(photo from Matthew Downing / Twitter)
Today on Bulldawg Illustrated’s UGA Recruiting Daily, we take a look at Georgia’s quarterback recruiting and some prospects for 2019.
UGA signed five-star phenom from the state of Washington in 2016 from Lake Stevens High School in Jacob Eason. He enrolled early at Georgia in January of ’16 and although he didn’t start in the Dogs’ first game of the season versus North Carolina, he came in during Georgia’s fourth possession and never looked back. Eason would start UGA’s remaining 11 regular season games as well as the bowl game for TCU.
In the 2017 class, the Georgia coaching staff followed up by signing five-star Houston County product Jake Fromm, who like Eason enrolled early. The competition was fierce from then on, but Eason did win the start for the Bulldogs’ opening game against Appalachian State to start the ’17 season. However, Eason would go down with an MCL sprain in the first quarter, and true freshman Jake Fromm would come in off the bench. As Eason did over Lambert during the ’16 season, Fromm never looked back. He started Georgia’s remaining 11 regular season games including the SEC Championship game versus Auburn, the Rose Bowl College Football Playoff semifinal game versus Oklahoma, and the National Championship Game versus Alabama.
So here we are now headed into 2018. National Signing Day is on Wednesday, Feb. 7th, but the Dog’s staff have already done it again, signing another five-star quarterback in this year’s recruiting class, Harrison High School’s Justin Fields, who like Eason and Fromm before him has enrolled early and is already on campus. However, Georgia is losing one of its five-star phenoms. Eason announced the just a few days after the National Championship game that he would be transferring.
With fifth-year senior Brice Ramsey playing his final season with the Bulldogs in 2017, that will leave sophomore Jake Fromm and freshman Justin Fields as the only two quarterbacks on scholarship headed into spring camp. There is also talented rising preferred walk-on sophomore Stetson Bennett IV aka ‘The Mailman,’ who will also be competing, along with walk-ons John Seter and Sam Vaughn. The Georgia coaching staff is also bringing another preferred walk-on, class of 2018 Matthew Downing, who hails from Alpharetta High School.
Although the Bulldogs have some talented preferred walk-ons and walk-ons behind Fields and Fromm, it is important for the staff to sign a quarterback in the 2019 class. Can they pull in another five-star prodigy? Let’s take a look at recent 2018 PWO commit Matthew Downing along with several of those 2019 prospects.
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TODAY’S FEATURED PROSPECTS
If position ranking is noted, unless otherwise stated, it is 247 Sports latest composite ranking of the player.
MATTHEW DOWNING
CLASS: 2018
POSITION: Pro-Style QB
HT, WT: 5 foot 11.5, and 192 lbs
SCHOOL: Alpharetta High School
CITY, STATE: Alpharetta, GA
STATUS: COMMITTED to UGA 02/03/2018
UGA OFFER: Yes, PWO offer from UGA on 01/22/2018.
# OFFERS: 3
NEWS & NOTES: Matthew Downing received a preferred walk-on (PWO) offer from UGA on Jan. 22nd and he committed to the Bulldogs on Saturday, Feb. 3rd. He also had several scholarship offers including offers from Montana State, Samford, and Southern Illinois.
In 35 games for Alpharetta High School, Downing completed 455 of 739 passes for a 61.6% completion percentage for 6,266 yards and 67 touchdowns to just 18 interceptions. He also rushed for 386 yards and 3 touchdowns on the ground as a senior this past fall.
Like 2017 PWO Stetson Bennett IV, if Downing was a couple of inches taller and had about 10 to 15 more pounds of muscle on his frame, he would likely have FBS programs knocking down his door. But don’t let his size fool you. He throws a beautiful ball, especially on intermediate and deep passes, and is a consummate leader on the field.
