This Sentell’s Intel rep on Georgia football recruiting has the latest with 4-star Carter Jones in Virginia. He ranks as the nation’s No. 21 IOL and the No. 402 overall prospect for 2027 on the 247Sports Composite. The Rivals Industry Ranking has him as the No. 25 IOL and No. 399 overall.
Carter Jones will be one of two Georgia football official visitors this weekend. DawgNation profiled 3-star Colorado IOL Reis Russell earlier this week.
The Dawgs will be getting Jones’ second official visit. The 4-star IOL was at Penn State last weekend. He’s got future OVs stacked up with Clemson and Tennessee.
The chances of Georgia eventually signing Jones will hinge on about 55 key hours he will have spent in Athens of late. He will spend 48 hours in the Classic City on this OV. There’s also a day trip he took to UGA back in March that clearly heightened his interest in the program.
“That was my fourth visit to Georgia and the one thing that really impressed me was just getting to sit down and talk with [offensive line] coach [Phil] Rauscher,” Jones said. “We talked about where he’s at and the type of development I’d have at Georgia and where he sees me fitting in with the O-line. So both of our values really aligned well together.”
“Another thing that really impressed me was getting to go in Coach [Kirby] Smart’s office and getting to talk with him for about 45 minutes. The basis of that conversation was just that ‘we want you’ here at Georgia. He said ‘We want people like you who are pretty aggressive’ and he sees me as someone who would fit in with their O-line.”
The perception nationally is that Clemson stands as the team to beat, but there’s a trend to note here. The Dawgs have gained some ground over the last month.
“Georgia has definitely gotten a lot of traction since the visit in March,” Jones said. “I’m really looking forward to getting on to my fifth visit there.”
Jones has been hearing from the offensive line staff almost every day, plus Georgia head coach Kirby Smart. That’s five coaches from Rauscher to Smart to analyst Stacy Searels to assistant O-line coaches Warren Ericson and Edmund Kugbila.
“Really regularly and probably almost every day,” Jones said. “If not every day. Coach Smart texts me pretty often. The connection there is really good to be recruited by a school like that. To be high on the priority list is definitely such an honor to me. I’m excited to see what they have to offer this weekend after all the communication and after they’ve put their best foot forward here with me since the last visit.”
Jones called UGA an “offensive line factory” for its prowess in developing players.
When he visited in March, he did so after a good showing at the Atlanta Under Armour camp. He liked hearing about Rasucher’s NFL background.
“For me, that’s my end goal,” Jones said. “To make it to the NFL. Having somebody like that to help develop you is definitely a key factor for me.”
He spent about 30 to 45 minutes with Smart in his office that day.
“You can tell two things pretty easily about Coach Smart,” Jones said. “The first thing is he’s a pretty genuine guy. The second is that he has a clear sense that he’s going to win. That’s definitely something I think he and I see eye to eye on. We both value that. We value winning and what it takes to win, especially at a high level like the way they win at Georgia.”
He plays in a Wing-T offense. That’s a unique part of his evaluation.
“I’ve never taken a pass set in a game,” he said.
He’s offset that by going to prospect camps. He’s worked with different offensive line trainers. Jones was one of the top OL performers at the talent-laden Atlanta Under Armour camp.
“I’ve gone against those 4 and 5-star defensive ends at those camps and done a good job against them as well,” he said. “Knowing I can go out there and do that definitely gives me confidence for when I get with a Power 4 offensive line coach to teach me. I’m athletic enough to understand it and do it. But also play all five offensive line positions. That really gives me a lot of confidence.”
When he was in Athens back in March, he was taken aback by the program’s NFL pedigree. He saw two-time John Mackey Award winner Brock Bowers in the building.
“I think one of the most ‘wow’ moments was seeing Brock Bowers in there working out and having a few other NFL guys in there alongside him,” Jones said.
It reinforced his belief that UGA is an NFL factory, too.
“It also gives me confidence that if Georgia were the school that I pick, then if I were to make it to the NFL, then I could go back there and train and eat whenever I need to,” he said.
Jones carries a 4.1 GPA. He was with his father on that March visit. The two made sure to check out the world-renowned Terry College of Business at UGA.
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Carter Jones: The real Intel on this OV
Despite that high visit tally, he’s never been to UGA for a game. That’s a piece that G-Day will give him on his fifth visit.
His OV will start at 11 a.m. on Friday morning and will last until Sunday morning. Georgia redshirt freshman OT Mason Short will be his player host.
He’s been to Clemson seven times. That has helped build the perception that Clemson is dug in on this recruitment. Jones had a close family friend go through the program. That was former Tigers OL, Glenn Rountree. He grew up around the Rountree family because his dad’s brother is married to his sister.
Jones just took his fifth trip to Penn State. He’s also been to Tennessee at least four times. Those two schools, plus Clemson and UGA, are the major contenders.
What will his decision come down to?
“After these official visits, it will just be about being able to have the conviction to be able to say this is where I want to play football at,” he said. “That these are the people I think can help me get to the next level after college. It’s really just going to come down to that. Then once I make my decision, I plan on fully shutting down my recruitment.”
Georgia has said he can play right tackle. That’s the position he’s most comfortable with, but he’d be willing to play all five positions. That rare skill set and outlook make him valuable to any big-time program. He plays center, guard and tight end for his school.
“I’m comfortable with any position,” he said.
He already knows the best thing that Georgia has going for it.
“The NFL development for offensive linemen and the retention they have in the offensive line room,” he said. “They don’t lose any OLs from the program.”
What would make for a successful official visit?
“Connecting with the players is going to be big,” he said. “I’m looking to study business, so taking a good look at that and then seeing what the culture is like, and just getting every question answered and seeing how many boxes they check on my list.”
