Want to attack every day with the latest Georgia football recruiting info? That’s the Intel. This rep has the latest with Georgia’s 2023 recruiting class and priority targets after the latest rankings updates across the recruiting ranking industry.

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The recruiting industry has been busy reranking and evaluating the 2023 recruiting class over the last week.

That’s normal given the end of the 2022 season for high schools across the country.

There will be another final rankings evaluation after the postseason state All-Star games and state vs. state games along with the national All-American games in Florida and Texas.

When it comes to Georgia’s 2023 #KeepitGClass up to this point, we can point out some interesting developments for DawgNation to keep an eye on:

  • Georgia now only has one 247Sports Composite 5-star in its class with CB AJ Harris
  • Former 5-star (and recent UGA commit) Sam M’Pemba dropped to No. 36 nationally for 2023. He fell three spots in his 247SportsComposite rating, but also dropped 22 spots in his pure 247Sports rank. He’s now the nation’s No. 66 recruit for 247Sports. The Composite ranking is a blend of all his rankings across the national services, including the isolated 247Sports ranking.
  • Yet when it comes to the pure 247Sports rating, we see no change in the eval or Harris or the status for safety commitment Joenel Aguero. Harris remains the nation’s No. 2 CB and the No. 23 overall prospect. Aguero remains a 5-star for 247Sports. He’s the nation’s No. 2 safety and No. 32 overall.
  • The ‘Dawgs have some serious flex at the LB spot in their 2023 class. They now have the nation’s No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5 LB prospects committed in Raylen Wilson, Troy Bowles and CJ Allen, respectively.
  • LB commit CJ Allen is the nation’s No. 5 LB and the No. 78 overall prospect. He’s risen almost 30 spots on the composite scale this month. We heartily applaud this ranking as we have long felt that Allen has just as much upside, if not more, as any LB that Georgia will sign this cycle.
  • WR commit Tyler Williams continues to see his stock soar. He was one of the biggest risers in the latest update to the nation’s No. 14 WR and the No. 85 overall recruit. The Lakeland (Fla.) standout is now a Top 100 recruit and the eighth-highest-rated prospect in this Georgia class. This well-deserved rankings boost saw his status rise another 20 slots this week alone. His overall prospect ranking for this class has soared from No. 140 to No. 85 overall since November 23.
  • 4-star EDGE Gabe Harris saw his overall ranking increase another 12 spots to No. 88 overall. The 6-foot-4, 237-pound Harris will give the ‘Dawgs great positional flexibility across the front in the years to come. He could play outside and even cross-train at a 5-tech.
  • When his senior season began, legacy TE commitment Lawson Luckie was the nation’s No. 235 overall prospect. His rankings have steadily marched north with very good reason. The 6-foot-3.5, 234-pound senior is now the nation’s No. 147 overall recruit after another 25-spot increase in his national ranking this month.

Those were several standalone elements that stood out with the latest ranking updates, but there are a few more big-picture elements to keep track of here.

There are five developing storylines to follow closely to the wire for the 2023 Georgia football recruiting class.

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1) 4-star DT target Jordan “Big Baby” Hall is getting a lot of love from the national rankings

There is a significant ranking bump to note here for priority remaining target Jordan “Big Baby” Hall.

Hall is set to make his college announcement on Dec. 22.

That will be one day after the rest of the country will sign on the traditional first day of the early signing period on Dec. 21.

Hall, who now ranks as DawgNation’s No. 1 remaining target for the ‘Dawgs in the 2023 cycle, was also in Athens for his final official visit this past weekend.

The 6-foot-4, 310-pound senior at Westside High in Jacksonville now ranks as the nation’s No. 73 overall recruit. His national ranking has risen 47 points from the nation’s No. 120 overall recruit since Nov. 23.

2) 5-star EDGE Damon Wilson stands to be the highest-rated recruit that UGA can sign this year

It will come down to Georgia or Ohio State for Wilson.

Wilson and his Venice team will actually face Williams and his Lakeland team in the Florida 4S state championship game on Saturday in Fort Lauderdale.

There’s some strong hope that the ‘Dawgs have pulled this one out late with Wilson in their first big head-to-head fight with the Buckeyes this month.

The 6-foot-4, 230-pound senior is still rated as the nation’s No. 2 EDGE and the No. 13 overall. That’s his 247Sports Composite rating.

That said, we did notice that his pure 247Sports prospect ranking has dipped from No. 26 overall at the start of the season to No. 40 overall with the latest rankings update.

With what the ‘Dawgs signed on defense in 2022, the ability to pair M’Pemba and Wilson together in first-year OLBs coach Chidera Uzo-Diribe’s room seems almost unfair for offenses to have to deal with over at least the next three seasons.

