This Sentell’s Intel rep on Georgia football recruiting offers up the latest with the early enrollees from the Sugar Bowl practices.

NEW ORLEANS, La. - The Class of 2026 early enrollees haven’t been with Georgia football long for the Sugar Bowl practices, but they’ve already made an impact.

DawgNation compiled several intriguing layers of feedback regarding the new faces on the team this month. Kirby Smart said there were nine 2026 signees already embedded with the team, but didn’t name them.

To the best of our knowledge, these nine Bulldogs have already been going through bowl prep for Ole Miss.

The team-wide media availability allowed for an opportunity to gather significant insights into the nine and the impressions they have made so far.

What stood out? Well, there was one specific comment made by offensive line coach Stacy Searels about early enrollee OL Zykie Helton.

“He’s a ‘Dawg,” Searels said. “He’s a ‘Dawg. He’s got good hands. He’s got good feet. He’s a competitor. He’s a natural football player.”

Helton made at least one All-State team as both an OL and DL. He had three sacks in the GHSA Class 6A state championship game against Buford. There’s been some buzz among the fan base about maybe Helton getting a chance to play both sides of the ball.

What did Searels have to say about that?

“He’s been practicing with me,” Searles said. “I’m very happy. He’s a damn good player.”

The 6-foot-2 Helton doesn’t have the ideal size, frame and length. At least for the NFL scouts.

“I think sometimes when you are short on one physical attribute, I guess you would say, you can make it up with heart and with tenacity and with competitiveness. You can have all the ability in the world, but if you’re not a competitor, you’re not going to be a very good player.”

“Sometimes you might not have everything, but you can make up for it with the way you compete. He does that all the time.”

DawgNation also collected thoughts from the room on the group of early enrollees from the Class of 2026 as a whole.

WRs Craig Dandridge and Ryan Mosley

Dandrige and Mosley wound up as the only two receivers in this 2026 class. Receivers coach James Coley broke down what he’s seen so far from this duo.

“Love the want to from those two,” Coley said. “Craig and Ryan want to learn, and you know, show what they have. They are great competitors.”

“It is going to be fun coaching those guys.”

Georgia freshman QB Ryan Montgomery has already been able to work with those two.

“They’ve gotten sprinkled in the past few practices and some of the practices,” Montgomery said. “I’ve gotten the opportunity to throw to them a few times and I’ve been pretty impressed with what I’ve seen so far. So it has been good.”

“They bring a lot,” freshman WR Talyn Taylor said. “Both of them bring a lot. They bring a lot of skill, a lot of passion and a lot of energy. It is going to be good seeing them over the next year and seeing how they develop.”

OLs Zykie Helton and Ekene Ogboko

Searels wasn’t the only one who had a thought on these two. Ogboko arrived on Christmas Day after he took part in an All-American Game.

He’s the younger brother of Georgia freshman DL Nnamdi Ogboko. He was the first 5-star OT signee for the Bulldogs since Amarius Mims back in 2021.

“Those guys, they are Dawgs,” Georgia freshman DL Elijah Griffin said. “Obviously. I’m glad they came here. Just to see those guys come in early as I did. They will definitely grow and become better.”

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DLs PJ Dean and Valdin Sone

Griffin discussed the type of quickness that Sone and, later, Dean have already shown.

“He definitely can move,” Griffin said of Sone. “Absolutely. Both of those guys can move.”

“I love them,” Griffin said. “They are cool guys. They are cool to be around. They are funny and hilarious. I love to be around them.”

Freshman defensive lineman JJ Hanne is a part of the same PPI Prospects training program that identified and developed 4-star DL Valdin Sone into one of the nation’s top recruits.

Sone, who actually received his UGA offer before Hanne, has already shown what he can do.

“I’ve seen a lot of twitch from him and just natural strength,” Hanne said. “He understands how to move his body and where the O-lineman is on him. He has a natural talent for this.”

S Tyriq Green

Green was the best player on offense, defense and special teams for a Buford program that won the mythical high school championship this year.

The AJC also named “Ty Boogie” as its 2025 All-Classification Player of the Year.

DawgNation’s Cody Chaffins asked former Buford star KJ Bolden what the program will be getting in Green on Tuesday.

“A Dawg,” Bolden said. “A Dawg. I ain’t going to lie. He’s quiet. He doesn’t say much. He’s not a man of many words, but Ty is a Dawg. He loves football. He’s willing to work and go beyond about football. So you just love a player who loves to compete and I love Ty for sure about that.”

There was one game this year in which Green scored on a touchdown run, a Pick-6 and also on a special teams touchdown.

“He couldn’t wait to call me about that game,” Bolden said. “He couldn’t wait to tell me about that game. I remember he called me after that game and he was just showing me all the clips and things like that. He couldn’t wait for that. He’s such a great athlete. He can do anything. He can play offense. Defense. You can put him anywhere. Kick return. Punt return. You just love a guy like that who can play football and you can just put him anywhere.”

Have you subscribed to the DawgNation YouTube channel yet? If so, you will see special 1-on-1 content with key 2026 prospects like Tyriq Green, Tyreek Jemison, Ryan Mosley and Kaiden Prothro.

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)