Georgia football recruiting: What do the remaining battles look like with Florida for 2020?

There’s a big test up ahead on Saturday for the Georgia football team. That one will take place on the field.

Yet what about the head-to-heads that will still take place on the recruiting trail this cycle?

Those battles will funnel the players to each program that will shape those future Georgia-Florida games for years to come.

DawgNation took a look earlier this week at the recruiting wins UGA has stacked up with Florida so far this cycle.

That scorecard currently looks decidedly in Georgia’s favor to this point. Those that are still to come are also going to be interesting. Let’s take a quick look at that and also where the two programs shape up nationally heading into the game this weekend.

Florida vs. Georgia football comparison

(all ratings derived from the 247Sports Composite standard for 2020)

	Georgia football	Florida football	Edge
Current class national ranking	6	14	UGA
Current commitments	16	19	UGA
5-star commitments	2	0	UGA
4-star commitments	14	11	UGA
Top 100 commitments	7	2	UGA
Top 200 commitments	10	7	UGA
3-star commitments	2	7	UF
Commits from the state of Florida	5	13	UF

Georgia football: Remaining 2020 battles with Florida

There’s not going to be many of these. With that, we won’t even try to clog this space with names that don’t look anything like a true battle at this point with both Georgia and Florida involved.

There’s a probable Bulldog in there. A nigh-impossible Gator to flip at this point and a couple of other intriguing prospects left for the 2020 cycle. All the ratings cited in this feature are from the 247Sports Composite ratings.

5-star ATH Darnell Washington

Darnell Washington would fill a big hole for Georgia’s TE room in the 2020 class. (Jeff Sentell/DawgNation)/Dawgnation)

Rankings: Nation’s No. 1 ATH/Nation’s No. 11 overall prospect

Location: Desert Pines High School/Las Vegas, Nev.

Hgt:/Wgt: 6-7.5/265 pounds

Why his name comes up: He’s taken an official visit to both schools. That’s about it.

Official visits so far: Georgia (Sept. 21 vs. Notre Dame); Florida (Oct. 4 vs. Auburn)

Official visits planned: Alabama (Nov. 9 for LSU)

The odds say: The Gators will find it taxing to find any steam here. When Washington announced his top schools earlier this fall, he didn’t have Florida’s program in his top 3 or his revised top 5. His Florida official visit after that point was an impromptu trip, but he did pay attention to what Florida star Kyle Pitts did that day against Auburn. Georgia also currently has 83 percent of the 12 current 247Sports “Crystal Ball” predictions for Washington.

4-star DT Gervon Dexter (current Florida commit)

Gervon Dexter is the highest-rated commitment in the Florida class at this point of the recruiting cycle. (Jeff Sentell/DawgNation)/Dawgnation)

Rankings: Nation’s No.5 DT/Nation’s No. 46 overall prospect

Location: Lakes Wales HS/Lakes Wales, Fla.

Hgt:/Wgt: 6-6.5/285 pounds

Why his name comes up: Georgia has been just about the only school to recruit him in the months after he committed to Florida. He committed to the Gators back in November of 2018. That was because of a long-time pull to the program.

Official visits so far: None

Official visits planned: He’s expected to visit Florida officially for the FSU game later this year.

The odds say: I wouldn’t look for the Bulldogs to find any steam here. Georgia would still love to pry him away from Florida’s class, though. His name was really hot over the summer. That’s before Florida started out hot in 2019 and reaffirmed itself as the place where he can succeed and thrive and win big football games. Georgia’s best chance at a flip needed to be greased with a 9-4 or 8-5 season this fall. That’s not likely to happen.

4-star DE Zykeivous Walker

Zykeivous Walker has been to Georgia several times over the last two seasons. (Jeff Sentell/DawgNation)/Dawgnation)

Rankings: Nation’s No. 9 strong-side DE/No. 156 overall prospect

Location: Schley County High School/Ellaville, Ga.

Hgt:/Wgt: 6-5/270 pounds

Why his name comes up: He’s taken an official visit to Florida. There was a time when the Gators were even recruiting this in-state product harder than the Bulldogs. But that appears to have leveled off. Georgia is making him a priority and has been down to Ellaville to check on him with some frequency this season. Walker is down to a top four of Alabama, Auburn, Florida and Georgia. His decision could come within the next three-to-four weeks.

Official visits so far: Florida (Oct. 4 vs. Auburn)

Official visits planned: Auburn (this weekend); Alabama (Nov. 9 for LSU); UGA (December)

The odds say: Walker might be ready to make his college decision after those back-to-back trips to Alabama and Auburn next month. This race isn’t as easy to peg a leader as it was with those first two names. That said, there are seven predictions for Walker on the 247Sports Composite “Crystal Ball” feature. They all point to UGA. The 4-star prospect will enroll early with his future school in January of 2020.

4-star WR Xzavier Henderson

Rankings: Nation’s No. 12 WR/No. 65 overall prospect

Location: Columbus High School/Miami, Fla.

Hgt:/Wgt: 6-3/185 pounds

Why his name comes up: Henderson was in Athens on an official visit for the Kentucky game. The Bulldogs would like to add another receiver with his skill set to the program in the 2020 class. 4-star Florida resident Arian Smith (Lakeland/Lakeland, Fla.) is another name to watch with that, but it doesn’t appear that the Gators are in the mix with that recruitment. Henderson’s name will show up in several reports tied to a strong interest in both Alabama and Clemson, too.

Official visits so far: Alabama (Sept. 28 vs. Ole Miss); Georgia (Oct. 19 vs. Kentucky)

Official visits planned: TBD

The odds say: Clemson currently has 70 percent of the 10 current 247Sports “Crystal Ball” predictions for Washington. Florida has 10 percent of those. This is highly-contested recruitment with at least four schools in the mix here, including the strong interest that both Clemson and Georgia have in Smith. That only further complicates the picture with Henderson.