS: 2018
POSITION: DB – No. 21 CB
HT, WT: 6 foot 1.5, and 180 lbs
SCHOOL: Miami Norland High School
CITY, STATE: Miami, FL
STATUS: Undeclared
UGA OFFER: Yes, offered on 06/14/16.
# OFFERS: 22
NEWS & NOTES: Georgia offered Nadab in June last summer just a few days after he committed to LSU, but he de-committed from the Tigers right before the start of the 2017 football season on August 10th. So where do the Bulldogs stand for the Miami Norland defensive back? On October 10th, Nadab listed UGA, Alabama, and LSU in his top 3. He has visited Bama a lot this past year, and the Crimson Tide should be considered the favorite here. Even though he de-committed from LSU, they are also still in his top 3. But don’t dismiss the Dogs’ recruiting momentum at the moment. Joseph has scheduled an official visit to Alabama for November 4th.
Nadab and Miami Norland HS put a hurtin’ on Hialeah-Miami Lakes this past Thursday with a 69-0 romp. That moves the Vikings to 4-3 on the year and 1-2 in Florida’s 6A District 16. Miami Norland will close out their regular season at home versus Mater Academy Charter on Friday, November 3rd.
2016 JUNIOR SEASON HIGHLIGHTS – CLICK HERE
CHRISTIAN TUTT
CLASS: 2018
POSITION: DB – No. 25 CB
HT, WT: 5 foot 10.5, and 193 lbs
SCHOOL: Thomson High School
CITY, STATE: Thomson, GA
STATUS: Undeclared
UGA OFFER: Yes, holds an offer from UGA.
# OFFERS: 35
NEWS & NOTES: Questions have surrounded Tutt and whether or not Georgia has still been recruiting him. He did visit the Dogs back on April 8th and reports are that the coaching staff is still maintaining an open line of communication with him. Tutt’s recruiting is all over the place at the moment, and the Dogs are still not out of this race just yet. However, after his visit to Nebraska in June, he is considered a Cornhusker lean. Plus, Tutt has taken an official visit to Nebraska, on September 23rd. He also took an official visit to Ohio State on September 9th. It will be interesting to see if Georgia gets one of his remaining three officials.
Tutt and Thompson High School are undefeated on the season at 7-0 and ranked No. 6 in the state Class AAAA polls. The Bulldogs have a huge Region 3 game this upcoming Friday on October 27th on the road in Waynesboro, GA versus (8-0) Burke County. That game should decide the region champion and give the victor the inside track to the GHSA playoffs.
2017 HIGHLIGHTS vs. BALDWIN HS – CLICK HERE
2017 HIGHLIGHTS vs. CLARKSTON HS – CLICK HERE
2017 HIGHLIGHTS vs. LANEY HS – CLICK HERE
2016 JUNIOR SEASON HIGHLIGHTS – CLICK HERE