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A few 5-star UGA recruiting targets and that ‘who wit it’ on Twitter

A trio of 5-star Georgia targets caught a lot of attention Sunday night on Twitter.
Jeff Sentell/DawgNation
Jeff Sentell

Once upon a time, there were lots of stars in the sky. The five-pronged ones at that. They all picked a certain Sunday to start tweeting cryptically and not-so-cryptically in regard to their thoughts on UGA recruiting.

This was this past Sunday.

The first such star shined from over in Arizona. That was 5-star CB Kelee Ringo. Ringo rates as the nation’s No. 2 CB prospect for 2020 on the 247Sports Composite ratings.

It earned a quick reply.

The one came from almost the other side of the country from 5-star Mekhail Sherman in Washington, D.C. of all places. He’s the nation’s No. 2 OLB for this cycle on the composite scale.

If that wasn’t enough, those two 5-stars attracted the attention of a peer way out in California. This would take a few red-eye flights without the help of Twitter.

They even caught Flowe’s attention as he was coming off a weekend LSU visit for their spring game. Flowe rates as the nation’s No. 1 ILB prospect and the No. 3 overall recruit on the aforementioned scale.

Dwight McGlothern, the nation’s No. 9 CB for this cycle and another UGA target, also picked up on it. It seemed by then even elite 4-stars were allowed in this story.

Carson Beck, Georgia’s QB commitment for this cycle, also granted the day’s events an emoji attention grabber.

Twitter is what it is. A lot of times recruits will spin their wheels for attention. It usually works. Such examples are usually “GIF” magnets for appreciative fan bases.

But this also corresponds with several out-of-state players who do appear to have a sincere interest in UGA. These players have all visited UGA recently and they plan to all visit again.

McGlothern and Ringo have already confirmed to DawgNation they will be at G-Day.

🐶👀 “Who wit it?” Indeed.

(Disclaimer: We will try not to interrupt this fairy tale by only bringing up the notion one time here that package deals among elite recruits rarely work out. Especially on Twitter. Well, unless the program has a really big slide and a bowling alley in their football facility.)

Let’s just consider this to be a conversation starter for a more substantive periodic snapshot on all things UGA recruiting.

Want a speed read on the last week? These are the major DawgNation recruiting storylines of late:

Check out the latest “Before the Hedges” on UGA recruiting

Did you see “Before the Hedges” this week? Brandon Adams hosts a weekly UGA recruiting show called Before the Hedges at 3 p.m. every Wednesday on the DawgNation Facebook page.

It also streams each Wednesday on the DawgNation YouTube channel.

Where UGA recruiting ranks for 2020

Georgia has five commitments for 2020. Carson Beck, the nation’s No. 3 QB prospect for this cycle, was the most recent pledge back on March 3. 

Justin Robinson, a 4-star WR out of Eagles Landing Christian, was just a day prior to that on March 2. 

UGA sits at No. 13 nationally for 2019 in the 247Sports composite team recruiting rankings. That places the Bulldogs fifth in the SEC.

Alabama and its 14 pledges rank No. 1 in the SEC. The Tide also chart at No. 1 nationally., followed by Clemson, LSU, Miami, Florida, Ohio State, Mississippi State, FSU, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Michigan and Iowa. 

Georgia is the only school in the top 13 with less than six commits. The top five teams in those rankings have 14, 10, 10, 11 and nine commits, respectively.

The five UGA recruiting commits for 2020

(presented in order of their 247Sports Composite ratings)

Broderick Jones/5-star OT/Lithonia/Lithonia, Ga./Rates as the nation’s No. 2 OT prospect and as the nation’s No. 19 overall recruit on the 247Sports Composite ratings. He can enroll early at UGA and play quickly at tackle.

Broderick Jones-UGA recruiting-Georgia recruiting-Georgia football-UGA football recruiting
Broderick Jones is still the only 5-star commit in the 2020 class for UGA at this time. That will change. (Jeff Sentell/DawgNaiton)

Cameron Beck/4-star QB/Mandarin HS/Jacksonville, Fla./The nation’s No. 2 pro-style QB also checks in at No. 60 overall. Strong accurate arm and good size at 6 feet, 4 inches.

Jamil Burroughs/4-star DT/McEachern HS/Powder Springs, Ga./Recent rating dip to the nation’s No. 10 DT and No. 108 overall recruit. Moves very well for a big man.

Nazir Stackhouse/4-star DT/Columbia HS/Decatur, Ga./Nation’s No. 22 DT prospect also checks in at No. 214 overall. Stackhouse and Burroughs both were invited to the Opening finals this summer in Texas.

Justin Robinson/4-star WR/Eagles Landing Christian Academy/Stockbridge, Ga./Nation’s No. 63 WR despite having just played one season of varsity football up to this point. Big upside for this young man.

