Want to attack every day with the latest Georgia football recruiting info? That’s what the Intel will bring at least five days a week. The play sheet today calls for checking in with one of the most probable names to fill out the 2018 class in Texas 4-star wide receiver Tommy Bush.
Tommy Bush Jr. has taken official visits to Nebraska, Michigan State and Georgia so far. He is in Florida this week for the Under Armour All-American Game event.
He told SEC Country’s Hale McGranahan that he was only considering about three schools right now. Well, at least seriously.
Georgia is one of those three schools. What will be the main thing (ahem) regarding his eventual choice?
“It is a huge decision about that,” Bush said. “My family and I have been talking about how big of an impact I can make. Not starting as a freshman, but over time. The main thing is to see if I can be comfortable there. If football doesn’t work out for me, then I have to be able to stay at the school and be comfortable with that staff.”
Baylor, Ole Miss and Notre Dame are in the mix for his final two officials. Michigan State clearly impressed Bush on his official visit. He was there for the Penn State game.
“The atmosphere was great,” Bush said. “It is not the biggest stadium or anything but you can just feel the energy just watching the game.”
Baylor would be the local pull for the Texas resident.
“Baylor is just a school itself where if football doesn’t work out, that is a place that I have always kind of liked,” Bush said. “If anything doesn’t work out on the field, then that is the place to go.”
Bush hinted at a timeline that might have him committing a couple of weeks before the previous traditional signing day on Feb.7.
The continued pull for Georgia with Tommy Bush
Georgia hosted Tommy Bush for an official visit last month. The big attraction to Bush is his size and speed. Georgia does not have a wealth of receivers with his size on the depth chart. The 6-foot-4.5 target ranks as the nation’s No. 37 prospect at wide receiver for this cycle on the 247Sports Composite.
Bush wanted to make the trip earlier in the month, but snowfall stopped his route. He returned the following weekend for the trip.
Has any of the goodwill front that impressive visit faded?
“I feel pretty good about them,” Bush said. “I took an unofficial there before and so that official just kind of confirmed that we really did like [Georgia] a lot.”
Bush told McGranahan that he had heard from the UGA staff out in California.
“They have made me a priority,” Bush said. ‘They are not necessarily rushing me, but the spots are filling up so you have to make sure that you know what you want to do.”
If there is any pressure, he said it will not bother him. He will be able to figure out what he wants to do with his choice this month.
Georgia will be right there.
“They are successful and they have a bright future,” Bush said. “They have a great team there. It is just a place that you have to consider. Georgia is a great place to go.”
Georgia’s run to the Rose Bowl this season has caught his attention.
“I had a feeling about Georgia regardless, but this season has kind of helped it a little bit,” Bush said. “It has boosted it. It actually shows on the field.”
Bush later compared a few of his favorites and surmised the Bulldogs with the following point: “Georgia, overall, you can just tell it is going to be a successful program no matter what.”
Recapping the first few downs of All-American week
There’s a lot going on right now in the recruiting world. DawgNation is out in Pasadena for the College Football Playoff semifinal with Oklahoma. That said, there are concurrent All-American games going on with the Army game in Texas and the Under Armour event in Florida.
We’ll get out to those later in the week, but here are a few links I wanted to make sure everyone was aware of.
There are some out there who feel that 5-star cornerback Tyson Campbell has leaned toward Miami over the last few months, but this blog has not been in that lot. When the Campbell topic comes up on DawgNation Daily with Brandon Adams, I’ve been quick to point out there is a lot of hope there with Georgia adding another 5-star to its 2018 class.
That would make seven for 2018.
- Steve Wiltfong of 247Sports spoke with Campbell on the Army All-American check-in day Sunday and he had an interesting interview. He even predicted the Bulldogs to win the national title this month. Campbell will take his official visit to UGA next month. Wiltfong even stated that he was close to flipping his crystal ball pick from Miami to Georgia. Alabama, Clemson, Miami and UGA sound like his finalists.
- There have been no words coming from 4-star linebacker target Quay Walker at the Under Armour All-American game. The Clinch County standout has declined all interview requests up to this point. He’s committed to Alabama, but the feeling there is Georgia — and then to some extent, Tennessee — would still be in it.
