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2021 Class Shows How Far Georgia Recruiting has Come in 10 Years

Some view Georgia's 2021 recruiting class as a disappointment, but this class blows away beloved classes from 10 years ago.

Georgia football took a step back on the recruiting trail this year. 

The Bulldogs failed to seal the deal on most elite targets and watched as they chose rival schools. At a result, Georgia sits at No. 3 in SI All American's team rankings with seven SI99 signees.

Wait a minute.

Recent recruiting success has spoiled Georgia football to the point where this amazing class doesn't feel all that special. Two consensus No. 1 overall classes can do that to a program. 

Georgia's 2021 class doesn't stack up evenly with the 2020 and 2018 classes (at least not yet), but this class blows away a pair of heralded classes from a decade ago. Looking at the 2011 and 2012 classes and comparing them to the 2021 class shows how much Georgia has improved on the recruiting trail.

To really drive the point home, remember how beloved those classes were when they signed? The 2011 class christened itself the "Dream Team," and Georgia fans ran with it. Next year's classes wanted its own moniker, so it adopted the "Ring Team." The Bulldog Nation was on-board yet again. Surely, classes with names like those ended up near the top of the rankings. 

Wrong. Neither "Dream Team" nor "Ring Team" was a consensus top-five class. Here's where the three major recruiting sites atthe time ranked Georgia's 2011 and 2012 classes

Class247SportsRivalsESPN

2011

No. 7

No. 5

No. 6

2012

No. 9

No. 12

No. 10

These were beloved classes that Georgia fans had astronomical hopes for. This critique is not to say these classes weren't good, they were. Todd Gurley, Chris Conley, David Andrews and Jordan Jenkins were members of those classes. The 2011 class won two SEC East Championships. 

But neither class could hold a candle to those signed by Alabama, Florida State and Ohio State, the programs that won every national title between 2011 and 2015. Georgia, meanwhile, failed to build on its back-to-back SEC East Championships, and never appeared in another BCS Bowl. 

The "Ring Team" ended up being Mark Richt's last senior class. The class did capture a championship ring (2012 SEC East), but that wasn't the ring they or Georgia had in mind.