3) If not Wilson, then 5-star TE Duce Robinson could potentially be the highest-rated 2023 UGA recruit

Arizona TE Duce Robinson remains the nation’s No. 1 TE and he’s still seen as a top 20 overall national recruit. The latest rankings updates have pegged him as the No. 17 overall recruit for 2023.

The 6-foot-6, 225-pound senior is an uncommon athlete that could also be selected within the first three rounds of the 2023 Major League First-Year Player Draft in the spring.

Robinson will not enroll early. He will play baseball in the spring for his Pinnacle (Ariz.) High School team. He has also stated he will not sign during the early period this month. The Robinson recruitment will dominate the headline as far as the remaining storyline for the 2023 Georgia football recruiting class in January.

4) Alabama still has the nation’s No. 1 class and a lead on UGA after another 5-star commit this week

Alabama picked up the commitment of the nation’s No. 1 EDGE prospect this week in 5-star Keon Keeley. That gives the Tide a trio of 5-star commits, 21 prospects with a 4-star ranking and 25 overall commitments.

That’s two more than the ‘Dawgs. The Keeley commitment also increased the Alabama lead for the nation’s No. 1 class on the 247Sports Team Composite rankings from 314.22 to 301.49 on Georgia at this time.

As it stands now, the Bulldogs would need commitments from those two 5-star prospects in Robinson and Wilson plus Hall to overtake the Tide for the nation’s No. 1 class.

That would be if the Tide doesn’t add any more big names. Look for Alabama to add at least a couple more 5-star prospects to its 2023 class, too.

The ‘Dawgs could be seen as the team to beat for all three of those talented young men and there is also the remaining decision for a few more major targets in 4-star DL Sydir Mitchell (Texas), 4-star CB Daniel Harris (undecided), 4-star TE Walker Lyons (undecided) and 3-star ATH Kyron “KJ” Jones (NC State) to think about when considering the potential remaining close for this 2023 class.

This class will close out well in the remaining eight weeks of the cycle. It certainly feels like the Bulldogs will finish no worse than No. 2 nationally when all the papers are in for this class.

5) Juggernaut defensive haul plus several explosive WRs shape the overall read on this class

This class will amplify the defensive strength that the Bulldogs have been known for under Kirby Smart. That’s the early 10,000-feet above-ground way to look at what UGA will sign in 2023.

The LB haul is amazing, but the ‘Dawgs also have a cornerstone defensive building block on the way in North Carolina 4-star noseguard Jamaal Jarrett. What the ‘Dawgs do on defense is based upon a defensive anchor like the 6-foot-5, 350-pound Jarrett will be in the middle.

While looking at this class as it stands right now, the ‘Dawgs have put together a class in which six of the seven highest rated-prospects will play on the defensive side. The Bulldogs are especially stout at all three levels on defense with a lean toward the DB and LB spots in this class.

If the Bulldogs do sign both M’Pemba and Wilson in this class, they will have also checked off two very big needs for elite pass rushers in this class.

The TE class on offense will also be the envy of the nation if the ‘Dawgs can wind up with the nation’s No. 1, No. 3 and No. 8 prospects at that position with Robinson, Spurlin and Luckie, respectively. There is also the chance for the ‘Dawgs to close with the nation’s No. 5 TE in California prospect Walker Lyons.

Lyons will serve at least one year of his LDS mission in 2023. If he does sign with UGA, then it will be for the 2024 season at the earliest.

There is also an abundance of playmakers and speed at the wide receiver position. That group is currently highlighted by Williams, but 4-star Raymond Cottrell has a nice all-around game. He’s ranked among the nation’s top 150 overall prospects.

Receivers coach Bryan McClendon also looks to have added a robust amount of speed at that position even without considering Cottrell and Williams here. 4-stars Anthony Evans III and Yazeed Haynes have world-class speed capable of clocking high 4.3 laser times in the 40.

Perhaps the only thing left to say about the way this class is coming down the track is to note the players that Georgia missed out on so far in the 2023 cycle. The ‘Dawgs lost a head-to-head recruiting battle with Texas for 5-star QB prospect Arch Manning and did not attempt to pursue another QB in this class.

There is also the sting of seeing two in-state 5-star prospects in safety Caleb Downs and legacy RB Justice Haynes committed to Alabama. Both are expected to sign with the Tide next week.

Those two are special players. They will show up in some very big Alabama vs. Georgia battles to come in the future. There’s no other way to slice that.

The other way to look at the way this class has come together is to chalk up those impactful losses in this cycle and also see the ‘Dawgs still have the nation’s No. 2 recruiting class by a comfortable margin. That’s without a single QB prospect in this class.

That’s some elite recruiting. No matter who the ‘Dawgs have missed out on in this cycle.

Have you subscribed to the DawgNation YouTube channel yet? If so, you will be able to see special 1-on-1 content with 2023 commits CJ Allen, AJ Harris and Jamaal Jarrett.

SENTELL’S INTEL

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