This Sentell’s Intel rep on Georgia football recruiting has the latest with Gainesville High School RB Nigel Newkirk. He ranks as the nation’s No. 35 RB and the No. 425 overall prospect for 2027 on the 247Sports Composite. The Rivals Industry Ranking has him as the No. 35 RB and No. 413 overall.
Watching Nigel Newkirk run the football brings back memories of those “Transformers” cartoons from over a generation ago.
The 5-foot-11, 195-pound junior is a game-changer. He showed that by rolling out to 166 yards on 16 carries and three scores against an always stout Milton High defense last week.
He went for scoring jaunts of 1, 41, and 50 yards to nail down a 28-16 win against a Milton team that hadn’t lost a region game since 2017.
Newkirk is definitely more than meets the eye when watching him roll. While the recruiting industry has given him a 3-star rating and says there are 35 junior RBs in America with more upside, it’s clear he has something special.
That “Transformers” parallel hits while watching him operate out of the backfield. Newkirk transferred from Ola to Gainesville to raise his game among the Red Elephants, facing challenges similar to those only powerhouse teams like Milton can offer.
Watch the first three to five yards of every carry. He’s careening through the box like a dump truck. Trying to punish and get some pads on anybody in his way through the second level.
“You just rattled off my running style,” he said. “That’s exactly my style. I want to feel them first. I want to see how they fit in the gaps first and then I’m going to make a move on them.”
Once he gets past the linebackers, that’s when his game transforms from LandRover to Lambo. Newkirk breaks out a rare gear that few junior backs already have right around the 200-pound mark.
We don’t see 3-star RBs with that type of gear.
Gainesville coach Josh Niblett has sent backs to the ACC, Big 10 and the SEC across a coaching career that has seen his teams win seven state titles. He’s had a lot of big-time backs, but probably never one with Newkirk’s threat level of breakaway speed.
“Nigel has just got home run ability,” Niblett said. “You know what I mean? When you get him to the second and third level, he’s gone and then he’s a physical back before you get there.”
The first six or seven yards are fun to watch, but then the runs find another gear.
“Then he goes track star,” Niblett said. “It is natural, but I am telling you with us, he’s learned how to be that every down back. He’s always been used to running wide, right? So the inside stuff is what has been new for him. Now, he’s learning to be slow-to-fast, letting it read out, wipe guys off, and hit it, and he’s just now getting a lot better at it.”
Niblett basically described the exact kind of back that Georgia’s Josh Crawford and Kirby Smart are looking for in every recruiting cycle. Then he added something that staff in Athens haveNow, he’s learning to be slow-to-fast, letting it read out, wipe guys off, and hit it, and he’s just now getting a lot better at it.” to love even more.
“He’s humble,” Niblett said. “He’s just so stinking humble and he’s so genuine. He makes me laugh, man. I don’t care. He wants to be coached.”
How does Newkirk feel about the Dawgs? Well, he cited three very important factors in his college decision:
- Newkirk named his top five schools back in August before his junior year. He says he’s added Miami to that roll call to make that a final six for him right now.
- He said he grew up rooting for the Dawgs growing up in McDonough. “Little Nigel was with Georgia and pulled for Georgia,” he said.
- The biggest eye-opener was when he said he already knows his decision. That’s why he could rattle off those five top schools back in August.
He appreciated the chance to help his new team earn a win against Milton that will change the way Gainesville is now viewed across the state. “Big Red” was right in it with Carrollton earlier this year, but couldn’t seal the deal.
The Red Elephants did so against a strong Milton team that will only improve as it gets healthy over the next month.
“This was like a dream come true, man,” Newkirk said. “First year here. I just love these boys. I love my O-line, especially. This is a very special group right here and we’ve got what it takes to go all the way.”
“I came here for competition like this and to see how good I am. This is what I came here for.”
Check out his junior highlights so far:
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Nigel Newkirk: How does he feel about the Dawgs?
Why did he feel led to name a top five at a time when most of his peers were rattling off Top 10s and Top 15s?
“I mean, I just feel like I know where I want to go,” Newkirk told DawgNation. “So I just went ahead and put [the top 5] out there early.”
He said his ultimate decision is already in his back pocket.
“I know where I want to go, but that is going to be on God’s timing,” he said.
Newkirk said to look for him to share that decision “around July” of next year.
“I’m definitely going to be committed going into next season,” he said. “For sure.”
What has he been looking for?
“How they rotate their backs,” he said. “The environment up there. Most likely, the crowd, too. I like a big crowd, too.”
The junior back took an unofficial visit to see UGA for the Alabama game. How does he feel about the Dawgs?
“I love Georgia,” Newkirk said. “They show me a lot of love and I’m going to have to go back up there.”
Newkirk wasn’t certain when. He said he’s “got a lot of arrangements” to make, but does look to get back to Athens this season if he can.
“I’m definitely going to go back up there,” he said.
Crawford and the Dawgs offered back over the summer. They’ve already told him what they love about his game.
“Quick and quick,” Newkirk said. “Then hands out of the backfield.”
Newkirk quickly rattled off why he’s interested in each of those six schools:
- Alabama: “Alabama has got a lot of special backs that have come through there.”
- FSU: “I love coach [Mike] Norvell. I love coach “Yac” [running backs coach David Johnson.]
- Georgia: “This is home.”
- Miami: “The state of Florida is nice. The coaches show me a lot of love.”
- Michigan: “That’s a North school. I had to put a North school up in there. I love where it is cold.”
- USC: “I like that West Coast feeling.”
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)
