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’re going to go big on the education mode over the next few weeks. The calendar says it is about that time to start dialing in the big targets for the 2019 class.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — All gas. No brakes. The orientation to 4-star DE prospect Kris Bogle is going to come that fast.
The 4-star prospect rates as the nation’s No. 7 weak-side DE prospect on the 247SportsComposite for 2019. The 6-foot-4, 215-pounder is so smooth on the hardwood the regular double-double machine cranked out a 38-point night earlier this year.
That is a defensive end doing that sort of damage in the varsity scorebook. It attracts attention.
Nick Saban’s helicopter has already landed on the baseball field at Cardinal Gibbons. That’s the same school which produced former Bulldogs Blair Walsh and Jeremy Longo.
Bogle was offered by UGA after an unofficial visit on January 27. It was a trip that he described as a “perfect” official visit. He already has a lot of options to play college ball in the class of 2019, but he already knows that UGA will be one of the schools in it for him until the very end.
That’s how good Bogle feels about what he saw in Athens last month. The Bulldogs measured him at 6 feet and 4.5 inches. His weight was down to around 203 pounds because of all the running he does during basketball season.
He authored that very uncommon tweet up above. What exactly did he mean by that?
“You usually drive to most of your unofficial visits,” Bogle said. “But this time my mother and I decided we were going to fly up there. That’s because my mother and I love Georgia a lot. We flew up there and then drove to Athens. Then we did the normal unofficial visit and it was perfect. Just perfect.”
Lots of times the recruits will give out a “10” rating to describe their visits. That’s usually after being asked by the reporter to rate the visit.
Bogle offered up the term “perfect” of his own volition.
“It was the best time of my life,” he said.
Why did he feel that way?
“Just sitting down with coach (Mel) Tucker and coach (James) Coley and all the different recruits,” Bogle said. “It was just perfect. I can’t really describe it. Other than to say it was just perfect.”
He said that current Bulldogs Justin Fields and Divaad Wilson really made him feel at home during that unofficial visit to Athens.
The three schools that are coming after Kris Bogle the hardest
Some schools view Bogle as a defensive end. He’d have his hand on the ground when he adds about 40-50 pounds. Those would be Clemson Miami, Ohio State and Penn State.
Alabama and Georgia currently view him as an OLB. Bogle said that Alabama, Georgia and Miami have been recruiting him the hardest so far at this time.
He grew up with a love for Oregon.
“I really liked Oregon but it fell off a little bit there when Chip Kelly left but I still have a spot in my heart for Oregon,” Bogle said.
Cardinal Gibbons does not allow its players to enroll early. Bogle said that he could see himself waiting until the late extended National Signing Day next February before he makes his decision.
“I know I will take an official visit to Georgia,” he said. “That will for sure be one of my schools.”
He couldn’t say that about any other school at this time.
“I know one more but I am not sure,” Bogle said. “Like ‘for sure for sure’ I am going to take that official visit yet. But I am ‘for sure for sure’ that I am going to take an official visit to Georgia. For sure for sure.”
Bogle said that a recent visit he took to Miami with his mother also went very well. He’s also thinking about flying up to see Notre Dame, too.
“I am thinking about that one,” he said. “But I don’t know if she is 100 (percent) on that right now.”
Georgia coach Kirby Smart also spoke to Bogle when he was on campus last month.
“He told me to do well in high school and try to finish it out strong there with my grades,” Bogle said. “He said he wanted me to focus on being the best I can be as a man and that he was going to keep recruiting me as hard as he can.”
On a scale of 1-to-10, Bogle said that he felt already coming at hard like that.
“I’d say almost a ‘9’ on that scale,” he said.
Bogle said he currently plans to return to UGA this summer. He will also take that official visit to UGA after his senior season with the Chiefs.
Why Bogle will wear No. 7 for Cardinal Gibbons this fall
Bogle used to wear No. 90 for his Chiefs. That will change this fall. He aims to wear No. 7 for seven very personal reasons.
