Georgia Football: Class Ranked PFF's Top 10 True Freshman Class of 2019
Per 247sports' composite ranking system, the Georgia Bulldogs landed the #2 overall recruiting class during the 2019 cycle. That class was headlined by 5-star defenders, Nolan Smith Jr., Nakobe Dean, Travon Walker, and wide receiver stand out, George Pickens.
PFF.com recently ranked the Top-10 True freshmen classes from the 2019 cycle. Considering all of the talent from the freshmen class that was used in the 2019 season for Georgia, it makes sense as to why the Bulldogs are sitting at #3 on this list.
As to "why they're ranked here":
Offense:
"Georgia landed two of the top six wide receivers in ESPN's rankings in Dominick Blaylock and George Pickens, and both led the pack for the Bulldogs, ranking among the 10 most valuable true freshman wide receivers in the country."
Defense:
"On the defensive side, off-ball linebacker Nakobe Dean was the most valuable true freshman at his position, and it wasn't close. Dean's coverage skills shined, as he allowed just five of his 14 targets in coverage to be caught, with a couple of pass breakups mixed in."
The true freshman performance from Dean should be followed up by a true stellar sophomore performance. As PFF alluded to, Dean's coverage skills really popped in 2019, he was placed into the lineup on almost exclusively 3rd down passing situations. In 2020 he will likely occupy most of the void left by Tae Crowder.
While Georgia's offense tended to be stagnant at times, especially in the passing game, it was impressive to see two out of the three most reliable receivers on the team come from Georgia's 2019 recruiting class. The roles that Blaylock and Pickens were able to carve out for themselves as freshmen will likely only increase with the new offense under Todd Monken.
WR, George Pickens
Best True Freshman:
"Pickens finished the season first among true freshman wide receivers in WAA, and he finished 19th among all wide receivers in the FBS. The best thing we saw from Pickens was his reliable hands, as he was one of 10 wide receivers to not drop a catchable target beyond the first-down marker."
George Pickens saw his production increase towards the end of the season, especially once Lawrence Cager went down to injury. He'll be the highlight of the receiving corp in 2020, and with Heisman-hopeful Jamie Newman under center, there's no telling how good this duo can be.
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