2017 SENIOR HIGHLIGHTS – CLICK HERE
2016 JUNIOR HIGHLIGHTS – CLICK HERE
2015 SOPHOMORE HIGHLIGHTS – CLICK HERE
DAVID BALDWIN
CLASS: 2019
POSITION: No. 10 Dual-Threat QB
HT, WT: 6 foot 4, and 214 lbs
SCHOOL: IMG Academy, Bradenton, FL
CITY, STATE: from Upland High School, Upland, CA
STATUS: Undeclared
UGA OFFER: Yes, UGA offered on Jan. 29th.
# OFFERS: 9
NEWS & NOTES: David Baldwin has 9 scholarship offers so far including one from Georgia. He has also been offered by Arizona, Florida, Missouri, and Ole Miss.
2017 JUNIOR HIGHLIGHTS – CLICK HERE
2016 SOPHOMORE HIGHLIGHTS – CLICK HERE
2015 FRESHMAN HIGHLIGHTS – CLICK HERE
MAX DUGGAN
CLASS: 2019
POSITION: No. 6 Dual-Threat QB
HT, WT: 6 foot 2, and 185 lbs
SCHOOL: Lewis Central High School
CITY, STATE: Council Bluffs, IA
STATUS: Undeclared
UGA OFFER: Yes, UGA offered on 07/21/2017.
# OFFERS: 20
NEWS & NOTES: Georgia offered Max Duggan on the same day he camped and visited at UGA on July 21st this past summer. Duggan also camped and visited at Alabama and Ole Miss over the summer. The talented mid-West gunslinger is a three-sport star athlete, not only playing football but also excelling in baseball and basketball. He already has over 20 offers as a junior. Penn State Coach James Franklin visited him on Nov. 28th. Duggan also took a visit to Iowa State on Oct. 28th, and the Cyclones’ offensive coordinator, Tom Manning, and recruiting coordinator, Alex Golesh, visited him recently on Jan. 12th.
2017 JUNIOR HIGHLIGHTS – CLICK HERE
2016 SOPHOMORE HIGHLIGHTS – CLICK HERE
2015 FRESHMAN HIGHLIGHTS – CLICK HERE
SAM HOWELL
CLASS: 2019
POSITION: No. 4 Pro-Style QB
HT, WT: 6 foot 1.5, and 217 lbs
SCHOOL: Sun Valley High School
CITY, STATE: Monroe, NC
STATUS: Undeclared
UGA OFFER: Yes, UGA offered on Jan. 17, 2017.
# OFFERS: 28
NEWS & NOTES: Sam Howell was offered by the Georgia coaching staff on Jan. 17th, and the 2019 QB prospect out of Monroe, NC has over 28 scholarship offers already. Very similar in size and in build to current UGA freshman QB Jake Fromm and former Bulldog QB Aaron Murray. He took an unofficial visit to Tennessee over the weekend on Feb. 3rd.
2017 JUNIOR HIGHLIGHTS – CLICK HERE
2016 SOPHOMORE HIGHLIGHTS – CLICK HERE
2015 FRESHMAN HIGHLIGHTS – CLICK HERE
GRAHAM MERTZ
CLASS: 2019
POSITION: No. 9 Pro-Style QB
HT, WT: 6 foot 4, and 201 lbs
SCHOOL: Blue Valley North High School
CITY, STATE: Overland Park, KS
STATUS: COMMITTED to WISCONSIN 10/08/2017
UGA OFFER: Yes, UGA offered on Jan. 31st.
# OFFERS: 8
NEWS & NOTES: Graham Mertz has been committed to Wisconsin since 10/08/2017, but the Georgia coaching staff like the gunslinger from the state of Kansas and offered on Jan. 31st last week. Mertz has 8 scholarship offers from FBS programs that not only include UGA and Wisconsin but also Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio State, and Ole Miss
2017 JUNIOR HIGHLIGHTS – CLICK HERE
CLICK HERE TO SEE GEORGIA’S 2018 FOOTBALL COMMITS
CLICK HERE TO SEE GEORGIA’S 2019 FOOTBALL COMMITS