Want a daily lap through Georgia football recruiting? That’s what the Intel will bring at least five days a week. We’ll cover the news almost every day but this day will include a couple of nuggets about UGA freshmen Robert Beal Jr. and Isaiah Wilson to help fans get to know them a little bit better before the season.

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Athlete. Big Head.

Both of those terms apply to the newest official member of the Georgia Bulldogs. My colleague Seth Emerson reported Tuesday that 4-star OLB Robert Beal was officially cleared to enroll and join the team.

Robert Beal is now cleared to play for Georgia. His mother Gwendolyn Beal (right) now has two of her children in Athens./Dawgnation)

I’m going to use this space to share a few leftover items about a couple of new Bulldogs. This blog will always be a place to learn about the players on their way or those who might choose Georgia.

That’s not changing.

But I’m heeding the words of our audience a little bit by revving the fan engines just a bit about a couple of current Bulldogs.

That’s what a couple of our readers and listeners suggested last night at another wonderful DawgNation event at Marlow’s Tavern in Sandy Springs.

It seemed like a pretty good call.

Getting to know Robert Beal a little bit better

I was scratching my head about Beal’s delayed enrollment at first because he’s a sharp guy. Big booming voice. He could be an incredible broadcaster one day.

Beal also earned scholarship offers from Notre Dame and North Carolina, but the fact he transferred from Norcross to IMG Academy to Peachtree Ridge within the span of a year stalled his admissions process.

This cake would’ve been good for the celebration Tuesday as Robert Beal was finally cleared to play at UGA. (Jeff Sentell/DawgNation)/Dawgnation)

What is Georgia getting in Beal? Well, an athlete at outside linebacker and a very big head.

Why the big head? Those that know him best told me he picked up his “Tank” nickname because he always had a big head. His family always called him “Tank” because his noggin resembled a tank turret on his still-developing frame.

Here are 5 quick things to know about Beal

  • He’s actually from South Georgia. Beal, who’s known as “RJ” around his family, grew up in Cordele. That’s the same city that produced major UGA target and eventual Auburn signee Markaviest “Big Cat” Bryant. That “RJ” is an abbreviated version of Robert Beal Jr. Yes, that’s yet another namesake on the UGA roster this fall.

 

  • Beal actually wanted to be a receiver growing up. When he was in the seventh grade, he was thinking about trying to be another Julio Jones. He was home schooled at a local church and had an interesting activity every day for his physical education. Beal would toss a football over the roof of that church and race another to catch it before it hit the ground. He usually would. Every day. That’s the type of athlete that the Bulldogs one day will line up to level quarterbacks.
Robert Beal (right) has finally qualified at UGA. His mother, Gwendolyn, at right joined him earlier this year at his National Signing Day celebration. (Jeff Sentell/DawgNation)/Dawgnation)
  • Why did he eventually choose UGA? His reasoning was simple. “I’m a home-grown guy,” Beal said earlier this year. “I wanted to make Georgia great again. I want to bring those national championships back to Georgia.” South Carolina actually made the chase for Beal a lot closer than anyone reported in the end, but he maintained that state pride with his eventual decision.
  • His sister is also enrolled at Georgia. Beal was not heading into UGA thinking about a redshirt. “If I needed to, then I would be cool with it. Other than that, I am going for that starting spot.” That’s the attitude that any program would want from its incoming talent, but it will be very hard for Beal to crack the 2-deep this fall.
  • UGA outside linebackers coach Kevin Sherrer was huge here in Beal’s recruiting process. Beal said that the single biggest reason why he chose the Bulldogs was that trust and that relationship he had formed with Sherrer.

Future foe Markaviest Bryant really likes Isaiah Wilson

I had a chance to speak with Bryant this spring before he enrolled at Auburn. It was a wide-ranging conversation, but one thing that I didn’t include was just how impressed he was by 6-foot-7 Georgia freshman Isaiah Wilson.

Five-star Isaiah Wilson cradled a stuffed Bulldog puppy when he committed to UGA in December. (Jeff Sentell/DawgNation)/Dawgnation)

Wilson, a 5-star tackle, wound up rated as the highest-rated recruit in the 2017 class for Georgia. Wilson’s final 247Sports composite ranking pegged him as the nation’s No. 5 OT and the nation’s No. 17 overall recruit for last year’s cycle.

Bryant rates him higher than that. He said that if he could’ve brought one recruit with him to Auburn, he wanted Wilson.

“That’s the one guy above everybody else that I have played against that I would have wanted,” Bryant said. “He’s that one guy that was already so well put together to play on that next level as a freshman. He will be able to help Georgia early.”

It is worth noting that Bryant saw a lot of elite prospects and players last January at the Under Armour All-America Game. That’s where he had several memorable battles with Wilson.

Wilson is definitely a freshman to pay attention to this fall during camp. He will be very hard to miss.