Tyler Booker: All-American OL releases his top 5 schools on his 17th birthday

Want to attack every day with the latest UGA football recruiting info? That’s what the Intel brings. This entry covers the top 5 schools just released by All-American OL Tyler Booker on his 17th birthday. 

Tyler Booker turned 17 years old today. The strapping 6-foot-5, 323-pound rising senior at IMG Academy ranks as the nation’s No. 5 OT prospect and No. 41 overall recruit on the 247Sports Composite for 2022.

He was hoping for a PlayStation 5 next-generation video game console from his loved ones. It was also impressive to see that he did get himself a present, too.

“That was the day I fell in love with football,” Booker said recently. “As soon as I was born, my Dad put a football in my little bed.”

Booker just “felt ready” to cut his list to five schools.

“I won’t be cutting off communication,” he said. “But I will just be focusing on these five schools and taking my officials to these five schools. I’m going to take an official to all of these schools.”

He will aim to knock out all five of these official visits in June. This is a wild timeline. It will have to require at least one midweek visit.

“It is going to be something,” he said. “There are going to be some days where I fly back to Connecticut. I will be home for literally hours and then be off to the next visit. Sometimes I will be home for a day and the next day I will be on to the next visit.”

Booker broke down with DawgNation why each school made that impressive list.

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Tyler Booker aims to knock out his five official visits in rapid-fire fashion and make his college decision sometime this summer. It wouldn’t be out of the question to expect it in July. (Jeff Sentell/DawgNation)

The top five schools for Tyler Booker

Booker said there is no leader among these five schools.

There’s more to it with Florida, though. The Gators show up because of their academic might. He said they were the one school that really catches his attention when it comes to the best degree fit.

“I’d say Florida because a regular student will need like a 4.2 (GPA) and a 1400 ACT to get in,” Booker said. “In order to be great, you must surround yourself with greatness. If I go to Florida, I would be surrounding myself with academic greatness and people that are going to be the future leaders of the world. So I’m really excited to build those relationships and make those connections.”

“That’s while I will be an athlete and building my brand and attaching myself to their brand. That’s just those two things really building together. The fact it is such a demanding school to get into and I will be able to still make those connections is really reassuring to me.”

How he feels about the opportunity in Gainesville: Booker said the depth chart with the Gators is highly favorable. It might even be the most favorable situation here where he can come play right away.

What else is there to know: We’ll cover more of this in a subsequent story, but the name, image and likeness details here to note with Florida are “very big” with Booker. He knows Florida is set to be the first state to see its name, image and likeness laws go into effect on June 1.

“I wouldn’t say it is a factor but it is just another bonus,” he said. “It is another plus to add to how I already feel about them.”

Oregon

Why did the Ducks get his second visit: Oregon is the one school that has caught some real late fire in his recruiting process. They’ve been coming up in his mind like Usain Bolt.

“I probably once thought I’d never give Oregon the time of day,” Booker said. “But then as I look at it the actual football aspect of the school really stands out. There are the connections I can make if I choose Oregon. The Nike headquarters isn’t too far away. I know I’m really going to make connections there so I can really set myself up as an athlete and then for life after football with everything I would be going through.”

How he feels about the opportunity with the Ducks: “It doesn’t hurt that their head coach is an offensive line-minded head coach in coach Mario Cristobal.”

Georgia

Why did the Bulldogs get his third visit: Booker laughed loudly at the thought the Bulldogs were the “old head” of his process. It fits. The Bulldogs have been there when he was just a kid from New Haven who was dreaming the NFL dream as a defensive lineman way back when.

The Bulldogs are the Old Testament program here. They were there in the beginning of his process and have never lost any footing as one of his top schools.

“I guess Georgia would be the ‘old head’ of my recruiting,” Booker said. “They have been on me since the beginning of freshman year. They were one of my first 10 offers.”

What else is there to know: There’s a good section below that will chronicle all the things to know about Georgia. But for just a taste, the Bulldogs are putting together another strong national recruiting class. He knows he would enhance an already robust class if UGA becomes his choice.

He also REALLY likes what Georgia has been doing of late recruiting a certain key position on the field.

Ohio State

How did the Buckeyes earn his fourth visit: “Ohio State is great for me because of the people in the building,” he said. “They are hard-nosed and I feel like an old-school type of program. When I mean old school, I mean they combine the old school with the new school. They have old-school values like you have to work hard no matter who you are. Another old school value is their tradition at Ohio State and just the people in the room for that program.”

