If you’re a Georgia recruiting fan, you’ve had plenty to follow and keep up with in the previous eight days.

On May 5, Georgia pulled in a commitment from 5-star quarterback Jared Curtis. It represented a massive win for the Bulldogs, as they added the No. 1 overall quarterback prospect for the 2025 recruiting cycle.

Georgia has a chance to top that on Tuesday, when Jackson Cantwell makes his announcement. Cantwell is the No. 1 overall player in the country, in addition to being the No. 1 offensive tackle.

Whereas Georgia had to beat out Oregon to land Curtis, the Bulldogs will have to hold off Miami, Oregon and Ohio State for Cantwell. Heading into Tuesday, it still seems as if Cantwell is truly undecided on his school of choice.

There was plenty of drama involved for Curtis and Cantwell, with them functioning as national recruitments. Curtis is from Nashville, Tenn., and Cantwell comes from Nixa, Mo.

Which makes what Georgia did on Sunday all the more crucial in this day and age.

The Bulldogs added 4-star safety Jordan Smith out of Warner Robins, Ga.

Smith’s recruitment didn’t have the same build-up and following of Curtis and Cantwell. Georgia has always landed players like Smith throughout Kirby Smart’s tenure.

Smith is the No. 75 overall player in the class. For most teams, he’d likely be the top-rated defensive back in their haul. But Georgia swims in 5-star waters. In recent cycles, Georgia has added Malaki Starks, KJ Bolden and Ellis Robinson.

Smith plays a safety position that Georgia has always gotten great play out of. While offensive tackle and quarterback are premium positions, even more so in the age of NIL and potentially revenue sharing, safety doesn’t have quite the same impact on a down-by-down basis.

Still, it’s hard not to look at the nine years of Smart’s time in Athens and see the Bulldogs have always gotten great safety play. And once Smart really got things rolling on the recruiting front, almost all of them have come from the state of Georgia.

Early on, transfers Maurice Smith and JR Reed made plays in the back end. But Smart began to rack up recruiting wins, both big and small, to solidify the safety position. Just about all of them have come from the state of Georgia, with Lewis Cine being the exception.

Christopher Smith and Starks were both All-Americans in their time at Georgia. They were also local products, with Smith coming from Atlanta and Starks Jefferson.

Bolden is from Buford. Add in Javon Bullard of Milledgeville and Dan Jackson of Gainesville and you can see that Georgia has rarely had to go far to find elite safety prospects. All of Cine, Smith, Starks, Bulldard and Jackson were drafted. Bolden is entering his sophomore season at Georgia. Should he continue on his current path, he’ll certainly join those former Bulldogs in the NFL.

That track of record success undoubtedly helps show Smith that Georgia is the place for him. That the recruitment of a top-100 prospect is fait accompli for Smart and company is a huge win for the program as college football moves into a new age.

Because of NIL and revenue-sharing, should the House settlement be approved, every school is in theory going to be able to compete financially. Some schools will be able to recruit at a higher level because of a willingness to spend.

Miami and Oregon fall into that bucket. It’s fair to include Georgia as well, given how well the Bulldogs recruit on an annual basis. The Bulldogs have signed a top 4 recruiting class in every recruiting cycle going back to the 2017 cycle. You don’t do that if you are poor or cheap.

To recruit at an elite level you need to be able to win national recruiting battles. Curtis and Cantwell fall into that bucket. Neither of those programs will come cheap for wherever they end up signing.

But to build consistently elite recruiting classes, and thus keep your talent at a high level, you also need to be able to land players like Smith.

It helps that Georgia consistently has one of the top states for high school prospects in the country. That puts Georgia in a deep talent pool. And while everyone recruits Atlanta, Georgia consistently wins for elite recruits outside the Metro Atlanta area.

Per the On3 Industry rankings for the 2026 recruiting cycle, there are 43 blue-chip prospects in the state of Georgia. Only Texas and Florida have more for this cycle.

Georgia won’t be able to get all of its needs filled by relying on in-state talent, even as deep as the state is this cycle. That’s why Georgia still needs to win battles for players like Curtis and Cantwell. It’s also what makes the stakes for those recruitments all the greater.

But it should not diminish how important landing a prospect like Smith is for the sustained success of the Georgia program. He’s going to help Georgia win a lot of games during his time in Athens.

Even if his recruitment doesn’t dominate headlines the same way Cantwell does.