DeAngelo Gibbs has made his college decision.

It goes back to something he told me on the same day Kirby Smart was named the head coach at Georgia.

5-star Georgia commitment Richard LeCounte III shares a laugh with DeAngelo Gibbs prior to the Auburn game in November. Gibbs will form an impressive tandem with LeCounte in the secondary at UGA. (Jeff Sentell/AJC)/Dawgnation)

In a rare moment of candor, Gibbs shared that Smart to UGA was going to totally change up his recruiting decision. He said it would not only affect him but also a lot of prospects in the Class of 2017.

It would. It did. It has.

The nation’s No. 3 safety prospect from Grayson High School committed to Georgia on New Year’s Day during the third quarter of the Under Armour All-America Game.

“Georgia is the place for me,” Gibbs said. “I think it is the best fit for me. A perfect opportunity.”

The Bulldogs held off a strong late push from Alabama and coach Nick Saban for his commitment.

“I’m more than ready right now,” Gibbs said. “I’m so happy about the decision I just made. I had it in the back of my head for at least a week now.”

Gibbs was clearly having a good time on his Georgia unofficial visit for the Tennessee game. (Jeff Sentell / AJC)/Dawgnation)

The 6-foot-2, 205-pounder will enroll early at Georgia on Jan. 9 and likely will room with his cousin, J.R. Reed. Reed transferred to Georgia earlier this year from Tulsa and sat out the 2016 season.

Gibbs becomes the 21st commitment for the Class of 2017 and will team with 5-star signee Richard LeCounte III in the secondary at UGA. It means that the Nos. 2 and 3 safety prospects in America for this signing cycle are headed to play for Smart.

He’s rated as the nation’s No. 40 overall prospect for this year.

Georgia continues its strong work on the trail on several fronts with the news. Gibbs was the second-highest rated undecided recruit in Georgia for 2017.

That gives the Bulldogs commitments from 10 of the top 15 prospects in Georgia for this cycle. Gibbs is also the 10th future Bulldog among those 21 commitments that are rated among the nation’s top 10 prep prospects at their respective position.

“I feel like this Georgia class is going to be something special,” Gibbs said. “Without help, it is hard for anybody to get anywhere. I believe we are building a class and from the jump,  we kind of already had an idea of what we were wanting to do by staying in our home state and to bring championships and titles to Athens.”

Football is clearly in his DNA. Gibbs has a pair of uncles in Dale Carter and Jake Reed who combined for 24 seasons in the NFL.

Gibbs told SEC Country that he’s already signed all of his financial aid papers to enroll early at UGA next week.

— Quotes were obtained on site by SEC Country staff writer Zach Abolverdi

All rankings come from the 247Sports composite unless otherwise noted.