Want to attack every day with the latest Georgia football recruiting info? That’s what the Intel will bring at least five days a week. The budget for Monday calls for a look at the recruitment of an in-state player, Owen Pappoe, a junior at Grayson High School who has been fielding offers since eighth grade.
It seems like the headlines have been around the world and back again for Grayson High School (Loganville, Ga.) junior linebacker Owen Pappoe.
Pappoe was one of those mid-varsity offers. That’s a DawgNation term for a rare talent who earns offers from Power 5 teams even when he is just in the midst of his transition from middle school to high school.
Pappoe got his Georgia offer on June 4, 2015, just as he finished the eighth grade.
At that time, he was already 6 feet tall and weighed about 185 pounds. Auburn, Tennessee, South Carolina, Miami, Kentucky, Boston College, Michigan, and West Virginia has already offered.
Pappoe’s stock continued to soar. He has the chance to become the first prospect invited to attend Nike’s “The Opening” after his freshman, sophomore and junior years. He’s already been to Oregon twice.
His 247Sports profile page now credits him with 41 offers. He also ranks as both the nation’s No. 1 OLB and the nation’s No. 5 overall prospect for 2019.
The Grayson standout was back in Athens on Saturday for his second consecutive home game and continued to look like he was enjoying himself.
“I feel good about Georgia,” Pappoe said. “I feel good about them.”
He has a secret top 3 and he told DawgNation on Friday he has a new decision timeline in mind.
“I am trying to do it during the Under Armour All-American Game,” Pappoe said. “That’s the one coming up this year. They are going to let me do it during the ‘Future 50,’ and that’s what I am planning.”
Nolan Smith, a 5-star UGA commit in the 2019 class, is trying to steer him in Georgia’s direction before then.
“I mean Nolan he is in my ear every day,” Pappoe said. “He’s my boy. That’s him and that’s Rashad [Cheney] and Jadon [Haselwood] who are all there. All of them. Those are all my boys.”
Where Owen Pappoe stands with his college decision
Georgia has caught Pappoe’s attention. That is safe to say. He has noticed the strides the program has made in Year 2 under Kirby Smart.
“Have I noticed?” Pappoe said on Friday. “I mean the whole world has noticed. They are the No. 4 team in the country so they are building something big.”
Pappoe acknowledged on Friday that Georgia has made a move in the way he views that program.
“Just the message that they are sending to me and I am seeing it,” Pappoe said. “What they told me was going to happen all summer I am now seeing it on the field. That is really standing out to me.”
The Bulldogs are pointing to the All-American-type of work that Roquan Smith is putting in at inside linebacker. Pappoe checks off all the same boxes. Hyper-athletic. Fast. Smart. Tough.
Pappoe has a wealth of those offers. Alabama. Clemson. Nebraska. Florida State. Those schools have at all one time positioned themselves in a good spot with Pappoe.
Yet he confirmed that things have “accelerated” with this process and he’s ready to make a decision.
“I just want to be able to focus on my season and with everything I have to get done and get all of that out of the way,” Pappoe said.
Owen Pappoe settles into status as one of the state’s elite
For now, he is concentrating on his high school season for Grayson. His team entered its game Friday ranked No. 7 in the nation and lost 6-3 to Archer (Lawrenceville, Ga.)
Pappoe made sure to credit the opponent afterward.
“It was a great defensive game between both teams with us and Archer,” Pappoe said. “Both teams played very hard but we just didn’t come out with the win. So we are going to bounce back next week, get better, work harder, play better and be stronger for it.”
He came away from that performance with 11 tackles and 3 quarterback pressures.
SEC Country was there to film some of those reps.
Robert Cooper‘s unofficial visit to Georgia goes well
Big Robert Cooper (South Gwinett/Snellville, Ga.) also was at Georgia on Saturday. The 6-foot-2 1/2, 355-pound player is the nation’s No. 5 defensive tackle prospect for 2018 and was rated on the 247Sports composite as the No. 78 player overall.
“It was a good game,” Cooper told DawgNation. “The defense is stout and the offense is every bit as explosive.”
He is massively strong (420-plus bench press) and is committed to Florida State. He’s told DawgNation that his decision will come down to Alabama, Florida State and Georgia and he will make those trips as a Seminoles commit.
Georgia is recruiting him very hard, and coach Kirby Smart is playing a very active role.
He said Justin Fields choosing Georgia was “huge” for the program. It was his first trip for a UGA game this year.
5-star RB Zamir White had another ‘average’ night
Georgia commit Zamir White (Scotland County High School/Laurinburg, N.C.) got loose again on Friday night. He had 23 carries for 307 yards and actually saw his season average of 13.7 yards per rushing attempt dip by about a half-yard for the night.
The nation’s No. 1 RB prospect also caught 2 passes for 48 yards. White, a 5-star recruit, also added another 3 touchdowns to push his career tally to 112.
Scotland County football shared a tweet that showed that, yes, he can get tackled. It just takes a big effort to get White on the ground. A few of the clips in the tweet below are just as impressive as his touchdown gallops.
Miss any Intel? The DawgNation recruiting archive will get you up to speed faster than Georgia All-America candidate Roquan Smith can find the football after the snap.