Georgia Targeting Elite Defensive Linemen In 2023 Class
As one staff member of a Power 5 school told Dawgs Daily recently, "I can't believe how early we are recruiting these players now." Well, believe it or not, the class of 2023 is already being recruited in full force, and there is some elite talent in it. The defensive front is loaded with players that are compiling inordinate amounts of Power 5 offers and receiving a ton of attention early on in their high school careers. Tray Scott, Scott Cochran, and the University of Georgia happen to be targeting a good bit of them.
Defensive line in the 2023 class makes sense as a point of emphasis for the Dawgs. Georgia is loaded with depth on the defensive front for the next two to three seasons, so much so that they only took two defensive lineman in the 2020 class in Jalen Carter and Warren Brinson. However, by the time Peter Woods, Kelby Collins, Justin Benton, Derrick Leblanc, and Stantavious Smith are ready to enroll in college, Georgia will be looking to reload.
Those 5 names are ones that the college recruiting world and news cycle is going to become very familiar with over the next 18 months or so.
Derrick Leblanc is a 6'5" 240 pound defensive end out of Osceola High School in Kissimmee, Florida. Leblanc has the most attention of any recruit in the class with upwards of 30 scholarship offers already. Leblanc received his offer from Georgia on the 22nd of May and was excited to say the least. The freakishly talented 2023 prospect described UGA as his, "DREAM School!!!"
Justin Benton and Stantavious Smith are both in-state targets for the Georgia Bulldogs. Benton is a Georgia legacy with his father Phillip having played linebacker for Georgia in the mid 90's. Like his Dad, Justin is a disruptive force for the Newton County Rams. Smith is from Albany, Georgia and plays for Dougherty Comprehensive High School. Benton and Smith are both listed as strong side defensive ends and are 6'3" 240 pounds entering their sophomore year in high school.
Peter Woods is the #1 ranked defensive lineman in his class. As a freshman, Woods helped lead Thompson High School in Alabama to a state championship and has more than two dozen of the nation's top programs courting him already. Kelby Collins is also from Alabama and is also seeing his recruitment take off like a rocket with 8 SEC schools having already offered him. Dawgs Daily on SI.com recently spoke to both of these prospects from the Yellowhammer State.
PETER WOODS
"I never expected to be this far along in my recruitment this young. So I just count every offer and everything that has happened so far as a blessing and it's just motivation to keep grinding and working hard" said Woods. The rising sophomore standout for the Thompson Warriors is versatile and can see himself playing on the interior and edge of the defensive front in college. "By the time I get to college I don't want to be any more than 280 pounds. I have the speed to play on the end but also the strength to line up on the inside" shared Woods.
Woods early on has honed in on some key factors for his recruitment. "I'm looking for a school that can help me out with whatever I decided I'm wanting to do in school and prepare me for life after football. Also, I'm big on the medical staff and how the school is able to help with development and recovery" said Woods. Rest assured Coach Tray Scott from Georgia will be speaking about UGA's virtues in both of those areas. Also, Woods described Scott as, "a real cool guy. He understands where we are coming from, from a player's perspective. He knows how to talk to his players. He's not one of those coaches that is just going to tell you what you want to hear but what you need to hear."
Woods is looking forward to on-campus recruiting restrictions being lifted. The 2023 rising star already had some unofficial visits lined up before COVID-19 altered plans. Also, one thing that all those that follow college football recruiting should know about Woods is that he is very connected. Woods talks about his "brothers in ball" and is in contact with some of the most talented prospects in his class. "When you're trying to win a championship, you have to try to surround yourself with talented guys. I know a lot of them in my class and we talk a lot about playing together at the next level" stated Woods.
KELBY COLLINS
Collins described the Georgia offer succinctly, "It was awesome!" The Dawgs offered the Gardendale, Alabama native back on the 19th of this month and in doing so became the 8th SEC school to extend a scholarship opportunity his way. Collins is driven by the early success and told Dawgs Daily on SI, "It's been a cool journey already. Every time I get another offer it just makes me want to go work out harder. I want to get better so that I can prove all thing attention I'm getting is deserved."
At 6'5' 240 pounds, it is easy to see why so many schools are clamoring to have Collins in their programs. With long arms and a strong, angular frame, Collins is the prototypical edge rusher and he's not even a sophomore in high school yet. The notoriety that he is now getting on a national stage was is really just a fulfillment of what many in central Alabama have been predicting for a while. "In middle school, even then I was 6'2" - 6'3", and I played wide receiver and defensive end and after every game people would come up to me and tell me that I was going to be a special player and just encouraged me. So that made me believe and want to work harder too" said Collins.
Having grown up just an hour outside of Tuscaloosa, Collins acknowledged, " I grew up an Alabama fan. My family was all Alabama fans." However, when it comes to his recruitment Collins stated, "I've started watching more programs and seeing what they all have to offer and I'm 100% open to going somewhere outside the state of Alabama."
Coach Scott Cochran, formerly of Alabama's coaching staff, was the coach that made the offer to Collins. "Coach Collins is the coach that I initially contacted after the offer came and he's the one that I have the best relationship with" said the talented defensive end prospect. Collins did say, "I'm looking forward to building a relationship with Coach Kirby Smart and defensive line Coach Tray Scott very soon."
Family is very important to Collins. He said that his dad, a basketball player at New Mexico State in his day, is already building a good relationship with Scott Cochran. According to Collins, on a recent call in to Scott Cochran, Cochran and his dad spoke on the phone for an extended period of time and have, "a good connection."
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