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. We take a good look at 4-star DT Trevor Trout today and see what kind of interest he has in the Georgia Bulldogs.
Spoiler: UGA is definitely in the race. An official visit is planned, but the exact date has not been set. Trout brought up several talking points about what he likes about the Bulldogs.
If the recruiting services handed out stars for being interesting, then Trevor Trout would definitely have himself five of those.
The 6-foot-3, 305-pound defensive tackle prospect from the St. Louis metro area aspires to do what Colin Cowherd does each day. He plans to study broadcasting in college but can already offer up a quality take for all types of sports media fodder. Trout’s room is also adorned with posters of his favorite wrestlers.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. Brett Michaels. Shawn Michaels. The Undertaker. John Cena. Triple H.
Trout answered a question about his go-to finishing move with zero hesitation.
“It would be your typical neck breaker or DDT,” he said. “If I just had to steal a move it would be ‘The Stunner.’ The ‘Stone Cold Stunner’ would be it.”
What’s the best thing to know about Trout?
That goes beyond his 4-star status and his current 247Sports composite ranking as the No. 16 DT in the nation for 2018. Trout has grown up in an area that is now known more for racial unrest than producing elite athletes. What he aspires to be beyond his surroundings will always stand out.
Trout is considering UGA as his potential college destination. He has the Bulldogs in his Top 6 and offered up several reasons why they could reach his Top 3 when he chops that list down even further.
His current plan is to not use an official visit to go see Missouri because of its proximity (about a 2-hour car trip). The remaining five options will net official visits. The Chaminade Prep standout has already taken one of those official visits to UCLA.
“I think I’m pretty neutral for the most part,” Trout said. “I am not going to truly know until I take all of my visits. So right now the top schools I have are the top schools that I have.”
The rundown: Alabama, Georgia, Miami, Missouri, UCLA and USC.
He has not set up his four remaining official visits. But he has a good reason for that.
“Playoff time in Missouri is coming up,” Trout said. “That’s all I am focused on. I will worry about visiting those schools after our season.”
Chaminade has a strong team.
“We have an offensive guard that is committed to Middle Tennessee,” he said. “We have a D-1 tailback that is trying to figure out where he wants to go to school and we have a couple of sophomores that are pretty good. Right now everything is on the up and up. … We have a quarterback that is going to be a Power 5 quarterback. We have a D-1 corner and a D-1 middle linebacker and they are all sophomores. They are all going to be pretty good when I head on.”
What does Trevor Trout like about Georgia?
Trout minces no words about what he has seen from the Bulldogs.
“Georgia is dominant,” Trout said. “It is just them and Alabama in the SEC. Nobody else. Just them. The Bulldogs are physically imposing. Their defensive line likes to use their hands. They are really physical. Georgia has great quarterback play this year. The Bulldogs are really good. You can see on TV. They have a really good team.”
He’s a fan of football, but not the broadcasts. So he checks out the games online on YouTube. That’s when they are cut up, minus all those commercials.
The next thing he said came in response to how he felt the Georgia defensive line was performing this season.
“It is more so that I am a fan of their defensive line coach,” Trout said. “That’s coach [Tray] Scott. The cool thing about him is that I have friends that he coached at Tennessee-Martin. I knew about him even before he got the job at Georgia. So that’s pretty cool, as well. I knew him before his name blew up before he got the big job.”
Trout has his own Intel from friends he trusts. They could tell him what Scott was like before he was working at the ACC and SEC programs on his resume.
“He was just a real legit coach,” Trout said. “He was a great guy who keeps it honest with you. This was before all this stuff. I know he’s now the defensive line coach at Georgia, but I can go off the good stuff I heard about him when he was at UT-Martin. So when you talk to him on the phone, you can feel it. You can feel why those guys said those things about him.”
The 4-star recruit has noticed a few things about Georgia this fall: Consistency. Improvement. Stability.
“I pay attention to the fact if there coaching staff is going to be there and be around for a while most likely,” Trout said. “I know coach [Kirby] Smart is going to be there for a while. After this year he is having, he is going to be there at least three or four more years.”
Trout did notice that Georgia picked up a commitment from 5-star QB Justin Fields last week.
“I noticed that,” he said. “That’s good. He’s good. He’s legit.”
Trout will not make his commitment early. He also does not plan to sign during the new early-signing period.
He has to figure out which Pac-12 team he prefers, UCLA or USC. Then he will have to do the same in the SEC with Alabama and Georgia.
“One has to outweigh the other,” Trout said. “If I choose to go to Georgia, then Georgia would probably have to beat out Alabama. You know what I am saying there? Which is actually winnable.
“I am going to take all those visits and I am going to figure all of that out soon. I am not sure with everything right now. Right now I’m just focused on my [high school] team.”
Look for his decision to be greatly influenced by his future position coach. He also said one other very interesting thing about Georgia.
“The cool part that I like about the Georgia situation is when I cut that list it was before the season started,” Trout said. “I really had no intention of Georgia being that good. The fact that Georgia is this good is another big plus for them.”
A little history note about No. 1 QBs and No. 1 RBs
Justin Fields is committed to Georgia. Zamir White is committed to UGA.
The chances look Ben Cleveland strong for the Bulldogs to sign both of those guys in the Class of 2018. That would be quite the feat.
Fields ranks on the 247Sports composite as the nation’s No. 1 QB. White ranks on that same scale as the nation’s No. 1 RB.
Has that ever happened? Well, a little perusal through the splendid 247Sports online database uncovered the following: Yes, it has been done before.
Adrian Peterson and Rhett Bomar both signed with Oklahoma back in 2004. Peterson rated No. 1 overall. Bomar was the top-rated QB and No. 5 overall.
That’s the only other time that has happened in the modern era of college football recruiting.
It definitely looks like it will happen again in 2018.
Speaking of 5-star RB Zamir White
Zamir White’s high school stats can be found on his MaxPreps page. His career stats are also there.
White had a recent 6-TD first half that made national headlines, but it is really nothing new. The 5-star RB has now scored 109 career touchdowns in 42 varsity games.
That’s an average of 2.6 touchdowns per game. White is averaging 13.7 yards per attempt this season and has rolled for more than 6,000 career yards.
A recent tweet shows how he handles that level of success every Friday night.
I feel like the Nick Chubb fans are going to be able to root for this guy, too.
UGA is still in great shape with a commit
Georgia commit Chris Smith took an official visit to Michigan over the weekend.
Veteran Intel readers will recall the 4-star CB really liked Michigan. A lot.
There was a time back this winter when he was considering a Michigan commit. He took an unofficial to Ann Arbor with his father. They really loved it. Almost to the point of making a commitment.
Why not? Well, his mother, Shandra Smith, kind of shut down that one. She wasn’t there and there was no way those two were going to commit to a school she had not seen and vetted thoroughly.
Well, the family took that official visit last weekend for the Michigan State game.
Did the Wolverines make his decision tougher? Did Michigan State make it easier?
“I think it made things easier,” Smith said. “[It] made me remember why I committed to UGA.”
Shandra Smith also weighed in on that visit.
“The visit was nice and all, but it wasn’t UGA,” she said. “There’s just something about UGA that sets them apart from the others.”
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