BEAVERTON, Ore. — If 4-star running back James Cook now wants to take summer visits to Georgia or any other school, he can do so without a guilty conscience.
The nation’s No. 3 RB prospect for 2018 chose the Fourth of July to send off a pretty big boom in terms of recruiting fireworks.
Cook, the younger brother of former Florida State star Dalvin Cook, de-committed on Tuesday after being committed to the Seminoles since February 2016.
This presents a tantalizing opportunity for Georgia. The Bulldogs saw their chance to add the nation’s Nos. 1 and 3 RBs in this class go up by a significant margin.
He said this week in Oregon that UGA was the only other school on his mind.
Cook and recent 5-star RB commitment Zamir White would be the perfect re-up to a backfield that will lose stalwarts Nick Chubb and Sony Michel to the NFL after this season.
The 5-foot-11.5, 185-pound prospect also ranks as the nation’s No. 33 overall prospect for 2018 by the 247Sports composite. He’s someone who can play instantly in space on Saturdays but needs to add weight to become an every-down option.
The Miami Central standout excelled as a receiver at The Opening in Oregon. He showed breakaway ability and deft moves while running routes.
Cook said that “playing time” was the biggest opportunity that he saw if he eventually chose the Bulldogs in Athens. He liked the fit there and his long-standing relationships with UGA running backs coach Dell McGee and receivers coach James Coley.
He said the ability to pair up with White would make for a “Thunder and Lightning” opportunity at UGA.
The South Florida standout even re-tweeted a message with that “Thunder and Lightning” pairing.
The 4-star prospect plans to enroll early. He also told DawgNation that he expects to make his final decision sometime in December.
Cook was a 2019 recruit for some time during his prep career, but he later reclassified to the current recruiting cycle.