Raylen Wilson: The freshman LB with unreal GPS numbers and a home-cooked recipe for greatness

You’ve reached the second installment of a DawgNation spring series featuring the “Next Generation” of Georgia football players from the 2023 signing class. 5-star Raylen Wilson ranks as the nation’s No. 3 LB and the No. 27 overall prospect for 2023 on the 247Sports Composite ratings. On3 has him as the No. 4 LB and the No. 29 overall player on its Industry Ranking scale.

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As far as football players go, Raylen Wilson is a top-of-the-line European sports car.

The acceleration. The handling. Zero to sixty in what? There’s the aerodynamic frame and the way it just eats up ground.

The freshman early enrollee sports a few features fit for the 2025 prototype Georgia linebacker, but let’s not get distracted by all of that.

The real brilliance is under the hood.

Wilson spent about a week in Athens prior to his time at the Under Armour All-American Game week in Florida. He was a part of the Peach Bowl practices leading up to the thrilling comeback win against Ohio State.

That’s when he not only learned something about himself and the university he chose to play for.

Wilson was in a Georgia highlight video before he played a game for Georgia. Flashing through a social media post covering one of Georgia’s talented tight ends.

“I had to cover Oscar Delp in a goal-line period,” Wilson said. “It was actually very fun and competitive. Because I’m a competitive person. It is like I haven’t been around people like me my whole life.”

“Now I’m talking about football. People with the same mindset as me when it comes to football. It’s fun being around people with the same goals and mindset to accomplish the same things.”

Wilson said he had at least one “big hit” every day at practice, including one on Georgia freshman tailback Branson Robinson.

“It is way different,” Wilson said. “Everybody is solid. You have to come with it every day. Every time. Like Branson, he’s a dude. Everything there is a dude. It is only dudes there. You just have to bring it every day. That’s what I like to do.”

This ‘Dawg knew he had found his home with the ‘Dawgs. He even got a “Welcome to the SEC” moment from one of the team’s top players while on the scout team.

“Yeah, probably when Brock caught one ball on me in the end zone,” Wilson said at the Under Armour Media Day. “That’s probably when I was like ‘Oh yeah I am going to have to cover all these tight ends moving like receivers down the field’ here.”

What did he appreciate the most about Bowers? It will be the same thing.

“He’s competitive,” Wilson said. “Everybody there at Georgia has that competitive nature. That’s what I really admire about the program.”

That week showed Wilson what he could already do. And what he needed to do better.

“You just have to take the good with the bad,” Wilson said. “Like I did good things but there is stuff I need to work on. Little things. It is all about the little things mostly at the next level.”

Raylen Wilson: A “Next Generation” LB for Georgia football

The University of Georgia recruits a lot of talented football players that can run and jump and strike.