This Sentell’s Intel rep on Georgia football recruiting has the latest with 3-star IOL Zach Lewis of North Gwinnett High School. He ranks as the nation’s, No. 69 IOL and the No. 780 overall prospect for 2026 on the 247Sports Composite. The On3 Industry Ranking has him as the No. 93 IOL and No. 969 overall.
Zach Lewis visited UGA over the weekend, and it didn’t take him long to figure out where he wanted to play college football.
It was where he always wanted to play college ball.
Lewis is from a family of Dawgs. Not just folks with the vanity license plate or the baseball caps. That family is full of those who have been barking and yelling at the TV over the years.
The wins? Glory Glory. The losses? Gutpunch time.
The fact that he just publicly committed to UGA will have them barking again.
“They were stoked,” Lewis said of the silent commitment he made over the weekend. “My mom is a die-hard Georgia fan, and my Dad is the same.”
Lewis, a 3-star IOL prospect at North Gwinnett High School, will carry the same team name over to his new college home.
“I knew the first day at my [official visit] that something was different,” Lewis said. “The way the coaches acted and the way the players interacted with us was different than any other college.”
“UGA had always held a special place in my heart, and the fact that I can go play there and get developed there is a real dream come true.”
Lewis was offered as a center. He chose the Dawgs over a strong interest in Georgia Tech, North Carolina, and South Carolina, among others.
Why was it Georgia?
“What I like best about UGA is the developmental piece of the program and how they practice and play and the speed and detail they put into it all,” he said. “Also, it is very obvious that the coaching staff and support staff want players to be successful on and off the field.”
He had other official visits planned, but those got pancaked over the weekend.
“I have cancelled all of my other OVs for this summer,” he told DawgNation.
There’s an interesting recruiting climb here. Don’t get swept up in his rankings as a prospect. Lewis has consistently evolved as a player. The more he put on weight, the more he rose as a prospect.
It wasn’t that long ago that he was a 240-pound defensive lineman for the Bulldogs at North Gwinnett. He actually converted from the defensive line to the offensive line. Lewis will also be playing both ways for the Bulldogs in his senior season.
He’s got good feet. His prospect page on HUDL lists him with a 5.08 time in the 40, but that’s likely gone up a bit as he’s bulked up.
Check out his junior film below. That was eight months and about 20-25 pounds ago.
Lewis now becomes the 13th commitment in the class. He’s the seventh in-state commitment, the seventh commitment for the offensive side, and the second commitment for the offensive line this cycle.
The decision moves Georgia ever closer to Penn State for the nation’s No. 5 recruiting class on the 247Sports Composite team rankings for 2026. The Nittany Lions and their 19 commitments currently hold a 234.98-231.40 edge on Georgia.
Zach Lewis: What is Georgia football getting here
The newest Georgia football commit also played basketball growing up. He played for the North Gwinnett basketball team last season.
Lewis was at right tackle as a sophomore for North Gwinnett. He started there for that entire season. There is some tight end history in his background, and he actually caught a pass that was thrown his way during the 2023 season. It went for about 15 yards.
The unique wrinkle here is that he weighed approximately 214 pounds at the time. Georgia got on Lewis late, but so did the majority of college programs.
It was a different evaluation, seeing Lewis on film and in person as he grew from 214 to 245 to 265 to his current weight of 286 pounds.
The more weight he gained, the more his college attention spiked.
“I’ve been telling college coaches that he’s going to fill out,” Godfree said. “He’s got a great frame. The way he plays football, he could be an interior NFL lineman one day because he is so athletic and he plays so physical and so hard once his body fills out.”
During his junior year, he played right tackle and rotated across the defensive line.
He’ll play center and right tackle this fall and grab even more first-team reps on the defensive line.
“He plays with a super-high motor,” North Gwinnett head coach Eric Godfree said. “He’s physical. It is going to be great for us, him being able to snap the ball as well and him being able to match him up, which would give us our best opportunity to score points and win a game.”
That’s what stands out in his junior film. He’s coming off the ball, blocking down, getting to linebackers, and just getting his hands on people and finishing blocks.
“He plays the game the right way with his relentless effort on the field,” Godfree said. “He plays from whistle to whistle. He is trying on every single snap to dominate the person in front of him. He plays with that amount of nastiness that you need, but then off the field, he’s an incredible kid.”
“He’s a competitor. It is hard to get offensive linemen to play that physical and that hard every snap. He does. He plays that physical and that hard every snap. He wants to dominate the man in front of him every play.”
He’s a better run blocker at this stage, but he’s still a high-level pass protector right now.
There was a story that Godfree shared after his sophomore season. It was between him and the school’s athletics director. The North Gwinnett AD named two players that he said were the two that he loved to watch compete the most.
It was rare to hear someone single out an offensive lineman, but Lewis was one of the two Bulldogs that he named. Especially after he had just switched from DL to OL for that season.
“He said that just because of the way he played the game,” Godfree said. “He plays so passionately and is finishing blocks. Again, just plays the game right. ... It is physical and it is nasty.”
“That story put a huge smile on my face and a lot of pride when an offensive lineman stands out like that, and somebody enjoys watching them play. That’s somebody who is playing the game right.”
Look for Lewis to be a team captain this fall at North Gwinnett. He’s that type of leader on his football team.
Have you seen this week’s “Before the Hedges” weekly recruiting special on YouTube yet? Check it out below
SENTELL’S INTEL
(Check on the recent reads on Georgia football recruiting)