The 2021 crop for UGA recruiting

This space will curiously seem rather sparse. That’s because this is the first cycle of the Kirby Smart era in Athens where the Bulldogs are not working at least one year away with at least one “anchor” recruit for the class or classes ahead of the current cycle.

There are currently no public commitments to UGA in the 2021 class.

A few UGA recruiting Tweets to catch up on

It was highly interesting to see 3-star Cedartown RB Kobe Pryor include Georgia in his recent top 10 over the weekend. That was even while still waiting on the Bulldogs to formally offer. It will be very key to see how the spring practice evaluation goes for Pryor.

Georgia also offered another scholarship to a strong young prospect in the 2021 class. That is 4-star WR Deion Colzie out of nearby Athens Academy. 247Sports already has him as a 4-star in the 2021 class and as the nation’s No. 18 WR prospect for that cycle.

This is also a good time to rehash a quick tweet that shows exactly what the aforementioned Justin Flowe can do on a football field.

The 2020 UGA recruiting class timeline

  • Dec. 2, 2017: 4-star DT Nazir Stackhouse (Stephenson/Stone Mountain, Ga.) commits to UGA (Class count:1)
  • April 26, 2018: 5-star OT Broderick Jones (Lithonia/Lithonia, Ga.) commits to UGA (2)
  • August 25, 2018: 4-star DT Jamil Burroughs (McEachern/Powder Springs, Ga.) commits to UGA (3)
  • November 24, 2018: Unrated DT Warren Brinson (IMG Academy/Bradenton, Fla.) commits to UGA (4)
  • January 29, 2019: Brinson de-commits from UGA (3)
  • March 2, 2019: 4-star WR Justin Robinson (Eagles Landing Christian Academy/Stockbridge, Ga.) commits to UGA (4)
  • March 3, 2019: 4-star QB Carson Beck (Mandarin/Jacksonville, Fla.) commits to UGA (5)

The big 2020 targets for UGA recruiting

Arik Gilbert-UGA recruiting-Georgia recruiting
5-star ATH Arik Gilbert is a big priority for UGA in the 2020 cycle. (Jeff Sentell/DawgNation)

 

Here is a glass-half-full thought for the class of 2020. I can look at the targets, the offers and the options and the class needs and come up with a realistic scenario where the Bulldogs wind up signing 5-to-7 recruits with a 5-star rating for 2020.

Let’s look at a roll call of several big names for the class as it sets up right now. The big thing to comprehend here is that these are not the five highest-rated targets with Georgia offers. This is a gumbo of names with mutual interest on both sides who would fill a certain need for the program in the 2020 class.

8 BIG 2020 targets

  • Kendall Milton/5-star RB/Buchannan High/Clovis, California: The Bulldogs definitely need a pair of elite RBs in the 2020 class and can certainly recruit that position on a national level. Milton has longtime high interest in UGA and will take an unofficial visit to G-Day on April 20.
  • Justin Flowe/5-star ILB/Upland/Upland, California: Bulldogs came out very well on a recent unofficial visit tour. He rates as the nation’s No. 1 ILB and the No. 3 overall prospect on the 247Sports Composite.
  • Arik Gilbert/5-star ATH/Marietta High/Marietta, Georgia: Longtime priority. Gilbert has been recruited HARD by the Bulldogs since he was coming out of middle school. 6-foot-5 and 250-plus. He’s the nation’s No. 1 ATH.
  • Bryan Bresee/5-star DT/Damascus High/Damascus, Maryland: Longtime priority as well. Recently shifted to DT on the Composite ratings. The 6-foot-5, 290-pound prospect just saw Clemson again for its spring game. Rated as the nation’s top overall prospect.
  • Kelee Ringo/5-star CB/Saguaro High/Scottsdale, Arizona: Took a strong unofficial earlier this year. Will be back for G-Day on another unofficial. Nation’s No. 2 cornerback prospect. Some scouts feel he might be the best pure football player in America in this class.
  • Tate Ratledge/4-star OT/Darlington School/Rome, Georgia: Stock continues to rise. Got bigger and better at OT. Physical and punishing and athletic. He’s 6 feet, 7 inches and punts for his high school team.
  • Mekhail Sherman/5-star LB/St. Johns College High School/Washington, D.C: He visited UGA on an unofficial early this year. The staff has made him a priority. Says he just feels like something is different about Athens.
  • Darnell Washington/5-star ATH/Desert Pines/Las Vegas, Nevada: Nation’s No. 2 ATH behind Gilbert. Projects as a lethal potential TE pairing for Todd Hartley with Gilbert. Was in on a recent unofficial this winter and plans to return in June.

