14 new details on where UGA stands right now with 5-star Demetris Robertson
Carlos Robertson (right) gave DawgNation a full report on where things stand with UGA after his brother's official visit.
DawgNation Staff
Demetris Robertson had the official visit to UGA. It went well. Very well.
He signed the financial aid papers. So what happens next? DawgNation caught up with Robertson’s older brother and guardian Carlos Robertson to get a very clear picture of where things stand now. We learned a lot of new elements to fit into the Robertson signing decision and the timeline that comes out of the UGA official visit.
There’s a lot of ground to cover. Here’s the real important stuff:
- Don’t look for Robertson to just show up on a random campus out of the blue as a way to signify his decision. Carlos Robertson said to look for a National Signing Day-style ceremony, and he’ll let the world know where he plans to enroll that allows at least some lead time (at least two weeks) before he’s on campus. “We will have a decision way before that summer period for class starts and summer workouts and graduation from high school and all that,” Robertson said. “He might just commit before he graduates from high school. The smart thing to do is to have a little bit of time between his announcement and decision and when he needs to be there. We’re not going to wake up one morning and go to a campus and ‘boom’ and set up shop there.”
- Robertson has only signed financial aid papers with UGA, Cal and Georgia Tech at this time. That said, don’t be surprised if he signs those same forms with Alabama and Notre Dame. It is “a matter of just putting ink to paper” with those other schools and those forms.
- As for the visit, Robertson said that the family noticed everything was much more organized than their trips to UGA in the past. It sounded like a big plus. “We got to see a whole lot of the changes that the football program is making,” Carlos Robertson said. “It is a whole lot cleaner from what I saw in the past with what I see right now. Kirby has it organized and has it running like an organization. That’s how I feel a big program like UGA should be ran … Georgia is like a well-oiled machine and that’s how I like it. Georgia sets up the way now as a place where I would want my kid to be. Georgia is now a place like that. You can just tell that Kirby Smart is really doing to do a really great job at Georgia.”
UGA coach posted a photo he took with Robertson on his Twitter account on Sunday night. (Kirby Smart / Twitter)
- The academics part of the visit was everything to the Robertson family. His mother got to see all of it and Robertson said “she was blown away by it” on the visit. Carlos Robertson said her input “will be big” in terms of her son’s decision. “They hit the nail on the head and answered all of our real big questions when it came to academics,” he said.
- More on academics: Carlos and Demetris Robertson and their family met with UGA President Jere W. Morehead in his office for more than an hour. They learned about the potential of The Terry College of Business for his on-campus and post-graduate life and the alumni and networking benefits for graduates with that degree. To make sure we balance the scales, Carlos said the family did meet with the Presidents at Alabama and Georgia Tech. Those were the two other official visits he joined Demetris on.
- Third down on academics: Robertson said UGA answered every question on the academics side. Carlos Robertson said he used to look at Georgia as more of a football school, but he’s now changed his mind. “Georgia is now a place where I think of academics, too. Georgia has the academics now. It can take you a long way.”
- To summarize, the Robertson family now knows the full value of the UGA degree and the alumni network which supports it. That was a big question the family had for the visit. They wanted to know how the UGA degree enables his future success even if a bankroll of earnings in pro football is removed from the equation.
- Robertson feels his brother came out of that visit with a permanent smile on his face. “He was pumped up and energetic after it,” Robertson said. “You could tell he loved what he saw and you could tell he really liked the receivers coach at UGA. That’s coach (James) Coley. He also really loved (UGA offensive coordinator) Jim Chaney.”
- More on Chaney: “With his personality and how he is, you can tell he is a smart guy who is really on top of things,” Carlos Robertson said. “He’s everything you could ask for in a coach. Personality. Smart guy. Good coach. People person. Really great people person. Coming from me, Coach Chaney is a real winner. He has it all. He has the knowledge and the sense of humor. That guy really has it all man. He sold me. He really sold me with his background. That Coach Chaney is a real legit guy. I am so glad we got to meet him. We talked about things and the things we talked about were genuine. We know what is genuine and we know when it is not. I think he was really forthcoming and that plays a real big role in a decision these kids want to make.”
- It is important to know that this is the first visit that both his mother and his twin sister Shanetris Robertson got to be a part of. Shanetris, who will qualify for the Hope Scholarship at UGA, also got to take in a UGA track meet. She runs track and hopes to eventually be a part of the track program at the school her brother attends.
- Demetris Robertson is joined by his family for his U.S. Army All-American jersey presentation. ( All-American Games/ Special) His twin sister loved UGA, everything about the visit and the opportunity to go to school close to home. She also wants to enroll in the Terry College and she shadowed her brother during his orientation with that school.
- As for Stanford, Robertson will learn the results of his March SAT exam in May. If he qualifies for admission by moving his score about 50 points north, then that school will receive an unofficial visit. He’s out of official visits. UGA was his fifth. If he doesn’t get the score he needs in May, Carlos Robertson said his brother will likely punt on trying to attend Stanford.
- UGA did not give Robertson any deadline for making a decision. It actually sounds like the Robertson family will make their decision well in advance of when he needs to report to Athens if that is his decision. “We want to be prepared and see the playbook and doing the workouts to get ready (to compete for playing time) just like every other signee where he intends to go play,” Carlos said.
- Carlos Robertson did agree with the perception his younger brother has a better relationship and peer group with all the current and incoming players at UGA than at any other school. He said the numbers of his UGA friends beats every other school he is considering “by a mile.” “Numbers wise and the friends he already has, he knows a lot of guys through the recruiting process and trips. Georgia kills it in the numbers of guys he has known for three or four years now. He really knows guys like Ben (Cleveland) and Isaac (Nauta) better than he does all the guys at every other school. “Their families are all excellent people and those guys he knows on the team are all great kids, too.”
To get the full value of where things stand right now, 247sports.com’s Tom Loy is reporting Carlos Robertson plans to join Demetris for another trip to Notre Dame. Robertson took an official visit to South Bend during the season but did so without his older brother.
Does Robertson feel his brother is close to a decision right now? He could not answer that.
“That is pretty much on him to make that final decision,” Carlos Robertson said. “He could be sitting at home right now saying, ‘Hey I want to go here.’ It could be like now. It will be whatever he feels in his heart and whenever and where he might ever want to go.”
Jeff Sentell covers UGA football and UGA recruiting for AJC.com and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Follow him on Twitter for the latest on who’s on their way to play Between the Hedges.
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