Satellite camp offers pair of UGA commits sneak preview of playing for the Bulldogs
UGA commit Netori Johnson left the satellite camp at Maynard Jackson High School, which was led by more than 20 coaches from Michigan and select UGA assistants, with homework.
School may be out for the summer, but Johnson still called that a “beautiful” situation.
He was referring to the unique wrinkle that allowed UGA offensive line coach Sam Pittman to lead both Johnson and fellow UGA commit Justin Shaffer through offensive line drills at the event.
“It was beautiful to me when I get there exactly who I am going to be coached by and how I am going to be coached,” Johnson said. “I don’t have to worry about him switching up on me. I already know what he is about. What he was about all the while he was been recruiting me before and after I committed to Georgia was the same man out here coaching me at this camp today.
“If I am not doing my job then he is going to be on my tail about it. If I need to get on it, then he is going to let me know and be on my tail about it. That’s what I like.”
Johnson said Pittman critiqued a couple of things he saw. He gave him constructive advice about his stance and where his hands should be. He critiqued where both UGA commits’ head and hands should be when engaged with a defender.
Shaffer had another takeaway.
“We got to continue to build that relationship with Coach Pittman in a different way today,” Shaffer said. “I got to see a glimpse of what four years with that man would be like. It is going to be good.”
The duo worked hard in the Atlanta heat on Thursday, but perked up when they were asked a question about the talent stacking up in Athens or on the way.
“Our 2016 class is so beautiful with three of those five-stars,” Johnson said. “This year man we are No. 6 (in the rankings right now) so apparently there is just something new and great right now about Georgia. It is a whole different atmosphere when I am down there compared to when Mark Richt was there. It is a whole different ballgame there in Athens now. I love it.”
The nearly 6-foot-4, 339-pounder said he is already on the clock working for Georgia.
“I am telling kids that they need to attend Georgia and become a Dawg,” Johnson said.
He shared the example Richard LeCounte III gave him. When he first met LeCounte at the Rising Seniors event, he was committed to Alabama. Yes, he was wearing a Georgia jacket when he first met LeCounte but he said he wasn’t digging the program much at the time.
He liked Georgia, but the program didn’t fit him like that comfortable jacket. LeCounte started to change that.
“I wasn’t digging them and I’ll never forget how Richard kept telling me that I was going to be a Dawg,” Johnson said. “When he told me that, I kept taking visits and eventually Richard got proven right. I had to make that happen. Now it is my turn to do that.”
Johnson said he was impressed by Harbaugh.
“I like my future head coach now (Kirby Smart) but you can’t help but notice how Harbaugh comes to work,” he said. “That man comes out on the field and takes it over with some real force. You know who he is and where he is. I liked that about him. He talked to me a couple of times today. He saw my hair. He most definitely liked my hair now.”
Recruits weren’t allowed to speak to their coaches. Anything lengthy outside of the normal camp setting would have been out of bounds.
“I definitely made sure I shook Kirby’s hand,” Johnson said. “That’s my Dawg right there. Kirby came in on that big yellow helicopter over that field (gesturing) and it was pretty. He left on that same helicopter and it was still beautiful. I saw him leave on that and I was like that’s my head coach right there. That’s how my coach does it like a Dawg. I didn’t see him at first when I saw a couple of Georgia coaches. I was like he’s not coming. But then when he got here, I knew that was him in that helicopter. I was like ‘Aw, man here comes by boy and my head coach’ to camp.’ ”
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. Unless otherwise indicated, player rankings and ratings are from the 247Sports Composite.
