Want to attack every day with the latest UGA football recruiting info? That’s what the Intel brings at least four days a week. The play sheet today calls for an introduction with the first (of likely very many) Intel blog posts about Class of 2022 ATH Deyon Bouie.
Christmas has passed. Sadly.
With it, there comes a sense of renewal with the hope and possibility of the coming year. With that, I pondered a simple thought: Who is the best young football player we’ve yet to introduce the readership to yet on this site?
This one came rather easily given what I had seen out of a certain freshman in the 2018 Georgia High School Association state playoffs. It also marks the first time I’ve written anything extensive about a prospect in the 2022 class.
The aim here is to make sure the first prospect blog post for every class is a very good one. Especially with a class that is still THREE seasons away from the time when they can first sign in the early period in December of 2021.
Deyon Bouie qualifies here. Rather easily.
He doesn’t have a single star yet for his 247Sports Composite rating. But that will be a moot point in the very near future.
His name (which is pronounced DAY-ON BOO-E) is already one to know for those with an interest in college recruiting in the South.
The Bouie HUDL reel intersects with the viewpoints of not one nor two but three different scouting assessments regarding the Bainbridge freshman ATH from this year.
For the purposes of a very brief story recap, let’s call them the Three Wise Men.
Those separate conversations were essentially a minor derivative of something like this.
DawgNation: Tell me what you have seen so far about this Bouie kid.
Wise Man #1: He’s really good. Especially to be so young. Good kid, too. He really competes.
DawgNation: Really? How good are we talking about here?
Wise Man #2: Everyone wants comparisons, right? If you have to have one, then just think of the best player you’ve seen from South Georgia. Think when you saw him in the ninth grade. This kid is as good as that guy in your mind was at that age. He can also play all over the field. (This gentleman then threw out a very very big player parallel just for the sake of making a comparison.)
DawgNation: That good, huh? You mean as good as (insert the name of a South Georgia great of your choice) at that position good?
Wise Man #3: Yeah, he is already hat good already as a freshman. I have no problems with saying that. Bouie is that good. You will be writing his name a lot over the next three years.
(End scene.)
So instead of saying this or that or hyping this young man up, I’ll do three things. I will not compare him to any of those South Georgia greats, though. He’s good enough to stand with his own name.
He was a shutdown corner this fall, but check out what he did with the ball in his hand at this “FBU” All-Star event earlier this month in Florida.
1) He has the potential to be a guy who is on the other side of those comparisons in years to come. He can be the first Deyon Bouie.
2) Share his 2018 freshman year HUDL highlight reel
3) Offer the normal Intel blog with “Smoke” from a recent conversation. Yep, the young man is already good enough to garner his own nickname AND a UGA offer.
Bouie has also picked up offers from FSU, Oregon and Tennessee of late. I’d have to think that a young DB prospect from Kirby Smart’s hometown of Bainbridge will be heavily recruited for years to come by the Bulldogs.
The next big thing? That offer list already reads like a big thing. Especially since he’s already been a key cog for a state championship team.
Getting to know Deyon Bouie after his freshman season
Deyon Bouie was offered by Georgia after his play in the GHSA state semifinals. Then he was offered again right after that thrilling overtime win against Warner Robins at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Needless to say, he had another big game.
Georgia support staffer Nick Williams is also from Bainbridge. I’m betting that those two might have something in common. Williams, now a recent UGA grad, has done a terrific job helping recruit defensive backs so far during his time with the program.
Bouie is pretty close to six feet tall on the growth chart. That is if he’s not right there already. He said he weighed right at 175 pounds when his Bearcats faced Warner Robins in the GHSA Class 5A state championship game.
Bouie had a collection of offers coming into that contest.
“Georgia, Tennessee, Oregon and Kent State are the only schools which have offered me right now,” Bouie told DawgNation. “But I would like to see Alabama, Florida and FSU offer me. All the Florida teams. I want all the teams from Florida to offer me.” (Note: FSU has offered since that conversation.)
Did he have a dream school growing up?
“Georgia,” he said. “They have offered me. They offered me last game in the semifinals.”
How did he feel about that offer from Georgia?
“I feel great about that offer,” Bouie said. “I just want more [offers] to come right now. That’s all.”
He felt that the Bulldogs will be in the chase for a long time with him. Why did they offer?
“They said because of my work ethic,” Bouie said.
Busy days up ahead for DawgNation on the recruiting beat
This is a busy time of year. The recruiting beat is in full swing with several all-star events across the Metro Atlanta area over the coming days.
- The work week for the Georgia Elite Classics began yesterday. That event continues to upgrade its offerings every December. The Elite Classic format will include a slew of practices sessions and games that will take place on Dec. 28 at McEachern High School.
- The format this year includes games for 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022 prospects. There is a new game this year called the “Brain Bowl” which showcases student-athletes who have displayed vast achievement in the classroom. The Elite Classic rosters feature a lot of talent on the 2021 and 2022 events, respectively.
- The Georgia Junior Bowl, which is commonly referred to as the Rising Seniors Bowl, also starts up with check-in and its first practices today. The event usually allows for media to visit with the players at check-in, but this year the first availability session will be after a 3 p.m. practice session. 5-star Georgia OT commitment Broderick Jones is one of the top players at that game.
- The Georgia Athletic Coaches Association All-Star football game also returns with its North-South format. Those events are now located in Metro Atlanta and will feature games for the 2019, 2020 and 2021 classes. Schley County DE Zykevious Walker, among many others. This is a good event that will get more of the attention it rightfully deserves by moving to the Atlanta area. The practice sessions for this event will take place at Blessed Trinity, Johns Creek and Roswell High Schools. The games will take place on Dec. 29 at Roswell High School.
That’s just for the All-Star events in Georgia. The Under Armour All-American Game welcomes its 2019 rosters on Dec. 29 and DawgNation will be there for that week.
We will also fly over to Texas for the All-American Bowl to also check in on the UGA commitments and remaining targets for that game, too.
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.