This Sentell’s Intel rep on Georgia football recruiting breaks down the expected group of visitors from the second winter “Junior Day” weekend in Athens.
Georgia is hosting another jammed weekend of “Junior Day” visitors this weekend. The sessions start this morning and then the event will split into offensive and defensive groups.
There will be actually be more 5-stars and more top 200 overall prospects in Athens this weekend compared to the first session on Jan. 18.
This isn’t like a usual gameday visit. The staff gets to focus on their top targets more in this setting that the rush of a Saturday unofficial visit. It is also limited in scope. The Dawgs are only inviting a handful of targets for each position group on the field.
All told, the sessions should plant the seeds for these elite players to know that they are wanted and inspire a quick return trip back to watch spring practice and then take an official visit later this year.
It is labeled a “Junior Day” event, but there’s a little twist here. J’Vari Flowers reclassified from the 2026 to the 2025 class earlier his week. He’ll be in town for an unofficial visit. He was originally ranked as a 2026 recruit with all the other juniors in town today, but the Miami resident has now slotted in as the nation’s No. 12 CB and and as the No. 92 overall recruit in the 2025 class.
Those two headliners are 5-stars Savion Hiter and Derrek Cooper. Hiter is the nation’s No. 1 RB for the 2026 class and has long held UGA among his top 5 schools. Cooper is an intriguing scout. He’s clearly an All-American RB in this class, but there’s a lot of ability for him to play DB in the right system.
Cooper can be a first-round DB on Sundays. That might be a higher scouting projection than what he could be at RB. That level of thinking shows just how talented Cooper is. He’s played RB all his life and just started playing DB in high school.
Georgia favors him on both sides of the ball. Even though his longest-standing relationship with the staff is with RBs coach Josh Crawford. Cooper is essentially the type of player to just get in the program and let him try out where he wants to play first and see if that’s a long-term fit.
Cooper and Hiter make for an interesting pairing. When you take into account the three elite RBs Crawford hosted for the first “Junior Day” event, it is believed that he got all five of his top RB targets for 2026 up to Athens during the winter contact period.
While the RB position will be more vital for the Dawgs in the 2026 cycle, it is shaping up like the program will need to maximize its value at DL, OT, QB and TE this cycle. There will always be a need for impact player at every position group, but the Dawgs did very well at DL, IOL and WR with their 2025 signees.
Georgia legacy DL Carter Luckie will also be in town. His father, Mike, and his two uncles played for Jim Donnan a generation ago. He’s also the younger, yet bigger, brother of Georgia sophomore TE Lawson Luckie.
Luckie has already set his OV for the traditional May 30 weekend reserved for elite targets. Look for his older brother to host him on that trip. That’s a neat story. We don’t see brothers hosting their siblings on official visits that much anywhere in college football.
Jireh Edwards, a 4-star safety from Maryland, is another name to know. He’s the nation’s No. 4 safety for this cycle and another top 50 overall prospect in town. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound rising senior has been clocked at 4.48 seconds on the laser in the 40.
He’s a 3-time All-American at St. Frances Academy in Maryland. He’s already named UGA as one of his top five schools. Safeties coach Travaris “T-Rob” Robinson had a lot to do with that. Auburn, Georgia, Oregon, Tennessee and Texas A&M.
“Building a good relationship with coach T-Rob and being able to talk to coach [Kirby] Smart are some of the big reasons why I have a good relationship with Georgia.”
He likes that Smart played on the defensive side of the ball in college.
“You are going to be playing under a good head coach,” Edwards said. “Knowing that he can relate to your scheme and playing style.”
Who all does DawgNation expect to see in town this weekend? Check it out below.
Player | Hometown | Ranks | Status |
---|---|---|---|
5-star Savion Hiter | Mineral, VA | No. 1 RB/ No. 14 | Undecided |
5-star Derrek Cooper | Hollywood, FL | No. 1 ATH/ No. 23 | Undecided |
4-star Jireh Edwards | Upper Marlboro, MD | No. 4 S/ No. 42 | Undecided |
4-star Dorian Barney | Carrollton, GA | No. 9 CB/ No. 100 | Undecided |
4-star Jordan Smith | Warner Robins, GA | No. 9 S/ No. 129 | Undecided |
4-star Carter Scruggs | Leesburg, VA | No. 9 IOL/ No. 123 | Undecided |
4-star Zach Groves | Cross Plains, TN | No. 12 EDGE/ No. 143 | Undecided |
4-star Brandon Bennett | Fort Lauderdale, FL | No. 23 WR / No. 146 | Undecided |
4-star Kenneth Goodwin | Harbor City, CA | No. 13 LB/ No. 148 | Undecided |
4-star Denairius Gray | Hollywood, FL | No. 32 WR/ No. 181 | Auburn |
4-star CB Caden Harris | Brownsville, TN | No. 13 CB/ No. 186 | Undecided |
4-star James Johnson | North Fort Myers, FL | No. 22 DL/ No. 191 | Undecided |
4-star Tyriq “Boogie” Green | Buford, GA | No. 13 ATH/ No. 196 | Undecided |
4-star Kendall Guervil | Fort Myers, FL | No. 29 DL/No. 227 | Undecided |
4-star Carter Luckie | Norcross, GA | No. 32 DL/ No. 254 | Undecided |
4-star Peyton Dyer | Duluth, GA | No. 28 CB/ No. 368 | South Carolina |
4-star Brayden Rouse | Marietta, GA | No. 30 LB/ No. 378 | Undecided |
Those aren’t the only names in town, but those are the prospects expected to show ranked among the nation’s top 400 overall prospects for the 2026 cycle.
We’re also expecting to see the following notable prospects in town, among others:
- 2026 3-star IOL Malcoln Gaston (North Augusta, SC)
- 2026 3-star EDGE Ebenezer Ewetade (Garner, NC)
- 2026 3-star WR Deion Thomas (Atlanta, GA)
- 2026 3-star S Tony Forney (Marietta, GA)
- 2026 Unranked WR Kei’Maurii “KJ” Miles (Columbus, GA)
- 2026 Unranked WR Craig Donnell Dandridge (Milton, GA)
SENTELL’S INTEL
(check on the recent reads on Georgia football recruiting)