Georgia Recruiting: Early Projections of 2021 Offensive Class
Georgia has firmly asserted itself amongst the elites of college football recruiting in the Kirby Smart era. Depending on which recruiting service you want to go with, the Dawgs have now laid claim to the #1 recruiting class for three years in a row.
Few programs can boast this type of recruiting dominance, including Alabama under Nick Saban, USC under Pete Carroll, and Florida under Urban Meyer. The reason that Georgia is continuing to turn out these top classes is that Smart and his staff are tirelessly working and building relationships as early as they can.
As more talent accumulates, it is understandable that offseason attrition will increase. Whether the attrition is due to the aforementioned talent fulfilling potential to enter the NFL Draft early or due to talent transferring out via the portal to seek more opportunity, numbers will fluctuate. Add in those who stay the course at UGA and graduate and there is and will continue to be a lot of roster turnover each year.
After the 2020 season, Georgia will have a total of 43 scholarship players who will either be out of eligibility or who will be draft-eligible. Obviously, not all draft-eligible players will declare, but the list of the players that will have that option can be found below.
*Jamie Newman and Tre McKitty will count toward 2021 scholarship count*
Today, Bulldog Maven on SI.com will give our first predictions of the 2021 prospects that ultimately end up at Georgia based upon the needs created by assumed draft declarations and graduation on the 2020 roster.
QUARTERBACK
Post-2020 Outlook
Jamie Newman, who is receiving all kinds of Heisman hype even before being named the starter for the Bulldogs in 2020, will be gone after a single season in Athens. However, his transferring to Georgia this past offseason will still count toward the 2021 scholarship allotment.
I would not be surprised to also see further attrition at the position via the transfer portal. Stetson Bennett, Dwan Mathis, and Carson Beck will all be eligible to return. All three are talented and could easily improve other college programs, so it wouldn't be shocking at all to see a transfer here. Bennett could even possibly graduate early, which would provide him immediate eligibility elsewhere should he choose that path.
2021 Prospect Prediction (1)
- Brock Vandagriff is the top-ranked quarterback in the 2021 class and is a Georgia commit. Despite having already de-committed from Oklahoma, I believe that Vandagriff is as solid as solid gets in this class for Georgia. He, much like Carson Beck did in 2020, is already recruiting other blue-chip prospects in his class heavily for the Dawgs. Vandagriff is immensely talented and will push any and all quarterbacks remaining on the roster.
- I don't see another QB in this class. Even if a current QB does leave, Georgia has Nathan Priestly, Austin Kirksey, and Jackson Muschamp all on the roster.
RUNNING BACK
Post-2020 Outlook
I believe that James Cook is NFL bound. Cook has a skill set that will translate fantastically well at the next level. I believe that under the system that Todd Monken is going to install in Athens, Cook will flourish in 2020 and set himself up for an enticing draft grade.
RB, Zamir White
Zamir White could also have a decision to make after this season. There are only so many hits a runningback can take in his career. With White already having had well-documented injuries in his past, if White has a breakout campaign and shows a well-rounded game, he could elect to go pro as well. If so, Kenny McIntosh, Kendall Milton, and Daijun Edwards would be left on the roster. I would not expect any transfers out of this group, regardless of 2020's results.
2021 Prospect Prediction (2)
Targets: Cody Brown, Donovon Edwards, Evan Pryor, Will Shipley, Gabe Ervin, Lovasea Carroll
I believe that Georgia will bring in two running backs in this class, regardless of how many current Dawgs at RBU turn pro. The two that I see Georgia landing are listed below:
- Evan Pryor - The Cornelius, North Carolina native can absolutely fly! 4.31 speed is a weapon all in and of itself, but combine that with the vision, the agility, and the versatility of Pryor and you have a star in the making. Georgia will be in Pryor's top 6 that he will soon announce and I believe that the system that Todd Monken and Kirby Smart are bringing to Athens will be a great fit for Pryor.
- Gabe Ervin - Plain and simple, Ervin is underrated at this point in his recruitment. The Buford High School lead back is a downhill runner with devastating one-cut ability. Ervin loves the weight room and the putting in the hard work every day. I believe that the running style of Ervin would be a tremendous in-class complement to Evan Pryor and that the young man would be an asset to the program character-wise as well.
WIDE RECEIVER
Post-2020 Outlook
Demetris Robertson will be departing as a UGA graduate after 2020 and I also see one or two current Dawg wideouts leaving for greener pastures. With that being said, I believe that Georgia will be looking to take just one or two receivers in this class. The 2020 haul that Kirby Smart and Cortez Hankton, will a lot of help from now-departed James Coley and Scott Fountain, brought in via the 2020 class was large in quantity and quality. The Dawgs will be targeting studs here.
