This Sentell’s Intel rep on Georgia football recruiting has the latest with 4-star CB signee Justice Fitzpatrick. He ranks as the nation’s No. 11 CB and No. 97 overall prospect for 2026 on the 247Sports Composite. The Rivals Industry Ranking has him as the No. 12 CB and No. 94 overall.
There’s a good story involving Georgia signee Justice Fitzpatrick and his older brother, Minkah, at the SEC Championship Game.
There is an even better story regarding Fitzpatrick and the season-ending knee injury he suffered in the Florida state playoffs this past season.
It makes sense to try to share both stories at once.
Minkah Fitzpatrick starred at Alabama on the way to his now 8-year NFL career. Justice just signed with UGA in the Class of 2026 in December.
There are 11 years of recruiting class separation between the two, but that’s not enough to halt a bitter brewing SEC sibling rivalry.
Let’s flash back to the SEC Championship Game in December. That was the day after Justice tore his ACL on a shot to his knee in the Florida state semifinals.
Some athletes are just different. Fitzpatrick went to Georgia-Bama in the Benz with his brother anyway. Crutches and all.
“I got hurt, and I didn’t even get an MRI,” Justice Fitzpatrick said. “We just drove up to the game. I crutched through the stadium. We watched the game, and then we left. Then I got my MRI, and the whole time I was just messing with him. Even when my leg was hurt, I just messed with him because we’re brothers, but we definitely have a new rivalry now with this whole Alabama-Georgia thing."
Fitzpatrick reveled in showing his Pro Bowl brother the many social media memes of the Dawgs taking the belt to Bama after that game.
“I was messing with him for a while,” Justice Fitzpatrick said. “Because, you know, my mom, she goes back and forth with him about it because he’s like, ‘Well, I’ll support my brother, but I don’t know if I can support Georgia.’ So once they whooped up on Alabama, I started to mess with him a little bit. He was a little sensitive after their loss, but it was definitely funny."
Fitzpatrick wound up tearing his ACL. He also had a slight meniscus tear. Then he “crutched” it up to see the Dawgs blast Bama in Atlanta. That brings to mind the story of Zamir White tearing his ACL in a state playoff game and not knowing he did until he got checked out while at UGA on a visit for the Kentucky game.
When it comes to great athletes, that’s part of the deal. They can have incredible healing times and recuperation.
That’s where the better story comes in. Those who have been watching Fitzpatrick’s Instagram story have seen his jackrabbit recovery in real time.
He’s pushing sleds. Doing all sorts of agility work without a knee brace or a noticeable limp.
“Today is actually only six weeks out from surgery,” he told DawgNation recently. “So I’m way ahead of schedule where I should be. Especially because it was my meniscus, too. So they say I shouldn’t even be able to walk or do any of the stuff I’m doing right now. The PT people and the doctors, they are really happy with the progress I’m making. Especially because of how fast it’s going. It’s just been a lot of work. I’ve been going back and forth with two different physical therapy places with doctors. Making sure I’m eating right. Just working really hard and that’s definitely why I’ve been progressing so fast."
Fitzpatrick doesn’t want to put a timeline on anything. Other than to generally express he’ll be ready this fall.
‘All I can really say is we’re definitely moving a lot faster than the normal person would be,“ he said. ”So I’m definitely expecting to be prepared for this upcoming season. I’ll definitely be prepared to play.“
A general timeline for his ACL repair with a slight meniscus tear is the 6- to 9-month range. But he’s doing things right now that are in the three-to-four-month range of that recovery period.
“We’re just going off what my body says and what I can do, but I’m definitely confident in how it’s going so far,” he said.
That’s a strong sign. Especially since Fitzpatrick was widely considered Georgia’s top cornerback signee out of a strong defensive back group this cycle. This year’s signees are an extremely talented group. Even for the typical UGA recruiting class.
Justice Fitzpatrick: How he’s healed up quickly
Fitzpatrick listed several reasons for his turnaround. He cited his surgeon and the research he did online to speed up an ACL recovery. He said he leaned on his brother’s NFL and elite trainer connections.
His mother is a nurse. That was another benefit.
“A big part of it is just being able to push through the pain and uh, just work really hard those those first few weeks and and you’ll start to see like a lot of improvement,” he said.
The injury occurred while he was playing offense. He caught a pass and was heading for the end zone. Fitzpatrick had played through a knee sprain in his senior year and was wearing a brace.
The defender dove at him. Their helmet struck his brace at the perfect spot at the front of his knee. Up until that injury, he had planned to graduate in December and enroll at UGA in January.
When that happened, it was determined the best thing to do was to have the surgery in Florida as soon as possible, where his physician could monitor his early rehab.
“We talked to Georgia and they got connected with my surgery and wanted me to do it here,” Fitzpatrick said. “Especially to ensure my fastest recovery in the earlier stages, to do my physical therapy down here and do my checkups with the actual surgeon who did my surgery.”
He’s slated to report to UGA in May. The St. Thomas Aquinas star believes he will be up in Athens four or five times before then to check out spring practice and line up his housing, among other things.
It hasn’t been easy watching his fellow signees going through the Sugar Bowl practices. Or seeing the offseason training workouts.
“It’s definitely pretty tough, especially being in the group chats and stuff,” he said. “Seeing all the work they’re putting in up there. But being in the group chat definitely helps me stay encouraged, motivated, and driven down here. Just being able to put the work in every single day. Just going the extra mile just to keep up and do more to stay in my playbook. Make sure that I’m ready when I get up there, so I’m staying ahead of everything, so I won’t have to play catch-up.”
Fitzpatrick has leaned on his strong Christian faith during this setback.
“My faith is definitely the biggest thing that’s getting me through this,” he said. “Especially because when you really put your identity behind something, it becomes really important to you. It’s kind of hard, like really hard, when you actually lose that thing.”
Losing football taught him a lot about what he wanted to be known for.
“I really had to learn how to take the thing that I identify myself in and put that to the side and really just put it towards God,” he said. “You know? Just took my time and learned that I shouldn’t even be putting my identity in football. I shouldn’t be a football player who believes in God. I should be a believer in God who plays football.”
That brings him “joy” daily. Fitzpatrick has posted his daily devotionals on his Instagram story. He’s found comfort in the scripture during his recovery.
“I still felt full,” he said. “I didn’t feel like my identity was football anymore. I was more than just a football player because of my faith. A big thing people say after ACL injuries is that they feel real alone. And just having a relationship with Jesus, having someone to go to, to talk to, to pray to, helped with that. It’s definitely a big thing that helps you mentally.”
“The Bible is definitely something that guided me a lot in my faith, my decisions and my feelings. It talks a lot about how God gives his toughest battles to the strongest warriors. There’s a bigger purpose to things. I believe that is what this is. There are a lot more great things to come through this. Based on how I react to this. If I let this take me down, it’ll take me down. If I let it pick me up, it’ll pick me up."
Have you seen this week’s “Before the Hedges” weekly recruiting special yet? Check it out.
SENTELL’S INTEL
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