2020 Georgia Recruiting: Projecting How The Bulldogs Finish The Class
The Georgia Bulldogs coaching staff just finished off one of the more hectic recruiting weekends you'll probably ever see, and hectic in the best of ways. From private planes across the country - sometimes multiple trips in a single day - to helicopter landings for Kirby across the state, down to surprise visits from some of the nation's top talent.
It has been a whirlwind the last several days, and with the dust somewhat settling, the picture of the 2020 Georgia recruiting class is slowly becoming a bit more clear.
We expect UGA to take at least 22, most likely 23 players in this cycle. So, here's how we at The Bulldog Maven project them to finish.
Current Commits:
- Mekhail Sherman (OLB)
- Broderick Jones (OT)
- Tate Ratledge (OT)
- Kendall Milton (RB)
- Marcus Rosemy (WR)
- Jalen Carter (DT)
- Sedrick Van Pran (OC)
- Jalen Kimber (CB)
- Chad Lindberg (OT)
- Carson Beck (QB)
- Warren Brinson (DT)
- Nazir Stackhouse (DT)
- Justin Robinson (WR)
- Jared Zirkel (K)
*The only current commit that we would have any inclination of a potential flip would be Broderick Jones. Auburn has been all over him, and we reported yesterday that Jones spent his last weekend for official visits in Tuscaloosa.
The projection for how they finish:
Jordan Burch: The biggest fish left swimming. Georgia had an official visit with him this weekend and word out of Athens is that the visit went fairly well. More importantly, we are told that Kirby crushed the in-home visit in Columbia this week. As of last week, it appeared LSU had the lead here, but Georgia has gained a ton of ground lately. We believe he signs with Georgia on the 19th when he makes his decision.
Kelee Ringo: The nation's top corner finally came back to Athens this week for his official visit. Ringo hadn't been in town since the summer and several other schools like Oregon have swooped in and tried pulling Ringo away. Though, we have good reason to believe that the playmaking corner out of Scottsdale, Arizona will be a Dawg.
Arian Smith: We expect Arian Smith to sign with Georgia on Wednesday and have no inclination of anything else. The speedster from Lakeland, Florida will pair well with Marcus Rosemy in this class and provide something to the UGA offense that went missing this season with Mecole Hardman leaving for the draft - a guy that can take it to the endzone from anywhere on the field.
Darnell Washington: I'll preface this by saying no one on this list makes me feel more uncomfortable about this projection than Washington. He took a trip to Knoxville this weekend to close out his visits, but he's been in Athens more than almost any recruit this season. With Georgia striking out on Theo Johnson and Woerner and Wolf leaving, Washington is a must-have. Kirby Smart hasn't lost too many of those lately.
Eric Reed Jr.: The Lousiana native visited Athens this weekend along with several other defensive back recruits. The 6'1 200-pound prospect projects to be a safety at the next level, but he's played all over the field for his high school team. That kind of versatility is highly attractive to Dan Lanning and his staff. We expect him to pick Georgia over Auburn, Alabama, and LSU on the 18th @ 3 PM.
Devin Willock: The big 6'6 345-pound tackle out of New Jersey is not a finished product by any means, but his ceiling is as high as it could possibly be entering college. Willock was previously committed to Penn State, but upon receiving an offer from UGA, he de-committed just this week and said that he still planned on signing on the 18th. We have good reason to believe it's Georgia here.
Jermaine Burton: Burton committed to LSU back in April of this year and the rumor mill has been filled with speculation of a potential flip to Georgia on early signing day. We here at The Bulldog Maven are confident the rumors are indeed true according to our sources. Orgeron is scrambling to close following Burton's official visit to Athens this weekend.
So, who gets the last spot?
It could be Dontae Manning if he moves his signing up to Wednesday we are told, but as of now, he's still set to make his announcement January 2nd.
Major Burns was in Athens this weekend as well and could be the final early signing day commit. We are led to believe his recruitment is linked to the commitment - or lack thereof - of others in this potential class.
We have also heard rumblings of a potential flip from current Oklahoma commit, Aaryn Parks.
We believe that Georgia is content with just the one quarterback in the class in Carson Beck, but if they can win over CJ Stroud - the nation's 2nd ranked pro-style QB - he could be added to this list.