OTHERS TO CONSIDER: 5-star OT Paris Johnson, Jr. (Ohio State); 5-star DE Myles Murphy; 5-star RB MarShawn Lloyd; 5-star RB Demarkcus Bowman; 5-star OL/DL Justin Rodgers; 4-star S Avantae Williams; 4-star DL Jay Hardy; 4-star DE Zykeivous Walker

UGA recruiting by position in 2020

Which positions are the major priorities for 2019? The offensive tackle and running back spots are clearly two of those, followed by the quarterback and tight end spots in this cycle.

Here’s a quick snapshot as to how DawgNation expects the position-by-position breakdown to go for the 2020 class:

  • QB: Beck (1/1)
  • RB: None (0/2)
  • TE: None (0/2)
  • WR: Robinson (1/3)
  • OL: Jones (1/4)
  • DE: None (0/1)
  • DT: Burroughs, Stackhouse (2/3)
  • ILB: None (0/1)
  • OLB: None (0/1)
  • CB: None (0/1)
  • S: None (0/1)
  • K: None (0/1)
  • Totals: 5/21

That projected class does seem slanted to the offensive side of the ball. Bear in mind the Bulldogs signed two more defensive players in its 2019 class than they did for James Coley’s side of the ball.

Here’s a glance at what DawgNation sees as the positional priorities for the class:

  • OT (1-2 more)
  • RB (At least two more)
  • TE (At least two)
  • WR: (2 more)
  • DT: (At least one more)

Let’s wind UGA recruiting back one year

Georgia’s 2020 class is ranked No. 13 nationally and No. 5 in the SEC. How will that match up to where the Bulldogs were a year ago? (That’s when Kirby Smart and Georgia was on its way to building the nation’s No. 2 class.)

What did UGA recruiting look like exactly one year ago in April of 2018? (Jeff Sentell/DawgNation)

Please allow us to add a big dollop of perspective to this topic.

The Bulldogs rated No. 2 nationally at this time last year and No. 3 in the SEC. It does seem helpful and fairly interesting to look back at UGA recruiting at this time a year ago and see where the program was at with things.

It is a good way to step back and take a longer view at a recruiting cycle.

  • UGA had seven commits at this time one year ago.
  • A big storyline was current 5-star commit Jadon Haselwood was using his first official to check out Oklahoma. That was where he ultimately signed.
  • 5-star Archer cornerback Andrew Booth was at Clemson for its spring game. It was where he ultimately signed.
  • There were fears that 5-star commit Nolan Smith would take an unofficial visit to Alabama that weekend. Smith stayed committed and ultimately signed with UGA.
  • Miami and Ole Miss were ahead of UGA in the 2019 recruiting rankings. The Hurricanes lost their coach and finished up with the nation’s No. 28 class. That was quite the swoon. The Rebels finished with the nation’s No. 22 class of the 247Sports Composite ratings. (Remember that part about perspective right now?)
  • Luke Griffin had just de-committed. The North Georgia OT prospect wound up signing with Missouri.
  • Owen Pappoe and UGA was somehow still a thing. But the signs were already showing about that legit Auburn interest.
  • This tweet still seems to be aging well. “We are not going nowhere,” running backs coach Dell McGee said.

2020 UGA recruiting offers by the numbers

(as published by 247Sports)

  • Reported offers: 222
  • 5-star offers:
  • Florida recruits offered: 55
  • Texas recruits offered: 32
  • In-state recruits offered: 30
  • California recruits offered: 15
  • Alabama recruits offered: 11
  • Louisiana recruits offered: 9
  • North Carolina recruits offered: 8
  • Receivers offered: 45
  • Defensive tackles offered: 24
  • Running backs offered: 20
  • Tackles offered: 19
  • Cornerbacks offered: 18
  • Quarterbacks offered: 18
  • Athletes offered: 14
  • Safeties offered: 13
  • Tight ends offered: 8
  • Inside linebackers offered: 6
  • Centers offered: 2

Geographical UGA recruiting breakdown

The current UGA commits broken down by state:

  • Georgia: 4 (Burroughs, Jones, Robinson and Stackhouse)
  • Florida: 1 (Beck)

The weird UGA recruiting note of the week

Check out the recruiting ratings on the 247Sports Team Composite ratings right now.

  • Georgia: No. 12 overall and No. 5 in the SEC.
  • Georgia Tech: No. 22 overall and No. 5 in the ACC.

That’s something we don’t see every day. The Jackets had signed the nation’s Nos. 48, 54 and 52 classes for their 2017, 2018 and 2019 classes.

That’s a credit to new coach Geoff Collins and his staff.  That’s also with just six commits in their 2020 class.

NEXT Azeez Ojulari continues to standout in loaded outside linebacker group
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