Georgia Recruiting: New Five-Star University?

Five-Star. Every prospect wants to be one, and every program wants to have them. And it's something that hasn't been foreign to the University of Georgia. In fact, Georgia has failed to sign at least one five-star prospect just once in the last thirteen recruiting cycles.

From 2000 to 2017, Georgia ranked sixth in all of college football with 36 five-star signees over that time period:

1. Florida State: 56
2. USC: 54
3. Alabama: 47
4. Florida: 41
5. Ohio State: 37
6. Georgia: 35
7. Texas: 33
8. LSU: 30
9. Tennessee, Miami: 25

However, Kirby Smart has taken the full reigns of the recruiting at Georgia, things have changed and they've changed drastically.

From 2018 to the 2020 signing class, Georgia has walked away from the rest of the national recruiting powerhouses with 16 five star commits in just three classes.

1. Georgia: 16
2. Clemson: 11
3. Alabama, Ohio State: 9
5. LSU: 7

It's easy to see how Georgia has taken home three consecutive top-ranked recruiting classes now, is it?

2018 was absurd. Smart reeled in SEVEN five-star players, now admittedly three of those seven players are now playing for different programs.

2019 was no slouch of a class either. They signed the nation's top player in Nolan Smith, the best player in the state of Mississippi in Nakobe Dean, Travon Walker, George Pickens, and the nation's top center in Clay Webb.

Flash forward to the most recent signing class and you've got four, five-star prospects. And that's with Mekhail Sherman, Darnell Washington, and Kendall Milton all mysteriously having lost their fifth star upon signing with the Dawgs, but we won't get into that.

So, what does it all mean? It means Kirby Smart is one heck of a recruiter, something he proved long ago at Alabama. Though, it hasn't amounted to that coveted National Championship just yet. Some will point to player development, some will point to the quarterback position, and others will point to the offensive coordinator.

Well, that's all changed headed into 2020. Georgia debuts a fancy new offense this fall with a shiny new quarterback at the helm too. But one thing hasn't changed... Kirby Smart is still going to be recruiting the nation's elite talents.

Five Star Targets Remaining:

OT, Amarius Mims
CB, Tony Grimes
S, James Williams
LB, Smael Mondon

Along with Brock Vandagriff who is already a member of the 2021 class.

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