“It is because there are seven things that I always remember when I am out on the field,” he said.
Those seven things are:
- Family first
- Blessed
- Humble
- Focused
- Big Dream
- Hard Work
- My Future
He defined his future. Or at least what he aims for it to be.
“Just finish up high school and graduate from college,” Bogle said. “We’ll do then and see what happens from there.”
That’s the Cardinal Gibbons way.
“Our program here is family first,’ Bogle said. “Our coaches instill in us to grow up the right way and be a good man. Be a better man than we see every day and just give back something to the community we live in.”
Bogle said it is hard to discern which Georgia assistant he hears from the most. It would be either defensive coordinator Mel Tucker or South Florida ace recruiter James Coley.
He felt that the equal one another out. The 4-star standout hears from Tucker every week and already considers him to be a “father figure” in his life.
“I talk to coach Coley a lot,” Bogle said. “Our bond is something. That’s a lot. I can’t really describe that either. It is just pretty special.”
He felt that he would deeply consider the Bulldogs “no matter what” and “until the very end” when it comes to his eventual decision.
Khris Bogle’s off-the-field character
Bogle is obviously a talented prospect. Nick Saban is not landing helicopters in Fort Lauderdale for just any junior. Even when he was in town to see prized 5-star CB targets Tyson Campbell and Patrick Surtain Jr. in nearby Plantation.
Yet Cardinal Gibbons coach Matt DuBuc made it clear that Bogle is a special human being in his own right. He shared a story regarding the best aspects of the junior’s character that intersects with a deeply personal moment in his life.
It involved the loss of his father. DuBuc, who played at Texas Tech, runs an “Air Raid” offense at Cardinal Gibbons. Yet although his father retired to South Florida, his declining health never allowed him the chance to see his son coach a game.
“I think Khris is loyal and he is a true competitor,” DuBuc said. “But aside from that, he really cares.”
The Chiefs were in the second round of the playoffs last year. They were facing Rockledge on the road.
“My dad passed away up in Rockledge,” DuBuc said. “I’d talked about it all week. I told the guys that my Dad never saw me coach a game. I said that game was going to be about as close as my father will ever be to seeing my coach.”
His father, Gill, passed away about three miles from where that game was played. The game was tight and the team was gathered together in the locker room at halftime.
That’s when Bogle felt the need to say something. He’s not normally that speech guy, but he was on that night.
“At halftime, Khris said ‘We got you, Coach’ and ‘we were going to win for you’ that night,” DuBuc said. “You say a lot of speeches in the locker room. Some go in their ears. Some don’t. But that one I will never forget.”
Cardinal Gibbons didn’t give up any points in the second half of a 19-14 victory. When it was over, Bogle found his coach.
They had him. Bogle told him that’s what he said was going to happen. He turned in his share of highlights along the way, too.
“That’s something that I will always remember about Khris,” DuBuc said.
Dubuc almost kept the tears from welling up in his eyes when telling that story. Almost.
That’s how special that night was to him and his football team.
What does his coach think about Bogle’s future?
“He’s a great kid,” Dubuc said. “He might have committed to Florida State if Jimbo Fisher didn’t leave. Because Bill Miller was on him from the beginning of his sophomore year.”
Dubuc describes Bogle as “raw” but as a prospect with a very high ceiling.
“What you see is a motor but the finished product is far far away,” Dubuc said. “You see him and he might be 210 or 215 pounds. But he is all 215 pounds from the waist down.”
He made his next point by gesturing towards the abs and stomach and torso region of the body.
“He’s still playing basketball now but when this changes you will see the weight pile on up here,” Dubuc said. “He’s competitor in basketball too. When we first got him, he thought he was going to the NBA. He’s going to give up AAU basketball and focus on just the weight room and his football team during the summer for the first time.”
Dubuc said he thinks that Bogle will be a defensive end when he fully fills out his frame in college football.
Miss any Intel? The DawgNation recruiting archive will get you up to speed just as fast as former Georgia All-American LB Roquan Smith found the ball after the snap.