Recent offer to 4-star Dutchtown DB Trey Dean might pay off with a big-time talent
Want a daily lap through Georgia football recruiting? That’s what the Intel will bring at least three days a week until August. We’ll cover the news and which way this 4-star or 5-star might lean plus add some perspective to help fans figure out what it all means.
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When DawgNation spoke to Trey Dean back in December, he had a few important guideposts that he planned to shape his recruiting.
The Dutchtown standout wanted to make his decision by April. Florida was the first program to offer. That should say a lot. The coach who was checking out those DBs for the Gators just got snatched up by the Washington Redskins to coach their secondary.
Dean had close to 30 offers at that time but didn’t have all the options he was hoping for.
He also listed three “dream” offers: Alabama, Florida State and Georgia.
The 4-star standout is rated as the nation’s No. 25 safety at this time. The 6-foot-2, 180-pounder checks in as the nation’s No. 292 overall player.
When the Bulldogs did, the tweet he authored to share that news caught a lot of eyes.
I want Thank GOD🙏🏾 for allowing me to be offered by Georgia ‼️🏈🔴⚪️⚫️🔴⚪️⚫️@ChadSimmons_ @RivalsWoody @DemetricDWarren @HamiltonESPN pic.twitter.com/8Mtb9YOPFc
— Trey Dean (@__TD3) February 11, 2017
Folks can read into that, but they shouldn’t get carried away. Dean will tweet out similar phrasing for every offer he gets. He’s just very spiritual and a well-grounded kid.
He shared his thoughts on the UGA offer with DawgNation shortly after he got that offer.
That conversation will yield a lot more perspective than a simple tweet. Dean said he’s now backed up his recruiting timeline. That was going to happen even before UGA came to the table.
“I was very excited by that offer,” Dean said. “I’ve been communicating with Georgia for a long time,” he said. “That’s my home state school. It is a great school all-around with what I want to do academically. My major is business administration. I was very excited because I knew it was coming soon but I was just being patient and letting the recruiting process play itself out.”
Georgia defensive coordinator Mel Tucker made that offer.
“When he offered me, I really just looked up afterward into the sky and said ‘Thank you God’ because that was an offer I was really striving for along with a couple more,” he said.
Alabama has offered. FSU has yet to check off his remaining trifecta of dream options.
What does the offer mean to his process? He had a very business-like answer to that.
“I’m going to take my visits and I’m probably going to put out a Top 15 in the next two weeks,” Dean said. “Then the week after that I will put out my Top 10 and then from there I will take it on in.”
Dean said that Georgia would “no doubt” make that Top 15 and even his Top 10. He said the Bulldogs are “definitely prominent” among the schools which are recruiting him the hardest.
His Twitter bio reveals what he’s looking for. It contains the phrases “Books before ball” and “God before all” among the short caption.
He made a 21 on the ACT and a 1020 on the SAT and also carries a 3.5 grade-point average. Dean replied with “Most definitely” when asked if he was already qualified to sign scholarship papers.
Which school fits what he is looking for academically the best? It sounded like Georgia was an ideal fit for what he’s looking in pursuit of his degree. hat’s going to come before his thoughts on “walking down” those slot receivers and running backs.
With Dean, that’s going to come before his thoughts of the best team to “walk down” those slot receivers and running backs.
The rising senior hopes to wear the No. 1 jersey in college.
Other schools in pursuit
Dean still hears a lot from Florida and UCLA. Those two programs were on him from the jump. He’s also hearing a lot from Oregon, too.
He plans to take an unofficial visit to UGA this weekend. That trip could be seen as one of those fact-finding missions in order for him to whittle down his 35-plus offers to that Top 15 and Top 10 that he’s hoping to get to over the next month.
Dean said that he has a great vibe with a lot of the coaches that are recruiting him, but he specifically mentioned his recruiting contacts at Oregon and South Carolina. That would be safeties coach Keith Heyward for the Ducks.
South Carolina defensive coordinator Travaris Robinson has been the contact recruiting him to play in Columbia.
Trey Dean’s skill set
That young man is going to leap up those ratings once the recruiting industry gets a good look at him over the next five months. Dean was a no-doubt Top 5 player at the Rising Seniors event this past December.
He checks off every skill set imaginable for a talent in the secondary. Dean has the requisite size and length but also has considerable foot speed and agility. can shadow a receiver when asked to, but he can also make the plays that deserve their own emoji when flying up the run game.
The Dutchtown standout can shadow a receiver when asked to, but will also make plays which deserve their own emoji when flying up in run support.
“Georgia just told me they like how versatile I am,” Dean said. “They think I can be a big corner or a physical safety. They like my speed and told me that I can run just as fast as a dude who is four or five inches shorter than me. They said they like how I can ‘walk down’ anybody in the country and also take down the biggest running backs.”
“Walk down” essentially means get on one’s horse. That’s what NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders used to do to limit explosive plays from going all the way to paydirt.
“They said they liked my all-around game and how versatile I am and that I can fit into any scheme that they put out there,” Dean said.
He’s exactly that. UGA and all the elite programs want their defensive backs to fit a Swiss Army secondary.
Everyone has all the tools. That would remove the need for specialization or the mass substitutions required to stay in step with hurry-up offenses.
The prototype would be guys like Dean: A big DB with great length that can cover, hit, run and tackle.
“Those are the corners that can hit like a safety and play as the nickel,” Dean said. “That is what they all want. To me, the nickel is the most important position even in the NFL and with college. Those safeties that can move down and play in the slot at corner is what everyone is looking for.”
Dean’s height has not been exaggerated to maximize college interest. He’s about a half-inch shy of the 6-foot-3 mark right now.
Big visit coming up this weekend
Georgia will host another big “Junior Day” event this weekend. That continues the trend that was established last weekend. The recruiting for the Bulldogs essentially never stops.
Virginia ILB Teradja Mitchell will be one of the biggest targets in town. The 4-star prospect from the talent-rich Tidewater region is rated as the nation’s No. 1 ILB for the upcoming cycle and as the No. 27 overall prospect in 2018.
Georgia has already made his Top 11. FSU is seen as the team to beat, but the Bulldogs can make a big push for Mitchell this weekend.
Mitchell — plus the recent commitment from South Florida 3-star Donovan Georges — would close out the needs for Georgia at that position for 2018.
Alabama, Clemson, LSU and Ohio State are also no doubt strong contenders for Mitchell, along with home state Virginia Tech.
T O P 1 1 ‼️ pic.twitter.com/QXqBzXEOub
— Teradja Mitchell ™ (@WhosThatNumber7) February 2, 2017
