BREAKING: In-state OL target Malachi Toliver commits to Georgia football
DawgNation Staff
Want to attack every day with the latest Georgia football recruiting info? That’s the Intel. This rep has the latest with 3-star OT prospect Malachi Toliver. He ranks as the nation’s No. 74 OT and the No. 916 overall prospect for 2024 on the 247Sports Composite ratings. He’s the No 67 OT and the No. 896 overall prospect for On3.com.
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Malachi Toliver doesn’t pay much attention to recruiting rankings.
Neither does Georgia offensive line coach Stacy Searels. That’s one of many things that the two Northwest Georgia natives have in common.
“Coach Searels loves Northwest Georgia guys,” Toliver said. “That’s where he played growing up in his day. That’s how he believes he is going to win football games. I definitely feel like being up here is different from being anywhere else in Georgia. It is definitely different football here and I feel like that has an effect on me.”
The 6-foot-6, 310-pound Toliver can also look Searels in the eye.
“I try to be that guy on the field that is going to do anything to win the game,” Toliver said. “Give all the effort. I feel like I believe in something that Coach Searels was talking to me about yesterday. He said he doesn’t look at rankings. He just watches the film. He doesn’t care if you are a 3-star or a 2-star or a 5-star. He wants guys that he believes that are fitted for Georgia football. He believes in me and he told me yesterday that he feels like that. He feels that I can help them win championships and I’m going to be a great football player. Especially when I’m there and then after I leave.”
Tolliver also gave the ‘Dawgs some pretty good news when he was in town yesterday. He told Kirby Smart first. Then he told Searels. Searles was much more reserved than the Georgia head coach.
The newest public UGA commit said Searels replied with “that’s what I am talking about” when he gave him the word about what he planned to do.
Check out his junior highlight films below:
Malachi Toliver: What Georgia football is getting in this 2024 OL target
Toliver plays tackle for Cartersville High. He can play both, but he was at right tackle last season. If he had a preference, it would be to play at right tackle.
There is the ability to play across the line for the ‘Dawgs.
“Well, definitely with Georgia I was talking to [Coach Searels] yesterday and he feels like I can play everything also. He feels like I can play at guard and can play tackle. He thinks I am athletic enough to play both.”
This is a down year for offensive tackles across the country. That’s why the always over-analyzed rankings shouldn’t catch that much attention here.
Tolliver is quite strong. Those numbers are more prevalent to this commitment story today than those current prospect rankings.
Check out his current lifts:
- Bench press: 405
- Power clean: 260
- Squat: 450
He remembers what it was like coming in as a freshman to play for the Hurricanes. This is another great chapter in his journey as an athlete.
“I really want to thank God for blessing me with my size and my heart for this game,” he said. “For putting in my mind and heart to love this game so much. I just want to thank him for that. I also want to thank my family and my coaches. Definitely my O-line coach at Cartersville and my head coach at Cartersville. They helped me a lot during this process to get me where I am.”
That’s a big tip of the cap to assistant coach Shane McPherson at Cartersville.
“I was never the top guy,” Toliver said. “I was never the guy that everybody wanted. I was definitely overlooked. I was always big, but nobody ever saw something in me. But when I go up there as a freshman, he saw something in me and he grew what he saw and pulled that out of me. He grew me so much. I still have a lot more to grow, but I do thank him a lot for that today.”
Malachi Tolvier: What to pay close attention to here
There are a lot of things to focus on with this commitment. Toliver said that his whole family loves the ‘Dawgs and that he couldn’t even think of the school that finished second here.
“I’m definitely not leaving Georgia,” he said. “Georgia is my home.”
Look for him to take maybe one more official visit instead of the one he was scheduled for the weekend of June 9-11 in Athens.
He’s very motivated to excel for the “Dawgs.
“Definitely play for my family, man,” he said. “I feel like this is what I’m called to do down on Earth from God. I feel like I my family I need to do it for my family. Growing up I wasn’t always the most well-off one and I feel like that I need to make that change in my family line. I’m responsible for that and I feel like I have the power to do that. Especially now going to Georgia.”
He will be the first member of his family to go to college, much less play college football. “King” carries a mature outlook on what this opportunity means taking his football career to play in Athens.
“It definitely puts a lot of pressure on me,” he said. “But it definitely means a lot to me being that guy to go on to college and get a degree and have a chance to play in the league. And at Georgia, I feel like my chance of playing the league [afterward] is extremely high.”
He said his father “has been loving Georgia” for some time.
“Ever since my Mom has been looking at them, she really loves them, too,” Toliver said. “Even my stepparents love them a lot, too.”
The rising senior at Cartersville was not a long-time silent commitment. He took his fourth visit to Athens this weekend and told the ‘Dawgs on Saturday that he was ready to make the move.
When Georgia offered he was ecstatic, he said it was an offer he was waiting on for a long time. The ‘Dawgs finally extended that offer back in January.
“It made me feel accomplished,” Toliver said. “That boosted my confidence level with them. I was really grateful that they ended up doing it and especially now that I’m going there.”
SENTELL’S INTEL
(check on the recent reads on DawgNation.com)
- Dylan Raiola: How Georgia football continues to ‘deliver’ in the recruiting of the nation’s No. 1 prospect
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- Monroe Freeling: Georgia 5-star signee is truly a “Next Generation” type OT
- Nicolai Brooks: Massive 6-foot-8 junior OT already loves a lot of things about the ‘Dawgs
- Nation’s No. 1 overall junior David Sanders Jr. “loves Georgia a lot”
- Jordan Ross: Top 100 prospect from Alabama already knows the ‘Dawgs will get an official
- Georgia recruiting: The many things DawgNation learned from the Under Armour Atlanta camp
- Daniel Calhoun: In-state OT priority has established his four key official visits
- Sentell’s Intel: The best team that Georgia football faced all season long was .... Georgia?
- Dwight Phillips Jr: Why the latest “RBU” commit is a very rare breed for Georgia football
- Dylan Raiola: What is the big message from Kirby Smart to the nation’s No. 1 QB?
- BREAKING: The nation’s No. 1 cornerback prospect Ellis Robinson IV is now a ‘Dawg
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Dylan Raiola: How Georgia football continues to ‘deliver’ in the …