2021 Prospect Prediction (2)
Top Targets: Agiye Hall, Chris Hilton, Quaydarius Davis, Jaquez Smith, Julian Nixon, Latrell Neville, James BlackStrain, Troy Stellato
- Agiye Hall - Hall is the guy in this class. Cortez Hankton, and I assume Dell McGee, Todd Monken, and Todd Hartley, will be in full-court press mode on the IMG Academy product. Hall possesses all the abilities that a major program would want out of a future #1 receiver. The speed, the physicality, and the explosiveness paired beside George Pickens for a year would be a level of receiver talent that would easily rival any that Georgia has ever had.
- Jaquez Smith - after a 2020 class that was filled with lots of out of state guys, I feel that 2021 will have a Peach State bend to it. Smith is from Westlake High School, home of Cam Newton, and he's been on the radar for the Dawgs for a long time. Smith received his offer from Georgia all the way back in July of 2018. His primary recruiter is Dell McGee.
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TE, Darnell Washington
TIGHT END
Post-2020 Outlook
I think that graduate transfer Tre McKitty will be the only departure from Todd Hartley's Tight End group after the 2020 season. After bringing in 5-Star Darnell Washington in 2020, Georgia is set up well for the future with Brett Seither, Ryland Goede, and John FitzPatrick all on the roster and likely to return. Much like at wide receiver, the tight end recruitment will likely be one in which Georgia is solely looking at landing a top tier guy aligned with the vision of the future of the offense.
2021 Prospect Prediction (1)
Top Targets: Brock Bowers, Gage Wilcox, and Thomas Fidone
- Brock Bowers - If I had to describe Bowers in one word it would be dynamic. The Napa, California native has a good relationship with Todd Hartley and Georgia was one of the first schools to really accelerate the recruitment of the 6'3" 225-pounder. Brock is an excellent athlete clocking a 4.5 40-yard dash and possessing a 40" vertical jump. Bowers has already gotten to talk offensive philosophy with Todd Monken and had a nice chat with Kirby Smart on a recent visit to Athens. Bowers likes the vibe of Athens and I believe the Classic City and the program would be a great fit for him.
OL, Terrence Ferguson
OFFENSIVE LINE
Post-2020 Outlook
As much as Georgia lost this offseason on the O-Line, the aftermath of the 2020 season could be even more volatile. I believe that four out of the five starters for in 2020 for the campaign could very easily be gone after this season. Of course, Ben Cleveland and Justin Shaffer are Seniors and will be out of eligibility and I think that with solid seasons, Trey Hill and Jamaree Salyer could easily put themselves in a position to declare for the NFL Draft.
If that happens, Georgia would be left with 11 or 12 scholarship offensive linemen, assuming no transfers and depending on what side the ball Netori Johnson is on.
2021 Prospect Prediction (5)
Kirby Smart believes in offensive line depth. Matt Luke earned his $900K early on for the Dawgs by helping to fortify the massive offensive line recruiting haul in 2020 after the departure of Sam Pittman. I expect that Smart and Luke will bring on another four or five blue-chippers in 2021.
Top Targets: TOO MANY TO COUNT
- Amarius Mims - 6'7" 315 Lbs. 5-Star from Bleckley County in Cochran, Georgia
- Micah Morris - 6'4" 316 Lbs. 4-Star from Camden County in Kingsland, Georgia
- Terrence Ferguson - 6'4" 300 Lbs. 4-Star from Peach County in Fort Valley, Georgia
- All three of these guys are in-state products that I suspect will stay home. It's very early for the rest of the guys. However, I would suspect that for the remainder of the offensive line pickups, the interior would be a focus, especially after recently losing the commitment of 3-Star Guard Jared Wilson out of North Carolina.
Mims seems like a sure thing in the class so far. As for Terrence Ferguson, he told Bulldog Maven back in August, "I feel like Georgia is on the rise, or they've been on the rise lately. And I feel like they are reaching their peak now."
Ferguson went on to say, "I haven't narrowed my list, and I will next summer, but the schools I'm talking to the most have to be UGA, South Carolina, and Alabama. So if I had to narrow it right now, that'd be the three schools."
Micah Morris is more likely to end up at Clemson if things ended today, but they don't. Kirby will continue to pursue the big linemen from Camden County.
