This Sentell’s Intel rep on Georgia football recruiting takes a look at how Georgia’s 2027 recruiting class currently stacks up against the rest of the SEC and previous UGA classes.
It is May 26.
When we look at the national recruiting rankings this morning, we have to do a double-take.
Georgia’s 2027 recruiting class is ranked No. 33 nationally on the 247Sports overall team rankings. The Rivals Industry Ranking team leaderboard uses a different algorithm that prioritizes quality over quantity, but that metric has the Dawgs ranked No. 16 nationally.
That’s ... different.
Kirby Smart has put together 11 recruiting classes in Athens. The average national finish has been 2.8 nationally since he took over the program.
So how “un-Georgia” is it to see a Kirby Smart class ranked 11th in the SEC on Memorial Day?
The table below shows where each UGA recruiting class under Smart ranked on May 26 this decade on the 247Sports Team Composite rankings.
| Class | Commits on 5/26 | Rank | 5-stars | Top 150 commits | Final rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2027 | 7 | 33rd | 2 | 3 | ?? |
| 2026 | 9 | 16th | 1 | 4 | 6 |
| 2025 | 9 | 12th | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 2024 | 15 | 1st | 3 | 9 | 1 |
| 2023 | 8 | 6th | 0 | 5 | 2 |
| 2022 | 11 | 1st | 3 | 8 | 3 |
| 2021 | 7 | 16th | 1 | 5 | 4 |
| 2020 | 10 | 5th | 2 | 5 | 1 |
Why is Georgia’s class down compared to previous years? That answer is multifold:
- Georgia only has seven commits. The program just saw two of its highest-rated pledges, who were both ranked among the nation’s top 100 recruits, decommit over the last few weeks. That means those seven verbals are the fewest for the program heading into June since 2021. That was the COVID-19 year.
- That said, the nation’s top-rated programs have all pre-ordered a bunch of early commitments. The average number of commits among the nation’s top five classes stands at 17.6 commits. The Top 10 highest-rated classes have an average of 16.7 commits.
- Few programs can outlay the NIL resources for an elite high school class in back-to-back cycles anymore. USC, which had the nation’s top class a year ago, is No. 8 right now with 13 commits. The Trojans signed 35 high school prospects a year ago, but will sign around 20 this cycle. There are just five programs that had a Top 10 class a year ago that are still in the Top 10 for 2027. Big spend schools like Ohio State, Miami, USC and Texas A&M have carried it over, along with Notre Dame.
- That means several other programs have already hit the spend button this cycle on high school talent. Oklahoma (21 commits) is at No. 2 nationally after finishing No. 16 in 2026. Penn State (20 commits) has the nation’s fifth-best class after finishing 67th last cycle. Florida (16 commits) is sixth after finishing No. 19 in 2026. UCLA is at No. 7 after finishing No. 63 nationally last year.
- To best illustrate the matter, here’s the nation’s Top 10 classes: 1) Texas A&M; 2) Oklahoma; 3) Notre Dame; 4) Miami; 5) Penn State; 6) Florida; 7) UCLA; 8) USC; 9) Ohio State; 10) Kentucky. While seeing Georgia at No. 33 right now is rather odd, the fact that Florida, UCLA, and Kentucky all have Top 10 classes is even more obtuse.
- UGA also feels good about its 2026 class and the core of its 2025 signees. That means there’s no need to spend heavily on players the program feels will be waiting in the wings for a couple of seasons to develop behind older talent. That’s not a wise allocation of NIL and revenue-share resources. Funds need to go largely toward players who will be on the field.
- Reigning national champion Indiana has just seven commits. The same as UGA. Those are all 3-star recruits. The class ranks No. 42 nationally. It doesn’t look like the Hoosiers are going to go back to building from the high school ranks anytime soon.
