SAN ANTONIO, Tex. — Tyrique Stevenson said he was all business today.
When it was time for his college decision reveal at the 2019 All-American Bowl, he made what he said was “a business decision.”
“It is a business decision,” he said. “I want to keep everything business. I wanted to be sure to thank both universities and whatever university I choose I want to just break out that hat, keep it simple and keep it straight to the point.”
He revealed Sunday at the 2019 All-American Bowl that he’s ready to go to work at Georgia.
Stevenson now publicly becomes the 22nd signee for the 2019 class at UGA. How does he fit in?
“I fit in great,” he said. “They lack corners. I can come in and be a big help to them.”
Stevenson was another ideal choice the Bulldogs wanted for the class of 2019. He’s another Bulldog in a stacked class that still rates as the nation’s No. 2 overall class on the 247Sports Composite team recruiting stands.
This decision now gives the Bulldogs six signees among the nation’s top 40 recruits for this cycle per the 247Sports composite ratings. That figure does not include two of the nation’s top 10 junior college prospects at that.
The Miami Southridge standout made the decision between the Bulldogs and the Miami Hurricanes.
He rates as the nation’s No. 4 cornerback prospect on the 247Sports composite rankings. That places him as the nation’s No. 38 overall prospect.
His choice adds another versatile defender to the class for the Bulldogs. The 6-foot-1.5, 200-pounder was a dynamic back-end defender for the 7-on-7 team championships at the Nike Opening finals earlier this summer in Texas.
What position will he play? Look for him to be deployed quickly at cornerback.
“Whatever they need really because I can play everything on the field,” Stevenson said this week in San Antonio. “Everything on the defensive side. Covering wise and everything. Whatever they need me to play, I will give it my 100 percent at it and play it.”
Stevenson made frequent visits to check out Georgia. He was there for the popular scavenger hunt event back in May.
The Miami Southridge product returned for Georgia’s big “The Reveal” event as well. That bond kept growing on those trips and maybe a few others that were not widely reported across the industry.
Georgia benefitted from a couple of key relationships. The first of those would be ace South Florida recruiter James Coley.
“The connection I have with Coach Coley is real,” Stevenson told DawgNation this summer. “He came down and we met and we actually connected. Then I came up for a camp and we just hung out. I got the vibe from him that he’s a real dude and he’s always going to keep his word with what he says.
“Then on top of that, they just signed one of my really good friends in Divaad Wilson. That was also what kind of woke me up about Georgia.”
Coley has deep ties in South Florida, given his time there as a high school coach. He built upon those relationships with his time on the staff at both Florida State and Miami. Wilson signed with Georgia out of Miami Northwestern in the class of 2018.
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He wears No. 7 for a very specific reason.
“My grandma has seven grandchildren and you know that’s always been my favorite number,” he said.
The Miami Southridge High student visited Miami’s campus many many times. He was committed to Florida for about eight months last year before he backed off that pledge last December.
He signed to play for Georgia back on Dec. 21. He is an early enrollee and will move to Athens next week.
“My mom and I feel like the earlier I get to college the better off I will be,” Stevenson said.
He lists the phrase “Dreamchaser” on his Twitter page. Those family connections are the reasons why.
When he was in the sixth grade, he formed a club of sorts with his friend Edward Foster, Foster’s brother and a few other kids.
“We always called ourselves ‘The Dreamchasers’ so when everyone else was always partying or messing around and not doing anything, we were always working out or going to wrestling practice. So we came up with that code name and then Meek Mill blew it up and we just took it on. We called ourselves ‘Young Dreamchasers’ and we’ve been calling ourselves that ever since.”
“Now, we’re not all that young anymore so we just called ourselves ‘The Dreamchasers’ with that.”
That won’t change.
“I’ll call myself an ‘Old Dreamchaser’ because I am going to chase my dreams every day of my life until I can’t no more.”
What matters to Tyrique Stevenson
His best days right now are those that include a workout, a practice and then just spending time at home with his family. When his mother cooks up those mac and cheese and baked beans, the day is pretty much perfect.
His highlight tape shows off the stuff of a very advanced player. He’s long. Big and physical. He fits the Georgia prototype of being hard-wired for contact.
He can move his feet and cover ground with two strides in a way that few players do.
The Stevenson reel will give the eyebrows a workout. His junior tape credits him with 4.44 speed.
It appears he brings that rare blend of aggression, length and quickness to the field. There are clear Jalen Ramsey and Patrick Peterson influences in his game, but he’s also quick to credit the work of his former teammates, Jamal Anderson and DJ Ivey, too.
Anderson signed with Florida International in December. Ivey was a freshman at Miami this fall.