Mark Webb Jr. is Georgia’s highest-rated commitment at receiver for 2017.
He chose Kirby Smart’s program back on Sept. 16 prior to his team’s appearance on ESPNU. The 6-foot-2, 196-pound recruit is rated as the nation’s No. 19 receiver in this year’s class.
The receiver spot is a clear position of need for Georgia. We’ve already told you a little bit about him so far.
DawgNation shared the story of his “Gator” nickname in May. His cousin D’Andre Swift is also committed to Georgia. Webb has felt at home at Georgia for awhile and detailed that in July. He won’t be able to enroll early and plans to study either business or communications at Georgia.
Webb said Georgia felt like home. His father, Mark Webb Sr., said the academics, area and the position outlook at UGA all fit his son perfectly.
But that is just the surface material. Here are 5 things we’ve learned about Webb that go deeper than that:
1) He’s a true leader at his high school program — Webb gives pep talks at every practice.
“We get a motivational speech from him every day at the end of practice,”Archbishop Wood sophomore receiver Orlando Marquez Cavanaugh said. “I’m talking good ones, too. The ones that make you run through a wall.”
His work ethic should also be noted. Webb grabs all the quarterbacks after every practice and makes those guys throw extra routes with the receivers.
“Mark practices the right way every day,” Archbishop Wood coach Steve Devlin said. “That’s why he is constantly getting better.”
Devlin has been coaching for 18 years and gave Webb a “10” rating on a 1-to-10 scale in terms of his work ethic. That’s not a breezy statement considering he’s at a program which has won three state titles this decade.
Webb also is a willing “touchdown blocker” that springs running backs for big gains. He never leaves the field as he plays both ways as a physical cornerback.
“He’s great at football, has great character and is great at helping other individuals,” Devlin said. “What college wouldn’t want to add him to their team?”
2) Webb said playing receiver isn’t just about running fast — That was evident listening to him discuss his 4.76 laser time in the 40-yard dash at a Nike “The Opening” regional. He planned to time faster than that, but it didn’t faze him.
“I’m not that type of receiver,” Webb said. “If you want to see my 40, you can come out and put a defender next to me and watch me run past him. People make a big deal of that stuff, but that’s not the game of football.”
Devlin said Webb is actually faster than that. He felt he was being modest. It is uncommon to see a player so confident in his ability that he tells people he’s not as fast as he actually is.
The key point here is Webb plays fast.
“He’s got great football speed to go along with his length and great body control,” Devlin said. “He’s faster than that in the 40 and he’s really faster than that on a football field compared to everybody else.”
Webb boiled down what he brings to the field.
“I’m going to work my best every down to get my team a win and get a touchdown,” said Webb, who excels at running the post. “That’s with the ball or without. Watch me without the ball in my hands. You will still see me working.”
3) Who will he remind you of? — Webb said his playing style was a cross between UGA all-time great A.J. Green and former Ole Miss standout Laquon Treadwell.
His father said that Green has been a role model for his son.
“That is one of his idol receivers,” Mark Webb Sr. said. “That’s who he works his game toward. To be like A.J. Green.”
Green’s example is part of the reason why Webb wears jersey No. 18 for his high school team.
4) How did he come to like Georgia? — Webb called it “love at first sight,” but a whole lot of luck was involved in that. Webb was with his cousin (UGA RB commit D’Andre Swift) on a barnstorming tour of Southern schools. Swift had a UGA offer, but Webb didn’t. He was just along for the ride.
Well, that quickly changed. Both boys saw exactly what they wanted in UGA. It wasn’t long before UGA receivers coach James Coley went up to Pennsylvania to get a good evaluation on Webb. That offer quickly followed.
The two cousins have always wanted to play together on Saturdays.
Webb has actually only been to Georgia twice. That was enough. He’ll take all five of his official visits after the season, but one of those will definitely be a third trip to Athens.
His father said there is virtually no chance of a flip happening.
The coaches at Georgia knew about his impending commitment about two weeks before he made it public prior to facing Swift’s team on ESPNU.
5) Webb sounds like a Renaissance man — One teammate cited his rhythm on the dance floor. Another labeled him as an excellent storyteller. Those are interesting character traits when you think about him also being the “speech” guy in the locker room.
Let’s start with that wiggle on the dance floor. His senior teammate Shawn Thompson clued DawgNation in on that.
“We were in the weight room lifting and all of a sudden this song comes on,” Thompson said. “You know that man right there is a great dancer. You might want to check him out one day and get all of that on camera. He did that ‘Hit them folk’ dance.”
We know. The average DawgNation reader doesn’t know those steps and where to come back to in order to stay on beat. We got you covered with Webb Intel and a “Hit Them Folk” 101.
Junior teammate Nasir Upshaw said Webb has a lot more moves than that. Sophomore quarterback Jack Colyar also called him the best dancer on the team.
“Just a great locker room dancer,” Upshaw said. “You should see how he does ‘The Running Man’ for us.”
Webb comes across very polished in his interviews. Funny even. His teammate Jalen Reynolds said that doesn’t happen by accident.
“You should hear him tell stories at lunchtime,” Reynolds said. “My favorite thing to do with him is to eat lunch and wait for the stories he tells. The intensity in the stories and how he tells them makes them very memorable. But then his actions and laughter as he tells them will really keep your attention.”
That’s 5 “G-Thangs” on Webb. Here’s a look at his junior highlight film from 2015:
Hunker down for DawgNation’s latest news. Download our app: http://dawgs.us/2ctFtTG
Follow Jeff Sentell on Twitter for the latest on who’s on their way to play Between the Hedges. Unless otherwise indicated, player rankings and ratings are from the 247Sports Composite.