James Blackstrain, 4 Star Receiver, Discusses His Recruitment By Georgia Football

James Blackstrain is a talented receiver that is recovering from injury and picking up recruiting momentum. Georgia football is working to grow closer with the 4-Star.

Everybody is clamoring for football, at all levels to return. The NFL Draft broke rating records simply because America is starved for some kind of live spectacle involving sports. Arguably, nobody is more anxious for the return of football than James Blackstrain. The 4-Star receiver missed his junior season due to injury and undoubtedly is chomping at the bit to suit back up as soon as possible. 

Back in October on 2019, Blackstrain put out a Top 10. The University of Georgia was among the group, along with LSU, Florida, Vanderbilt, Nebraska, Florida State, North Carolina, Syracuse, USF, and Louisville. Since that time, other major programs, such as Southern Cal, Penn State and Mississippi State, have offered the Cocoa, Florida native and the recruitment of Blackstrain continues to remain open and gain momentum.

In terms of the relationship with Georgia, things have been up and down. James Coley was the Offensive Coordinator during the bulk of Blackstrain's relationship with the Dawgs and former Special Teams Coordinator Scott Fountain, now at Arkansas, was the coach that actually offered Blackstrain. But since then, obviously, the Bulldog coaching staff has undergone a transformation. However, the relationship with Cortez Hankton has remained a constant for Blackstrain and UGA. In a recent conversation with Blackstrain, he said of Hankton, "Coach Hankton is a good guy and good coach. We talk a lot about X's & O's, about the game and also just getting to know one another."

The hirings of Scott Cochran and Todd Monken by Georgia were also impressive for Blackstrain. "Coach Cochran is great. He has a standard that he works to and wants others to as well. He says great things happen with great effort and encourages guys to be a better man every day" said Blackstrain of UGA's new Special Teams Coordinator. On Todd Monken, Blackstrain was impressed with Monken's background and said, "a new offense and a new play-caller like that can make a big impact. Mostly Coach Hankton has talked to me about how the new offense would be implemented and how I would be used."

Admittedly, Georgia has some work to do here. A lot will depend on visits and how those shake out once the moratorium on on-campus recruiting ends. North Carolina, Southern Cal, Florida State, and Penn State are all schools that are high on the list for Blackstrain at the moment. While the choices could get narrowed down relatively soon, I expect this recruitment to last on into the fall. Most importantly though, everyone is looking forward to seeing Blackstrain and all high school prospects get back to playing the game sooner rather than later.

You can follow us for future coverage by clicking "Follow" on the top righthand corner of the page. Also, be sure to like us on Facebook @BulldogMaven & follow us on Twitter at @BulldogsSI.