“I’d be in the room with people that would make me have to work hard. I’d have to get bigger, stronger and faster and then they combine all of that with modern technology. Ohio State is ahead of the curve of other schools a little bit with the technology they use to be great at football to help improve players. That really means a lot to me, too.”

What else is there to know: Booker actually had a lot to say about the Buckeyes. His thoughts and feelings about Ohio State were as broad and detailed as any contender in his top group.

Alabama 

What is unique about how the Crimson Tide earned his last visit: “This is going to sound really ironic but ‘Bama I would say I guess I have the most questions about ‘Bama,” Booker said. “Because obviously, well I don’t want to call them a football factory. But they are pretty much a football factory. You go to ‘Bama and do what you are supposed to do and you ball out and start as a freshman then you will go in the first round.”

How he feels about the opportunity in Tuscaloosa: “I just know how ‘Bama is and wherever I go I want to be remembered for more than an athlete,” Booker said. “I have to see if there are opportunities for me to do so there at the University of Alabama.”

Tyler Booker said that Georgia and Ohio State are the two schools closest to his home location in Connecticut. Don’t expect distance from home to be a factor at all here. (Jeff Sentell/DawgNation)

Tyler Booker: A little “extra” something with UGA

What comes to his mind first when the Bulldogs pop up?

“I think about my legacy and the legacy that our class could have if I choose Georgia,” he said. “If I decide to go to Georgia, we’d end up having the number one class.”

There is also one other big thing, too.

“My Dad and I have spoken about his,” Booker said. “I’ve spoken about this with other coaches, too. The key to Georgia’s success is having elite quarterbacks. Getting elite quarterbacks. Keeping them. Capitalizing with the elite talent those quarterbacks have. We all know Georgia’s defense is going to be Georgia’s defense. That’s a known.”

“We all know Georgia’s defense is going to be one of the best defenses in college football. Now they have JT Daniels this year, they have Brock Vandagriff in the grade above me. Then they have Gunner Stockton in my class. Gunner is somebody who I think is one of the best quarterbacks in the nation right now. That’s very easy for me. That makes the goal of winning national championships at Georgia really clear.”

“It makes the possibility of seeing Georgia winning national championships even clearer.”

Tyler Booker is a very confident All-American prospect in the 2022 cycle. (Jeff Sentell/DawgNation)

Have you subscribed to the DawgNation YouTube channel yet? If so, you will be able to see special 1-on-1 interviews with Jake Fromm, Gunner Stockton and Brock Vandagriff. You will only be able to find it on the DawgNation YouTube channel. 

Tyler Booker spoke one thing into existence on his birthday

Booker also said no one school has the edge in a singular great recruiting relationship. Or even a pool of great relationships across a program.

“I feel like every school here has four or five really good assets for their cause,” he said. “I feel all of this recruiting really levels out at this stage. All of these schools are in constant contact with my family. That’s a really big part of how you get me.”

The school that recruits his parents the best will have an anchor position in his mind. William and Tashona Booker sound like they mean the world to him, but they also serve as his chief advisors.

“I regard my mother and my father as my highest of the highs,” he said. “I will take their opinion over a whole lot of other peoples. They have to be on board with wherever I go. Obviously, this is my own decision. This is me actually going to college so their opinion means so much to me. You have to recruit me and my family.”

Booker is a confident young man. He just doesn’t go too overboard with it. That’s why any depth chart pitches about favorable situations will not go very far with him.

He will make every situation favorable.

“Honestly, where ever I go I’m going to have to battle,” he said. “I’m going to have to work my tail off to start as a freshman which I will do. I’m speaking that into existence. Honestly, I’m the best offensive lineman in the county. I was one of the best offensive linemen in the country last year as well. I say that confidently. So I feel like where ever I go I will start in my freshman year.”

“The depth chart isn’t really a factor for me so I’m going to have to work regardless.”

Booker said on Monday he is not planning to visit any spring games at this time. It sounds like Miami, Penn State and Texas might garner some late consideration for an independent self-guided visit prior to June 1, too.

Those would be the sleeper schools here with any chances outside of his top group. That said, it will be very hard for that group to compete with the five power programs he selected for his official visits.

Tyler Booker is a confident prospect. Yet somehow that boldness comes across as more calculating and determined than anything else. (Jeff Sentell/DawgNation)

SENTELL’S INTEL

(the recent reads on DawgNation.com)