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Georgia football can thank Urban Meyer for Mekhail Sherman
Urban Meyer is not well-liked among Georgia fans. That starts with his time at Florida and extended into his time at Ohio State. On the list of despised coaches of the 21st century, Meyer is No. 1 atop most Georgia fans’ list.
But if Meyer hadn’t stepped away from Ohio State after the conclusion of the 2018 season, Georgia doesn’t land 5-star linebacker Mekhail Sherman.
In speaking with reporters on Saturday, Sherman said he would’ve ended up at Ohio State.
Sherman picked Georgia back in May, and he’s been all Georgia since then. He said that when his family fell in love with Georgia, it was enough for him to pick the Bulldogs.
I’d encourage you to watch the full 20-minute interview with Sherman. You can tell that he’s ready to join the Georgia program and even though his game might be “raw,” he’s incredibly mature.
As of right now, he’s the only linebacker, outside or inside, in Georgia’s 2020 recruiting class. That’s in part because Georgia is loaded at both positions. It wasn’t a need for this cycle. Georgia and Kirby Smart wanted to go out and get the best linebacker possible.
And they got a guy who had this to say about early playing time:
“Georgia told me they rotate at least eight linebackers a game,” Sherman said. “If I’m not a part of those eight, it’s my fault. Simple enough.”
It’s easy to see why many call him a leader of this Georgia class.
Why Theo Johnson couldn’t make the leap, but future Theo Johnsons could
For much of the cycle, Georgia wanted by Darnell Washington and Theo Johnson as tight ends. Washington is rated as the No. 10 prospect in the country according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. Johnson is No. 84.
Washington is set to make his announcement on Jan. 2. Johnson went ahead and made his, as he signed with Penn State over the likes of Georgia, Michigan and Iowa.
Johnson said the reason why he didn’t end up picking Georgia was because he didn’t know how Georgia would develop him. Georgia hasn’t had the same level of success developing tight ends like Penn State, Michigan or Iowa have in recent seasons.
Johnson said he couldn’t just make that leap of faith that Georgia would be able to develop him into an NFL tight end. That, along with his relationship with Penn State coach James Franklin, is why he will end up at Penn State.
But if the Bulldogs can land Washington, which they’re widely expected to do, Johnson thinks it’s going to make recruiting the position easier going forward.
“It’s hard to recruit tight ends right now,” Johnson said. “To get Darnell would be huge for them this season and season to come because they can say, ‘look at our guy Darnell.’ The kids can then say, ‘Look at Darnell, I want to be like that guy. Bang, I’m going to Georgia.’
“It would be a lot easier for a kid to trust in that decision seeing a very dominant tight end like Darnell. I think it would be huge for them.”
Johnson did add that he has a very strong relationship with Georgia tight ends coach Todd Hartley and Johnson would be very happy for Hartley to land a player of Washington’s caliber. He’s set to announce his decision on Jan. 2.
Receivers took note of Georgia football in the SEC championship game
Marcus Rosemy felt like most Georgia fans did during the SEC championship game loss to LSU
“Receivers had six, seven drops that should’ve gone for first downs,” Rosemy said. “It was very frustrating for me.”
The game also served as a reminder for the talented pass catcher that he will have the opportunity to make an impact early next year. Rosemy is one of four wide receivers Georgia signed in the 2020 cycle.
Rosemy and Justin Robinson were joined by Jermaine Burton and Arian Smith on Dec. 18. Burton flipped his commitment from LSU, which surprised Sherman and a number of Georgia players.
Smith, on the other hand, decided on the day of the SEC championship debacle that Georgia really needed his services.
“After the SEC championship. Receivers were dropping like that,” Smith said. “I was like ‘dang, they really needed receivers.’ It just felt like that moment in time it was the perfect moment of time, and it was. I committed then.”
Smith is perhaps the fastest receiver in the class and someone Smart has compared to Mecole Hardman multiple times.
As for Rosemy, he says he sees some of Clavin Johnson in his own game. If Rosemy and Smith can play up to those lofty comparisons, Georgia’s issues at wide receiver won’t be an issue for much longer.
Al in all, Jeff Sentell and I caught up with 12 Georgia targets, commits and signees on Saturday, with Burton being the only player we didn’t get a chance to chat with as he was feeling under the weather. Below you can see all of our interviews with the likes of Broderick Jones, Jordan Burch and Zach Evans, just to name some.
Darnell Washington
Zach Evans
Jordan Burch
Broderick Jones
Mekhail Sherman
Marcus Rosemy
Jalen Carter
Arian Smith
Dontae Manning
Sedrick Van Pran-Granger
Chad Lindberg
Warren Brinson
More Georgia football stories from around DawgNation
- Dontae Manning contrasts Georgia football and Oregon ahead of announcement
- Darnell Washington: The family side of his early signing period decision
- All-American week snapshot: Which UGA signees and targets play where
- Jordan Burch: Why Georgia didn’t even crack his final 3
- 5-star RB Zach Evans shares ‘strongest connection’ and scope of decision prior to Jan. 2 announcement
- Even Mekhail Sherman was surprised when Kirby Smart, Georgia football flipped Jermaine Burton
- Broderick Jones: The 5-star OT details why he is still committed to Georgia
