(Photo from Jake Camarda / Twitter)
Today on Bulldawg Illustrated’s UGA Recruiting Daily we look at five 2018 prospects that we normally don’t feature a lot. Of course, I’m talking about special teams and those kickers, punters, and long snappers. Plus, we take a look at a couple of full back prospects.
TODAY’S FEATURED PROSPECTS
If position ranking is noted, unless otherwise stated, it is 247 Sports latest composite ranking of the player.
JAKE CAMARDA
CLASS: 2018
POSITION: Kicker/Punter – No. 8 K
HT, WT: 6 foot 2, and 175 lbs
SCHOOL: Norcross High School
CITY, STATE: Norcross, GA
STATUS: COMMITTED to UGA 04/22/2017
UGA OFFER: Yes, offered on 02/11/2017
# OFFERS: 6
NEWS & NOTES: Camarda was offered by the Bulldogs back in February and the Norcross prospect didn’t take long to commit to UGA, doing so in April. He has a cannon for a leg and could really be a place kicker or a punter at the collegiate level, but I think he ends up being Georgia’s next great punter.
247Sports list Camarda as a three-star prospect and the No. 8 kicker in the 2018 class, but I prefer to go by the Chris Sailer Kicking and Kohl’s Kicking rankings for kickers and punters. Camarda is rated a five-star prospect by both Chris Sailer and Kohl’s. Both services rate him as the No. 4 kicker in the 2018 class and the No. 1 overall punter.
Just how big of a leg does Jake Camarda have? For his senior season, Camarda averaged 46.2 yards per punt and of his 37 punts, 13 were downed inside the 20, and 14 were 50-yards or longer. He had a long punt of 65 yards.
2017 SENIOR HIGHLIGHTS – CLICK HERE
2017 KOHL’S KICKING HIGHLIGHTS – CLICK HERE
2016 JUNIOR HIGHLIGHTS – CLICK HERE
BENNEY CHUKWU
CLASS: 2018
POSITION: FB
HT, WT: 5 foot 10, and 209 lbs
SCHOOL: Lovejoy High School
CITY, STATE: Lovejoy, GA
STATUS: Undeclared
UGA OFFER: N/A
# OFFERS: N/A
NEWS & NOTES: One reason Lovejoy’s senior RB, Zion Custis, ran for nearly 2,000 yards and averaged over 10 yards per carry was due in part to Benney Chukwu helping to lead the way for No. 2. Benny catches the ball well out of the backfield even though he doesn’t get a lot of opportunities to do so and is stout at the point of attack. He also plays some at MLB for Lovejoy, and I always like full backs who also have played at LB. It tells me they enjoy hitting and if a team is going to use a FB as one of their 11 players on the field, you need a guy who does not shy away from contact.
Benny would need to add some weight to his frame be an effective blocker in the SEC, but he has shown the willingness, effort, and ability in the weight room to get bigger and stronger. From his junior to senior season he added on 15 to 20 lbs of muscle and increased his bench, squat, and power clean lifts by over 45 lbs each. He would make a nice addition to Georgia’s walk-on program and could join a list of hard-nosed, blue caller Bulldog FBs that have helped paved the way for Georgia tailbacks through the years.
2017 SENIOR HIGHLIGHTS – CLICK HERE
2016 JUNIOR HIGHLIGHTS – CLICK HERE
MYLES FOGLE
CLASS: 2018
POSITION: FB
HT, WT: 6 foot 2, and 240 lbs
SCHOOL: Norcross High School
CITY, STATE: Norcross, GA
STATUS: Undeclared
UGA OFFER: N/A
# OFFERS: N/A
NEWS & NOTES: Fogle plays on the o-line for Norcross but would move to FB at the FBS college level. He has the size and strength to be a capable lead blocker in the SEC. Fogle visited UGA for the Dogs 24-10 win over South Carolina on Nov. 4th. He is a teammate of current UGA commit, 2018 kicker/punter Jake Camarda.
HIGHLIGHTS CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE
BROUGHTON HATCHER
CLASS: 2018
POSITION: No. 6 LS
HT, WT: 6 foot 5, and 250 lbs
SCHOOL: Central High School
CITY, STATE: Pageland, SC
STATUS: Undeclared
UGA OFFER: Yes, offered as a walk-on.
# OFFERS: 7
NEWS & NOTES: Georgia will lose 3 of it’s 5 long snappers after this season, and the Dogs will need to add some depth through the walk-on program here. Broughton Hatcher out of Pageland, SC would make a solid addition to the special teams unit at UGA. He has good height, weight, and length and most importanly, does a great job of getting the ball to the holder and punter consistently with speed, velocity and accuracy. Hatcher is rated a 5-star long snapper and the No. 6 prospect at that position nationaly by Kohl’s.
HATCHER’S SNAPPING HIGHLIGHTS – CLICK HERE
PAYNE WALKER
CLASS: 2018
POSITION: No. 9 LS
HT, WT: 6 foot 2, and 240 lbs
SCHOOL: North Gwinnett High School
CITY, STATE: Suwanee, GA
STATUS: COMMITTED PWO on 12/11/2017.
UGA OFFER: Yes, PWO offer on 12/10/2017.
# OFFERS: 2
NEWS & NOTES: I featured Payne Walker back on Nov. 15th and thought UGA might reach out with a preferred walk-on (PWO) offer to the talented North Gwinnett High senior after he visited for the South Carolina game on Nov. 4th. Sure enough, on Dec. 10th, the Georgia staff did just that and the following day, on Dec. 11th, Walker accepted and committed to be a PWO at the University of Georgia. He chose to commit to the Bulldogs despite having full scholarship offers from Air Force and Army.
With Trent Frix playing his final season for Georgia and the Dogs also losing another couple of senior long snappers, they will need to look to replenish the ranks, and Payne Walker is a great addition to the team that will look to compete immediately for playing in 2018. He is rated a 4.5-star long snapper and the No. 9 prospect nationally at that position by Kohl’s. Walker is not only a talented long snapper but he also plays on defense at DE.
Walker is also a teammate of 2018 center and UGA commit Warren Ericson. Both Payne and Warren finish their high school football careers at North Gwinnett on a high note as the Bulldogs won the Class 7A State Football Championship on Friday night over Colquitt County.
2017 SENIOR HIGHLIGHTS – CLICK HERE
2016 JUNIOR HIGHLIGHTS – CLICK HERE