This Sentell’s Intel rep on Georgia football recruiting has the latest with 4-star WR CJ Wiley. He ranks as the nation’s No. 15 WR and the No. 136 overall prospect for 2025 on the 247Sports Composite. The On3 Industry Ranking has him as the No. 13 WR and at No. 116 overall.
Georgia advanced its position with Milton High star receiver CJ Wiley in a few ways this past weekend.
Check that photo above. That big smile he flashed while sitting in the custom-built Gulfstream airplane set was genuine. So were the good times he had axe-throwing.
He said that was his favorite part.
“It was pretty good,” Wiley said. “I got to talk with some of the players. Build some more bonds with the coaches and stuff. See kind of the atmosphere and all that.”
Georgia senior WR Arian Smith was his host. Smith has been on campus since he signed in the Class of 2020. He was rated as the nation’s No. 7 WR and No. 58 overall. He’s been around the program for the rise to the top of the food chain in college football since he signed.
“He was just really telling me about Georgia,” Wiley said. “How they practice. How they lift.”
Smith gave him a lot of insight into the culture in Athens. It was about the grind, he said.
“He just said if you’re the type of dude that comes to a school based on other things don’t do it,” Wiley said. “He just said if you are going to come to Georgia you are going to work hard and everything that’s given to you will come to you because of that work.”
He got to cook up a meal in the chef’s table area at UGA’s “Bones” restaurant.
“I had lobster and shrimp,” he said. “I made pasta.”
The 6-foot-4, 205-pound rising senior left that OV assured he was a priority in a class that’s taken off like a G6 over the last week. The Dawgs rose from the No. 9 class in the country to No. 4 overall on the 247Sports Team Composite rankings with three big commits since last Sunday evening.
The On3 Team rankings also place UGA at No. 3 overall.
This is a big stretch for Wiley. He’s seen USC and UGA over the past two weeks. LSU will be this weekend and FSU will be after that. What will those visits be like?
“Still the same thing,” he said. “I would say building a connection and talking with some of the players. Building a connection with some of the coaches and seeing what type of atmosphere I would be in.”
He said that will “probably” be it for him with visits. The plan at this time is to make his college decision right before his senior year.
Wiley said the officials have already been able to reinforce what he’s looking for with the right college fit.
What was the message he got from Kirby Smart? It wasn’t anything now.
“Still the same old thing,” Wiley said. “You are a priority for us and we need you.”
What was the feeling when he left UGA after the official?
“It gave me a good feeling,” he said. “I enjoyed my time.”
Can James Coley do it again with CJ WIley?
Wiley continues to hear all about UGA from his teammate Ethan Barbour. Those two have known each other all their lives. They were once teammates at Alpharetta High and are now teammates at Milton.
Barbour continues to live up to his well-earned rep as the alpha peer recruiter for the 2025 class. He’s been committed to UGA since last September.
“He’s just really telling me to come home and everything,” Wiley said.
Georgia welcomed back its old receivers coach James Coley to the program earlier this year. Coley has hit the trail zooming. He’s put UGA in contention with elite in-state talents like Travis Smith Jr. and Wiley.
He also was a key asset in helping Georgia land a Top 75 overall prospect in 4-star Talyn Taylor out of Illinois earlier this week.
What sort of impression has he made on Wiley?
“He’s a good coach,” Wiley said. “The players have said he’s better than (former receivers coach Bryan McClendon) in some ways and stuff.”
Georgia’s plan for Wiley will resemble what he did at an All-American level for Milton last fall. According to MaxPreps, he led the state of Georgia with his 1,473 receiving yards. He also caught 14 touchdowns for the Class 7A state champions.
Check out his impressive junior tape below.
Don’t get too caught up in all the explosive plays without realizing he is an effective and willing perimeter blocker. He showed that off several times against Walton in the 7A state championship game back in December.
He said “he sees it” in how he could play early at UGA. Coley and the staff have made that clear.
The depth chart tells no lies with how Smith plus other talents like Michael Jackson III, Dominic Lovett, RaRa Thomas, Colbie Young and maybe even Dillon Bell could all head to the NFL after this season.
How does Georgia plan to use him?
“They are definitely going to use me as a deep threat,” Wiley said. “They said they are going to move me into the slot and outside.”
Wiley is one of those players in the age of NIL that one wouldn’t have to worry too much about his work ethic. He’s going to grind regardless. His Sunday sessions with his parents with the JUGS machine at Milton are a point of pride at Milton football.
His mother has been seen bashing him with a pad or a blocking dummy while he’s putting that work in.
That linked up with what he’s come to like the best about the Georgia football program.
“I would say like the bond,” Wiley said. “They have like a mindset just to win and stuff and everything. They come in with that mindset every day and work.”
If he does choose UGA, then that would be the prime reason. That’s the type of “work” mindset he’s looking for with his college decision.
The LSU trip this weekend will be interesting. His parents, Chuck and Jay, are both LSU legacies. His father was an All-SEC DL who played in 79 games across six seasons in the NFL. His mother Jay ran track for the Tigers.
Wiley was also up at LSU earlier this year to see them practice in the spring over his spring break.
The 4-star WR grew up going to LSU for games and coming back for alumni events. His father surrounded him with accomplished athletes and highly successful men on those trips. He made a wise parenting move there to let his peers he played with share their stories about hard work and success.
When a father says those things repeatedly, the message can get dulled. But when those same core traits are reinforced by others who went on to stand out in the SEC and play in the NFL, it sinks in even deeper.
The Class of 2025 standout feels like that family connection to LSU won’t play a major role in his choice. His parents have structured it that way. They are very laid-back on his visits.
“Their message to me is like ‘Pick whatever fits you the best’ and stuff,” he said.
What role will NIL play in that thought process?
“It is an impact but at the end of the day if you work and work your tail off it will come to you,” he said. “You can’t make your decision based off NIL.”
SENTELL’S INTEL
(check on the recent reads on Georgia football recruiting)
