This Sentell’s Intel rep on Georgia football recruiting has the latest with 3-star Blake Stewart at Woodward Academy. He ranks as the nation’s No.39 S and the No. 461 overall prospect for 2026 on the 247Sports Composite. The Rivals Industry Ranking has him as the No. 37 S and No. 426 overall.
When it comes to Blake Stewart, the prospect rankings don’t do him justice. He’s ranked as a 3-star by the national services, but he’s the type of player that when you see him live, one thing becomes pretty clear.
He’s the best player on the field.
Whether that be catching passes or defending them, he’s a difference maker. As we’ve seen in the past, those types of recruits tend to do very well playing on the back end for the Georgia Bulldogs.
We’ll get to see how far that goes with Stewart now. The All-State athlete from Woodward Academy was just announced by UGA as their third commitment of the day and the 31st commitment for the 2026 class.
Why was it Georgia for Stewart?
“They produce DBs and they have a great DB coach (Travaris Robinson) that puts people in the league every single year,” Stewart said earlier this year. “So I definitely want to be a part of that right now.”
“T-Rob” needed to see him play this year to be sure he was a Dawg.
“I had to prove to him that I could really tackle and hit,” Stewart said. “Once he saw that, he was like ‘Yeah, you can come here and have an impact early and play in the SEC as a freshman if I do what I need to’ there.”
There was one thing about the Dawgs that definitely stood out.
“Definitely the development piece,” he said when asked about what stands out about UGA. “I’d say the development piece, and of course, they are winning games and putting people in the spotlight on a national level.”
He projects as a nickel or safety in college. That’s what he wants to play.
“I’m looking for somewhere I can go that fits my style of play,” he said. “Somewhere that I can be myself and just play. I want to play early if I can. If the coaches see that I can play early with that, so I can step on the field and dominate.”
If one is keeping track, the Dawgs just replaced the three verbal commitments they lost earlier this week with new faces for the 2026 class.
The one-time Clemson commitment chose the Dawgs over late interest in both Miami and Vanderbilt. Stewart becomes the fourth defensive back in this class with the ability to play safety or a “Star” on nickel corner position for the Dawgs.
Despite three new commitments on the first day of the early signing period, the Dawgs still remain No. 6 nationally with their 2026 class on the 247Sports Team Composite rankings.
He finished his senior year with 49 catches for 616 yards and nine touchdowns. Those were all team-highs for Woodward. He had 65 tackles, four tackles for losses, three interceptions and two forced fumbles. Stewart finished second on his team in tackles and also had a Pick-6 and a kickoff return score this fall.
Check out his senior highlight reel below:
What is Georgia getting in Blake Stewart?
Stewart is motivated by that development piece for his future.
“I‘ve got a dream,” he said. “I’ve got a goal that I set when I was a little kid. I want to get to the highest level there is to play and be the best at what I do.”
The Dawgs do love to find DBs with ball skills that can run and hit. Especially with the instincts Stewart shows on the field. The fact that he’s made plays on both sides of the ball in space is also a credit to his game.
“The coaches that see him know he’s intelligent,” Woodward Academy assistant coach Ryan Davis said. “So, being a football player in this day and age, with the schemes and the things the college coaches want to do, they want a smart kid on that back end. His ball skills and instincts are hard to recreate. He has those things naturally. He brings the physicality that allows him to play safety. He can play corner. He can play nickel. He can play slot receiver. He can run kicks. From what I’ve heard, he’s a four-down safety in college. He doesn’t come off the field.”
“He’s that type of kid. That’s what makes him attractive to these types of schools.”
Davis believes that Stewart is fast. Fast enough to run a 10.8 or 10.9 in the 100 right now. If he ran track this spring, he’d get down to the 10.6 or 10.7 range.
He also holds an approximate 3.4 GPA at Woodward Academy.
He’s the sort of kid that can flip from corner to safety to nickel in a drive. But then he can look to the sideline, catch the eyes of his coaches and react to what they’re seeing and make a play. That just comes naturally.
“You can get a kid that maybe has speed,” Davis said. “Or ball skills. But he’s not quick. Or he doesn’t have the change of direction that Blake has. Or his instincts and intelligence. Blake has kind of the total package. He’s as close as you can get.”
Have you seen this week’s “Before the Hedges” weekly recruiting special on YouTube yet? Check it out below
SENTELL’S INTEL
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