DN90: Former top recruits proud to have helped establish UGA’s national brand

Georgia’s 2017 class was a breakthrough moment for Kirby Smart as UGA coach. It was No. 3 in the country despite the fact the Bulldogs only won eight games the previous season. It also started a trend that continues today.

That’s the subject of this edition of DN90.

17 of UGA’s 26 signees were from Georgia in 2017. However a few high-profile names from that class hailed from far above the Mason-Dixon Line.

That seemed to usher in a new era for the Bulldogs’ recrutiing efforts. Georgia signed players from 14 states as part of its 2018-19 recruiting classes.

Two of those 2017 recruits were running back D’Andre Swift and Mark Webb — both from Pennsylvania. They talked this week about their pride in seeing so many non-Georgians come to UGA.

It’s too simplistic to say players have chosen UGA because of Swift and Webb in recent years, but it’s not a stretch to say they’ve recently been choosing Georgia because of its appearance in the 2017 College Football Playoff — and both Swift and Webb were contributors on that team.

The Bulldogs’ 2018 Rose Bowl win vs. Oklahoma was — at the time — the fifth-highest-rated cable TV program ever. The ratings were even higher the following week for Georgia’s national championship game vs. Alabama. Even though UGA came up short vs. the Crimson Tide it seems reasonable to assume the Bulldogs had become a fixture in the living rooms of America — including the homes of future recruits.

That’s a brand that continues to grow still to this day, and Swift and Webb were there to see it start. It was a the beginning of a proud legacy, and both players will have their chances to add another chapter to that story this fall.

To see what Swift and Webb had to say about being part of UGA’s national recruiting trend, click the video linked above.