Want to attack every day with the latest UGA recruiting info? That’s what the Intel brings at least five days a week. The play sheet Monday calls for a birds-eye view of a few trends that are emerging already for Georgia’s Class of 2019. 

The eyes are on the horizon for UGA recruiting when it comes to the Class of 2019. The Bulldogs have seven commitments and hold a 167.13-151.64 edge on Miami for the nation’s top recruiting class. The Hurricanes, fueled by the strength of their nine 3-star commits, are bearing down on the top spot.

That race still has a lot of track left to go. The better topic for this edition of the Intel is to try to pick up any hints as to what the class will look like. We can look at the level of offers that the Bulldogs are making along the recruiting trail and follow those data points. They show what the Georgia staff has identified as areas of needs in the Class of 2019.

Before we probe forward, it helps to see exactly what the Bulldogs have done so far under Kirby Smart.

Check out these position-by-position recaps of what the positions the Bulldogs have recruited since Smart’s first class in 2016. We will trim the players from those signing classes who no longer are with the team from our findings.

The class recaps maintained by 247Sports allow us to bring research to this exercise, but we are going to dial in a few elements here. For example, Charlie Woerner was rated as the nation’s No. 25 receiver in 2016, but he’s always been a tight end at UGA. The example set by 5-star Mecole Hardman also refines our thinking. Hardman was recruited as an athlete, spent his freshman season at cornerback but then moved to receiver in 2017. He’s classified as a receiver in the following data tables.

The same goes for players at other positions as well.

Position201620172018
Offense
QB111
RB212
WR342
TE202
T032
G222
C101
K000
Totals111112
Defense 2016 2017  2018
DT303
DE110
OLB124
ILB131
CB044
S041
P101
Totals71414
Overall class total182526

Why just the last three classes, you say?

There will be holdovers from Mark Richt’s last two singing class in Athens this fall. There look to be two potential starters from 2014 ― Lamont Galliard, Kendall Baker ― who remain on the 2018 roster. That number  expands to five likely starters or heavy contributors ― Terry Godwin, Jonathan Ledbetter, Natrez Patrick, D’Andre Walker and Deandre Baker ― among the approximate 16 holdovers from the Class of 2015.

Smart’s first three classes are by and large the ones that still will have viable eligibility in 2019.

What does the recruiting picture look like for 2019 then? 

Georgia fired off 295 scholarship offers over the last cycle along the way to the nation’s top-rated recruiting class for 2018.

The staff sent out offers to 49 receivers among that lot, including another 38 to cornerbacks, 35 to defensive ends and another 31 offers to defensive tackles.

Just by looking at the tables, we can see what the needs look like for 2019.

  • QB: 1
  • RB: 0-1
  • WR: 3
  • TE: 2
  • T: 2-3
  • G: 1-2
  • C: 0
  • K: 0
  • DE: 3
  • DT: 3
  • OLB: 2
  • ILB: 3
  • CB: 2
  • S: 2
  • P: 0
  • Total: At least 24

Those seem to be the likely totals for 2019, still with room for the best available player in the class, whether a running back, outside linebacker or cornerback. Of course, these are not the actual numbers but rather the best guess for what the class will look like in 2019, given everything we’ve shared so far in this blog.

Does this hold up so far in real life? Here’s a look at what the offer totals look like across those varied positions so far for 2019.

  • QB: 10 (5 dual-threats, 5 pro-style)
  • RB: 9
  • WR: 28 (already with a pair of 5-star commits)
  • TE: 5 (already with a 4-star commit)
  • T: 22 (already with a 4-star commit)
  • G: 7
  • C: 1
  • K: 0
  • DE: 33 (both strongside and weakside)
  • DT: 15
  • OLB: 14 (already with a 5-star commit)
  • ILB: 2 (already with a 4-star commit)
  • CB: 18 (already with a 4-star commit)
  • S: 11
  • ATH: 16
  • Total: 191

It is interesting to immediately note how heavily the Bulldogs are recruiting at the defensive end and cornerback positions so far prior for 2019. The numbers at wide receiver and tackle on the offensive side of the ball also indicate a trend.

That the Bulldogs are only 110 offers away from surpassing the total offers for 2018 is telling. It seems clear that the Bulldogs are casting a wider net across the nation for its 2019 class.

Offers by state:

  • Florida:  45
  • Georgia: 37
  • Texas: 27
  • Mississippi: 10
  • California: 9
  • Louisiana: 9
  • Alabama: 7
  • Virginia: 7
  • North Carolina: 6
  • Michigan: 5
  • Tennessee: 4
  • South Carolina: 3
  • Ohio: 3
  • Kansas: 2
  • Kentucky: 2
  • Oklahoma: 2
  • Washington, D.C: 1
  • 12 other states: 1 each

Miss any Intel? The DawgNation recruiting archive will get you up to speed just as fast as former Georgia All-American linebacker Roquan Smith found the ball after the snap.