How does nation’s No. 5 strongside DE Antonio Alfano feel about UGA?
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 offering tonight focuses on 4-star SDE target Anthony Alfano. Is he trending to Alabama? Where does UGA fit in here?
Antonio Alfano took his second unofficial visit to UGA this past weekend.
The nation’s No. 58 overall prospect (247Sports Composite) will be at the Penn State spring game this weekend. He also got the chance to visit Nick Saban in Tuscaloosa while he was on a quick Southern swing.
Chris Kirschner of SEC Country reported on Alfano’s visit to see the Crimson Tide. His account is that it went very well. He felt that the Crimson Tide would be in excellent shape to eventually sign him.
Alfano told Kirschner that Alabama would be one of his finalists. But he also said UGA will be, too.
Great talk with Coach Smart! pic.twitter.com/m08b8NT9Vf
— Antonio Alfano (@Antonioalfano99) April 15, 2018
What were the main differences he saw between Alabama and Georgia?
“Honestly, there aren’t many differences between them,” Alfano said. “Coach [Kirby] Smart took a lot of stuff and learned a lot of his methods from Coach Saban. Coach Smart is kind of building the same thing that Coach Saban has at Alabama. I didn’t get to hang out with the players at Georgia, so I didn’t get to see it from that aspect like Alabama, but Georgia is pretty cool.”
What sort of shot do the Bulldogs have here with the nation’s No. 5 strongside DE prospect on the 247Sports composite standard?
Alabama positioned itself well with Alfano because he got the chance to interact with several Crimson Tide players on his visit. He didn’t have that same opportunity at UGA.
“The main thing that was different about this trip was getting to spend time with the players,” Alfano told Kirschner. “I got to see how they bonded with each other and saw the brotherhood they have with one another. I went out with them with Saturday night. We hung out in the dorms and played video games.”
The competition will not matter to Antonio Alfano
Alfano stated the Tide told him he was the No. 1 ranked player on their board. The players also gave it to him straight.
“From talking with the guys, they just told me that it’s not easy there,” Alfano said. “I am not expecting it to be easy. But if you buy into what they’re doing, you’re going to go really far with the program that Alabama has. Alabama is a very successful program, so there’s no doubt in my mind if I go there that we would win a natty.”
The New Jersey native doesn’t expect his college grind to be easy. He knows it will be laborious whether he winds up at Alabama or UGA or somewhere else.
“I’m not running away from schools that have depth on the defensive line because I like competition,” Alfano said. “It makes you work harder. I’m not running away from competition, but at the same time, it is good to get on the field as a freshman. But what I am looking for in a school is that brotherhood and bond and knowing those guys are going to have my back.”
The Bulldogs are recruiting him to play all along their defensive line at both end and tackle.
“I am one of the top guys they want in this class,” Alfano said when asked about the message from UGA. “They basically told me a lot of similar things that Alabama did. They have a lack of defensive linemen and they would really like to have me on campus.”
RELATED: Recon mission? DL priority Derick “Rambo” Hunter previews his G-Day visit
What Antonio Alfano likes about UGA
The academic culture in Athens stood out to him.
“I really like the academics at Georgia,” Alfano said. “Their academic center is really nice. They really help players graduate there. I like their downtown area a lot. Downtown Athens is really nice. Coach Smart is a really cool guy. I like talking to him. He has a lot of energy, which is something I really like.
His decision will be made by August 1. That’s what he relayed to SEC Country. He wants to make his decision within that time frame because he doesn’t want to lose a spot in the class at one of his desired schools.
He also wants to protect himself against injury. If he gets hurt during his senior year, he knows he will have already committed to an ideal choice.
When he makes that decision, that will be it. He will be “locked in” and the only official visit he will take will be to his future team. He will take just one official visit.
As stated earlier, both Alabama and UGA will be finalists.
“They are the best of the best and offer great things for me,” Alfano told SEC Country. “They can help me develop as a person and as an athlete.”
But then it goes beyond that.
“They offer a lot of great things after football,” Alfano said. “They are also giving me if not the most attention, then two of the schools that are recruiting me the hardest. You can’t go wrong with the finalists in the national championships. You can’t go wrong with either one.”
Alfano is a quarter-inch shy of the 6-foot-5 mark. He weighed in at 278 pounds on his visits.
What do I think about all of this? The Bulldogs have a shot, but they might just wind up with the silver medal here.
This recruitment does go beyond that, though. It shows that the 2017 season has allowed the program to have a national tug with prospects like Alfano in 2019 and 5-star G-Day visitor Bryan Bresee in the class of 2020.
G-Day guest list forming up
DawgNation has been running a G-Day RSVP list in a few blogs and also on the Monday “Before the Hedges” show for the last few weeks now.
We’ve also just assembled a working list on the DawgNation.com message board. Consider that to be an early look at some content that will be showing up on the site on Friday.
4-star WR Mycah Pittman also confirmed he will be in Athens this weekend for G-Day. That’s a significant cross-country visit for the son of former NFL player Michael Pittman.
Pittman, who rates as the nation’s No. 8 WR for this cycle, picked up his UGA offer on May 1. But he quickly put the Bulldogs in his top 10 shortly thereafter.
The California resident told DawgNation that UGA has a legit shot. A lot of the recruiting industry already thinks that Florida is the team to beat. Pittman said he wants to move away from the West Coast to attend college.
It will be his first trip to see UGA. He said that “great coaches” and a “winning tradition” is what sticks out to him about the chance to play for the Bulldogs.
Check out his Hudl highlight film below.
Tackles like Xavier Truss will be big for UGA in 2019
Rhode Island resident Xavier Truss ranks as the nation’s No. 13 OT on the 247Sports composite for 2019. He’s a top 100 overall player nationally.
RELATED: Question of the Day projects what the top targets are for UGA at tackle
He got the chance to attend a Georgia recruiting event back in February. It was one of several intimate events for rising seniors. Truss spent two days in Athens.
Truss already knows that UGA will be one of his official visits.
What did he like about the trip?
“I loved the visit and everything about it,” Truss said. “The energy I got from everyone on campus and all the players and coaches was like no other.”
His interest in UGA will definitely be something to monitor going forward. The 6-7 1/2, 350-pounder is definitely a name to consider regarding the top targets for the program at tackle for 2019.
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.
