UGA leads for a pair of 4-star teammates who say they are a package deal
DawgNation Staff
@jeffsentellBrunswick High School in Coastal Georgia could soon be known as a UGA pipeline. The Class of 2017 features two four-star prospects from that school who both have UGA as their leader.
They are raw but promising in 6-foot-6 offensive tackle D’antne Demery and speedy receiver Shawn Smith. The fact that UGA leads seems pretty logical considering what else Smith has to say.
“We’re a package deal,” he told DawgNation this week at Rising Seniors practices, which features many of Georgia’s top high school juniors. “We’re going to go to the same school and that’s been the plan for awhile.”
Those two have kept UGA as their leader with Mark Richt as the head coach and with Kirby Smart taking over. UGA recruiting director Todd Hartley came to Brunswick after the transition to Smart and told both Brunswick prospects their offers to UGA were still on the table.
UGA leads for the 6-foot-1, 168-pounder, followed by Kentucky and Florida.
“I’m from Georgia and I want to keep it in state and I want to take my talents to Georgia and keep it in my home state,” said Smith, who also plans to enroll early.
Demery says UGA is still recruiting him the hardest. He hasn’t heard from Smart yet, but also spoke with Hartley. Clemson is his No. 2 school at this time and Auburn follows next. He plans to visit Tennessee sometime soon, but confirmed Smith’s take that they are a package.
“Georgia has a sizable lead,” Demery said. “Party of that reason is my high school coach used to coach (current UGA freshman) Roquan Smith and I talk to him all the time. He keeps me up-to-date on Georgia and tells me the program is still going strong despite all the changes.”
There’s another thread to pay attention to with Demery and Smith. Deejay Dallas, another 4-star prospect from Glynn Academy in Brunswick, was committed to UGA but backed off that after Smart was hired.
Dallas told DawgNation.com on Sunday evening he also considered himself a package deal with Smith. There’s a family bond there between the two cousins.
“I know that Deejay still has a lot of love for Georgia in his heart there,” Smith said. “I think he just committed too early and is now going to sit back and take his time. All three of us planning on playing on the same team, but we are just all trying to make sure we see everything that is going on right now after all these changes.”
Jeff Sentell covers UGA football and UGA recruiting for AJC.com and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Follow him on Twitter for the latest on who’s on their way to play Between the Hedges.