2022 WR, Sam Mbake Discusses Offer From Dream School Georgia
At 6'3" and roughly 200 pounds currently, Sam Mbake is a 2022 wide receiver that has not only tremendous talent and a copious amount of major college football offers, but also quite the personal story.
Both of Mbake's parents are from Cameroon. Around 20 years ago his Father and Mother would make a difficult decision, but a decision that they felt would be best for their futures and eventually the future of their children. Mbake's Mother would come to the United States and ultimately his Father would end up back in Cameroon where he is a preacher. Mbake does not get to see his Father much, but is very proud of the work he is doing and said he stays in touch on a weekly basis.
Mbake is a strong willed and clear minded young man. He attributes much of his focus and drive to the hard work and determination that he has seen out of his own Mother. When discussing his Mom, Mbake said, "Growing up with my Mom has been nothing but a true blessing! She of course cares about my football career, but I believe she is most proud of me for getting free college opportunities. She's done a lot for me and it's great to know that I can take stress off of her in that way."
A free college education is certainly something that Mbake is in line for with dozens of scholarship offers from major programs. Since Tennessee offered Mbake back on February 1st, there has been a steady influx of Power 5 schools throwing themselves into the arena for the Sam Mbake recruitment. Along with the Volunteers, schools like Florida, Penn State, Miami, and Wisconsin have all come calling, along with many others. Yesterday, The University of Georgia became the latest to offer the talented wide out for the Brookwood Broncos out of Snellville, Georgia.
Mbake described the UGA offer as, "It's an offer from my dream school. I grew up watching players like Todd Gurley. It really means a lot to me, I nearly broke down in tears when I first got the offer because I didn't think it was going to come right now. I thought they might wait to offer after my junior year and another year of film, but I'm thankful to God to get than offer from Georgia."
Mbake said he's been building a relationship with Coach Hankton since his freshman year at North Cobb High School. Sam played at North Cobb for two years before going to IMG Academy. IMG was great for Mbake and he learned a lot in a brief, but meaningful, stint there before making his way to Brookwood. COVID-19 and a lot of the uncertainty around it made Mbake and his family believe it just wasn't the right time for him to be there.
If Brookwood sounds familiar to Dawg fans, especially in the class of 2022, it should. One of the Dawgs' two commitments in the class of 2022 Marquis Groves-Killebrew is a member of a very talented Brookwood squad. Mbake said that Groves-Killebrew was not shy with his recruiting pitch once he heard of the UGA offer. "He's just been telling me every second I've talked to him since to commit. Just go ahead and commit he says," Mbake said with a laugh. Mbake went on to say, "He (Groves-Killebrew) is definitely wanting and on a mission to help build the best class in the country in 2022 for Georgia."
Of course a top ranked receiver like Mbake would go a long way toward a top ranked recruiting class, and so would bringing in the nation's number one ranked quarterback in the class MJ Morris. Morris is a dual-threat quarterback that Todd Monken and company are pursuing and interestingly enough is going to play a big factor in the recruitment of Mbake. Just three days prior to the Georgia offer to Mbake in an interview with Dawgs Daily on SI.com Morris specifically mentioned Mbake as a receiver he'd like to play with in college.
The two met just over a year ago when both attended a high profile workout session with players like now Tennessee quarterback Harrison Bailey and LSU tight end Arik Gilbert. "We just clicked and have gotten to know each other well. We even were trying to work it out to play together in high school, but that didn't work out, so we definitely want to make it happen in college. Sometimes when we are talking to schools we tell them you have to recruit us together," said Mbake.
Georgia is a new offer for Mbake, but has a good relationship with the Brookwood wide out and of course is one of the top schools pursuing Morris. Another commonality the two share is Penn State. Penn State is the school that is recruiting Mbake the hardest right now and the school that he knows the most about at this point. Morris also listed Penn State as one of the schools recruiting him the hardest in our aforementioned recent interview with him.
Mbake said that early on when he would talk to Coach Hankton, Hankton would mention how they (UGA) would like to see him fill out some and display more explosion in his game. Well, having gone from 177 pounds to 200 pounds and being a skilled underneath route runner and displaying good speed down the field, Mbake has apparently check the boxes for the Dawgs. Look for Mbake to have a big junior season catching the ball from top 2023 quarterback prospect Dylan Lonergran.
As far as his recruitment as a whole, Mbake is just taking things in stride. "I'm just thankful for the offers that I have. I'm not going to do a lot to draw attention, no top groups or playing games. I'm just going to grind and work to get better. Then when the time comes at an All-American game I'm going to make my decision with the hats on the table. I just want to focus on my game and build relationships with the programs interested in me."
Look for Georgia to remain a top contender in the remainder of Mbake's recruitment. Dawgs Daily on SI.com will keep you up to date on all things involving this extreme talent from the Peach State.
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