- This isn’t a recruiting slump for the Dawgs. Except in one area. There’s an inordinately low number of defensive commitments for the 2027 class. There’s just South Florida 3-star LB Temorris Campbell Jr. right now on the defensive side. The Bulldogs, with a championship defensive pedigree, have had the following number of defensive commits at this time of year during this decade:
- 2026: 4
- 2025: 3
- 2024: 5
- 2023: 3
- 2022: 8
- 2021: 5
- 2020: 5
Of course, it seems elementary to argue that none of what mattered five years ago or even two years ago factors into what’s happening now. The game has changed considerably. Every program has the war chest to incentivize a blue-chip to choose their school now. The depth will be more evenly distributed in a true power conference like the Big Ten or the SEC.
There are many who feel recruiting has changed so much that they no longer recognize it or can’t even follow it. At least not until December.
For all those folks, there’s a need to also track what really matters then. How are the Dawgs doing compared to the rest of the SEC? Those are the teams that will popularize those nine-game schedules in the future.
The way that players are being drawn to campus has changed. Clearly. What hasn’t is that if a program is playing the money game to win, it better be winning the talent arms race compared to the rest of the SEC.
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SEC roundup: How does Georgia stack up to the rest of the league?
For starters, we have to throw out the immediate outlier in the conference. That’s LSU.
The Tigers signed only 19 high school recruits a year ago, but seven of those were top-50 overall recruits. They also brought in 40 players from the transfer portal.
They have just five high school commits, but there are a pair of 5-stars and another top 100 overall prospect. That’s why the Tigers have the nation’s No. 44 high school class right now. Lane Kiffin will now cherry-pick and pay for elite talent, but will see the bulk of his roster forged in the portal with proven players every cycle.
Alabama, with just five commits, is at No. 51 nationally. That’s another head-scratcher. In almost any other cycle, having a recruiting class that’s clearly better than Alabama and LSU would be an advantageous position.
Not anymore. Those two penthouse recruiting programs are mired in the league cellar.
Here’s what the 247Sports team rankings snapshot looks like for the conference right now.
| National rank | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1) Texas A&M | No. 1 | Aggies have five 5-star commits and seven Top 60 recruits |
| 2) Oklahoma | No. 2 | 5-star count: 3. Seeks its first Top 10 nationally since 2023 |
| 3) Florida | No. 6 | 15 commits. Three of the four top-rated commits are OLs |
| 4) Kentucky | No. 10 | 13 of the 15 commits are outside the Top 300 |
| 5) Texas | No. 18 | Just two elite national recruits among 11 commits |
| 6) Ole Miss | No. 23 | There are five 3-star pledges in this 11-man class |
| 7) Auburn | No. 26 | There are three top 200 commits. The rest are three stars |
| 8) SC | No. 30 | Gamecocks hold a commitment from one top 100 prospect |
| 9) Missouri | No. 31 | The Tigers have just one 4-star commit |
| 10) Tenn. | No. 32 | Vols spent big the last two cycles, but are now 3-star heavy |
| 11) UGA | No. 33 | UGA has the nation’s No. 1 RB and No. 2 TE committed |
| 12) Arkansas | No. 34 | There are five in-state prospects with 3-star rankings |
| 13) Miss. St. | No. 38 | Not a single top 300 verbal among its seven commits |
| 14) LSU | No. 44 | Lane has a pair of 5-stars, but just five total commits |
| 15) Alabama | No. 51 | We see a 5-star QB, five verbals and a void of OL targets |
| 16) Vandy | No. 52 | New cycle, but same ‘ol Vandy with just five commits |
The reality check here is that UGA will add approximately 13 new commits to this class over the next two months. This is likely going to be the new normal in Athens.
If Georgia had public pledges from its seven most likely commitments right now, its national ranking would be No. 5. The class would then have 14 commitments. The Dawgs would be just ahead of Florida. Look for the Dawgs to put together another impressive string of daily commitments this summer.
So the sky is not falling. The blue skies just won’t arrive until late July for the 2027 class.