- Chad Simmons of Rivals.com shared an interesting report on 5-star junior running back Owen Pappoe. Pappoe told Simmons that he has hit the brakes on his recruiting to some extent in 2018. Pappoe felt that the coaching changes at Nebraska were enough to drop that program from his top 3. Simmons reports that a decision is no longer imminent for Pappoe. Clemson and Georgia are his top two schools, followed by Alabama and Auburn. He does plan to visit Jeremy Pruitt at Tennessee this month.
Trezmen Marshall names his Top 3
Remember the name Trezmen Marshall? Clinch County? Does that ring a chapel bell?
Marshall is the 4-star linebacker who told DawgNation that he was set to commit to Georgia prior to the season. He was ready to commit to the Bulldogs so he could play with his former high school teammate, Chauncey Manac, among other reasons.
But then Manac transferred. That caused Marshall to step back and re-survey his options.
Marshall named his top 3 over the weekend and also noted that he planned to commit soon. How soon is soon? Well, that is all relative in today’s world.
Marshall is one of Georgia’s three primary targets for the Class of 2019 at inside linebacker. JD Bertrand was one of those, but he has already committed to play for Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs.
The other is a player you might have heard of. That’s 5-star inside linebacker Owen Pappoe. Pappoe currently ranks as the nation’s No. 1 OLB for 2019 and as the No. 5 player overall on the 247Sports Composite.
Pappoe has really taken an interest in UGA over the last 3-4 months. The staff has told him that he will slide inside and play ILB if he chose to play for Georgia.
Marshall also ranks as the nation’s No. 4 ATH and the nation’s No. 52 overall prospect on that same scale. He’s rated as an athlete because he’s played on both sides of the ball for Hawkinsville, including a lot of reps in his career at QB.
Let’s review where he was back in the summer.
“I swear I was about to commit to Georgia like two or three days afterward,” Marshall said. “I was all set to commit and thought everybody was joking when they said that. For real. I even called Chauncey and said I was just fixing to commit, too.”
That never happened.
“I was planning to commit to Georgia, but then Chauncey Manac left, so that threw me off a little bit,” said Marshall, who will take an unofficial visit to UGA this weekend. “I was like, ‘I might need to hold on and rethink about it,’ so Georgia was my top school. But now it is like borderline with my whole top 6. It could be any one of them. I don’t know yet. I have to do a lot of research and stuff.”
Glenn Schumann recruits him for the Bulldogs. It was initially his area recruiter, Kevin Sherrer, who took the point in his recruiting, but Marshall asked to be recruited by his potential future position coach.
He aspires to major in communications. He said he wants to become a broadcaster covering the NFL or the SEC after his playing days are up.
Recruiting looks way ahead, so let’s really fast forward
If you haven’t noticed, the present-day status of the Bulldog program looks … ahem … quite rosy. Those who feel that Georgia won’t get a chance to play in the Rose Bowl again for quite some time are right.
Well, sort of.
It won’t be 75 years, but maybe that sextet of 5-stars that the Bulldogs have already signed for 2018 can give the program a big push to return to College Football Playoff when the venue returns to Pasadena.
That will not be the year 2093. Not even close.
- 2018 semifinal venues: Cotton and Orange (Dec. 29, 2018)
- 2019 championship: San Francisco-Oakland Bay area (Jan. 7, 2019)
- 2019 semifinal venues: Peach and Fiesta (Dec. 28, 2019)
- 2020 national championship site: (New Orleans, Jan. 13, 2020)
- 2020-2021 semifinal venues: Rose and Sugar (Jan. 1, 2021)
- 2021 national championship site: Miami-South Florida area (Jan. 11, 2021)
- 2022 national championship site: Indianapolis (Jan. 10, 2022)
- 2023 national championship site: Los Angeles (Jan. 9, 2023)
Needless to say, those that are in Pasadena today will not be breaking out those credit cards for a return trip anytime soon. At least not until 2021.
The only members of the current squad that might return to Pasadena are the redshirt freshmen. That would be in their senior seasons.
Miss any Intel? The DawgNation recruiting archive will get you up to speed just as fast as Georgia All-American LB Roquan Smith can find the football after the snap.