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. The play sheet today calls for a summation of the recent official visit from Top 150 athlete Christian Harris from Baton Rouge, La.
The results from Georgia’s wildly successful G-Day continue to trickle in. Christian Harris, the nation’s No. 14 ATH for 2019, said he will be back in Athens this fall for an official visit.
That G-Day trek will earn a return trip for the Louisiana native with an older brother who played two seasons in the NFL. Harris also ranks as the nation’s No. 141 overall prospect for 2019 on the 247Sports composite standard.
He’s listed as an athlete, but the Bulldogs see him as a “Star” or a hybrid ILB/OLB in their multiple 3-4 base scheme.
Harris said the Bulldogs charted him at 6-foot-1 in height and 233 on the scales.
“We talked about it this weekend,” Harris said. “They said that based off my weight they really see me as an inside linebacker. Just being kind of athletic. I could be able to play the ‘Star’ position but they would really want me to play inside, too. We talked about how they have some inside linebackers that they would also want to play the ‘Star’ as well. Georgia has some safeties playing the ‘Star’ as well. But they also have the ‘Penny’ in their defense, too. A ‘Penny’ is like a bigger star.”
(Explainer timeout: Georgia’s “Star” position is essentially the fifth defensive back that is brought in during nickel package. That guy needs to be highly versatile to run and cover and hit and tackle in space.)
No matter how much he might play at the “Penny” or the “Star” spot, he’d need to have a base position home. That sounds like it would be at ILB.
“I liked the way they explained it to me a lot,” Harris said. “Coach [Glenn] Schumann was basically telling me I would have to move around a lot and cover the slot [receivers] and the tight ends.”
He said that most of the schools that are recruiting him also see him the same way. They view him as an everyday player.
“I’m OK with playing ILB but I like the fact that I’d be able to be out in space and be able to cover. That’s good with me. I want to play defense.”
The University Lab (Baton Rouge, La.) standout said that the Bulldogs will get an official visit in the fall.
How does Christian Harris feel about UGA?
Harris had a conversation with Georgia coach Kirby Smart that was based on a lot of common ground. He wants to study sports management. He said that Smart told him that was his major in Athens, too.
Will location be a factor here?
“My older brother went to Wake Forest (to play college football) and that’s in North Carolina,” he said. “He did that so leaving the state to play college ball is not a problem for me. My parents have no problems with traveling. Leaving the state is no problem for me. I am just trying to go with whatever best fits me.”
Harris plans to sign in December. He plans to visit a couple more schools soon and take his official visits during the season.
Florida State is his next trip up this weekend. He knows he will also visit Tennessee after that.
Alabama, Florida State and LSU recruit him very hard. When he made the trek to UGA, he had the insight from a teammate that he would love it.
Harris did.
“It was a pretty cool experience,” he said. “I didn’t think there were going to be 82,000 fans there. It was definitely cool seeing that atmosphere and meeting all the coaches. It was definitely a place where I could see myself playing there.”
“I’ll be honest here. Georgia will be right at the top of my list when I come out with my list.”
LSU was a dream school growing up. It would be hard not to be for a young man who grew up in Baton Rouge. It would be like asking a kid from Athens not caring all that much about the Bulldogs growing up.
Harris is definitely an athlete. He came away from his Nike combine testing with a 113.43 rating. He abused that PowerBall with a throw of 47.5 feet.
Cortez Hankton is his area recruiter. Georgia ILBs coach Schumann really broke down what his role would be in the Bulldog defense. Harris said he was impressed to learn Smart’s coaching history.
“I knew about him but I didn’t know he was with Nick Saban for like 10 years,” Harris said. “He learned a lot from Saban and he knows what it takes to win championships and be successful. So I feel like Georgia in the future is going to be doing very similar things to what Alabama has been doing.”
The read on Kirby Smart by Christian Harris
Harris said he was moved by Smart’s passion. His whole story. Georgia boy. Georgia alum. Bulldogs player. Married to a Georgia girl. Former assistant.
“He was telling me he was not going anywhere and he was home,” Harris said. “He’s really focused on making Georgia greater than any other football school in the country.”
His parents noted that, too.
“They loved his passion,” Harris said. “You can tell his passion. You can tell he wants to be great and to be the best and he will do anything to make that happen.”
What’s the latest with 2020 commit Nazir Stackhouse?
He’s just that good and his future is that bright.
But what about the first pledge for 2020? Stephenson defensive tackle Nazir Stackhouse chose UGA on Dec. 2. That was the day the Bulldogs rematched Auburn and won the SEC title in decisive fashion.
What has changed since then? Is Stackhouse still strong to UGA?
“I’m still very good with Georgia,” Stackhouse said. “All the way. I’m a fan. I’m a Georgia diehard.”
The 6-3½, 297-pounder says he hears from four other teams that are trying to turn his head about from the Bulldogs. Those would be Alabama, Clemson, FSU and LSU.
Alabama is coming after the 4-star lineman the hardest out of that lot. Do they have a chance?
Stackhouse relayed the major things that still keep him committed to Georgia. He started off by bringing up the coaches and the location. The school’s proximity to his home in Stone Mountain will always be a draw.
“I’m really solid to UGA because of the history and I want to bring them a championship because I know that we would most likely have what we need to succeed,” he said.
Winning matters to him.
“I want to play where not only me but the whole program will be victorious in the upcoming future,” Stackhouse said.
He doesn’t rate yet on the composite, but 247Sports lists him as the nation’s No. 13 DT recruit for 2020. He comes in at No. 202 nationally.
Another thing about the Broderick Jones story
Broderick Jones looks like a player who will rise to 5-star status in due time. The 6-6, 300-pounder is just that smooth and slick. He’s currently rated as the nation’s No. 6 OT prospect on 247Sports but look for that status to trend northward.
He follows Stackhouse as the second pledge for the Bulldogs in the 2020 class. Georgia now rates as the nation’s No. 5 class for 2020 based on those two players. The Bulldogs also find themselves as No. 3 overall in the SEC.
There will be a lot of cool content about Jones showing up on DawgNation over the next week. Lots of good stories. We are just getting started with sharing his story.
Want to get to know him a little better? DawgNation went live with Jones for 27 minutes after breaking the commitment.
Joey Yellen is a very interesting offer out West
Joey Yellen will measure about 6-2½ inches and weigh in around 210 pounds. He ranks as the nation’s No. 13 pro-style quarterback prospect and the No. 304 overall prospect.
He was visited by UGA quarterbacks coach James Coley on Thursday. The nation’s No. 304 overall prospect also picked up an offer from UGA.
Yellen is in California. I can see his name showing up as a strong UGA target on DawgNation.com stories in the months to come. After all, he was at G-Day last weekend.
Arizona State, Brown, Georgia and San Jose State have now offered. The Sun Devils and Bulldogs are new offers this week.
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.