This Sentell’s Intel rep on Georgia football recruiting has the latest with 4-star RB commit Jae Lamar at Colquitt County. He’s the nation’s No. 12 RB and the No. 125 overall prospect for 2026 on the 247Sports Composite. The Rivals Industry Ranking has him as the No. 13 RB and No. 141 overall.

When Jae Lamar committed to Georgia in June, he had a message for DawgNation.

“They’d better get ready to see me in that zone, baby,” he said on his commitment day.

That was the familiar, and that familiar returned to his football world last night.

The 4-star Georgia football RB commitment scored two touchdowns in the first half of a key 45-28 region win Friday night against Camden County. Lamar was dressed out for the first time since the Lowndes game back on Sept. 26.

That was his last game before an incident regarding Lamar occurred the week of the Valdosta game. He did not play that Friday night or dress out. Lamar had to attend that game in the stands in street clothes.

When the following Monday rolled around, Colquitt County coach Sean Calhoun told DawgNation that Lamar was no longer with the team.

While Lamar had returned to practicing with the team shortly after that incident, the Camden County game marked his first time dressing out. The nation’s No. 12 RB did not start, but got in on the first series.

It wasn’t long before he was not only back, but back in the end zone. Lamar had seven carries for 147 yards and two touchdowns against Camden County.

“He looked like he was his old self tonight,” Colquitt County coach Sean Calhoun said. “Had two really good touchdown runs. In one, goodness gracious, he looked so fast.”

Georgia running backs coach Josh Crawford was at the game last night to check on Lamar. It was an inside zone play, where he hit it and was gone in a flash. There was no catching him once he found daylight.

That’s why Georgia wants him. During offseason training, he posted back-to-back 4.46s in the 40. The Packers do electronic laser timing. Lamar has also been clocked at 21.99 on the GPS.

“It was good having No. 1 back in the fold,” Calhoun said on Friday night. “It was a limited role, but it was good. It felt like last year. It was good.”

What did it feel like for Lamar to be back?

“Great,” Lamar shared in a message with DawgNation. “Love this team.”

That was a well-timed message. The captains on the Colquitt County team enabled his return to the Packers. They mapped out a way for Lamar to get past a practice incident that could generally be seen as a violation of team rules, with at least one instance of being disrespectful towards his team, and he was allowed to return.

The Colquitt County captains did that on their own. They brought a plan to Calhoun. They set up a framework of what that would look like. Lamar has adhered to that. He’s not likely to start the rest of the year. He’ll be used more in the vein of a lethal scorer coming off the bench as a vital sixth man on the basketball court.

“There’s the guy that is just not good as starting, but he’s a heck of a sixth man and comes in and scores a lot,” Calhoun said. “Jae just may be that guy. That’s what he was last year. We’re trying to figure this thing out, too.”

Calhoun laid out what comes next for Lamar.

“Every week is its own season with him,” he said. “I’m hoping he will be good. We can dress him for Richmond Hill. That’s the situation we are in, but I was proud of him and I was proud of all of them. Obviously, it was special for him to be back in the fold as a senior and to be with his senior teammates and come away with a big win.”

He felt the first step for Lamar was understanding what he did. He didn’t point fingers and accepted responsibility.

“He knew he had to earn his way back, and some players got involved with kind of some guidelines,” Calhoun said. “Things that they want that need to happen for him for him to move on. We’ve all had to hit a reset at some point about something, and this was Jay’s, and since he’s been back, he’s been good. He’s been what you want. He’s been a good student and a good teammate, and obviously, he did some good things tonight. That’s what we want.”

His teammates set simple benchmarks. He couldn’t be late. He can’t act out or talk back to his coaches and teammates.

This positive step is just the latest example of a career that’s still showing much-needed maturity and growth. Lamar played in one game of ninth-grade football his first two years of high school because he was often in trouble. Nothing serious. But it was a pattern of behavior that rendered him ineligible to play and led to his placement in the alternative school at Colquitt County High.

Lamar realized before his junior year that he was wasting a bright football future. He left that conduct behind and earned a spot on the Packers for his junior year. When he got in the lineup as a reserve back, he was sensational.

The 4-star Georgia football commit scored eight touchdowns in his first six games. He finished with 112 carries for 885 yards and 11 touchdowns while averaging 7.9 yards per carry. He also scored two touchdowns on receptions.

Lamar displayed a skill set during his junior season that earned him an offer from almost every major program in the country.

“The kid was going down the wrong path, straightened it out, then got a big head and had to take a big three-week suspension, and hopefully it was a reset,” Calhoun said after the Camden County game. “That’s it.”

The 5-foot-11, 205-pounder started his senior year out strong with 568 yards and 10 TDs in his first six games, including a five-TD night against Lee County.

When that incident occurred, his status with his high school team clouded his future at UGA. The senior tailback is a very talented player, but he’s currently the only RB commit in the 2026 class for the Bulldogs.

If the senior RB had been unable to finish out his senior year in good standing with his high school team, that would have been a concern to file away for his time in Athens. Finishing a year out with one’s high school team is almost a mandatory feat for any big-time prospect.

This is by no means a UGA rule, but the official scholarship offers the program has sent to recruits in the past have indicated that the offer was contingent on each prospect finishing their senior year in good standing with their team. The fact that Lamar has earned his way back onto the field for his Packers shows he’s reached that status with his high school team.

Lamar displayed a skill set during his junior season that earned him an offer from almost every major program in the country. That was before he settled on his dream school in Georgia. When Lamar made his college commitment, he wept openly after his extended family embraced him at the end of his ceremony.

It was easily one of, if not the most emotional, commitment ceremonies that DawgNation has ever attended in person.

There are approximately 35 more school days left for Lamar before he graduates early and heads to Athens. If Lamar continues his current course he’s on now, he’ll set himself up to take advantage of an opportunity to be developed on and off the field at UGA.

“That can change his life,” Calhoun said.

That’s what his team and community want to see happen for Lamar.

“We’re trying to set him up for Georgia,” Calhoun said. “If he can learn from these times and use this stuff as a learning tool and to continue improving as a person first and a football player second, he’ll make it at Georgia. That’s always my number one. As a coach with kids who are going to go on and play, and just any kid in general, but when we’re talking about these kids like Jay with so much talent and so much potential. Because that word ‘potential’ is very dangerous. We want him to make it. We want him to make it at Georgia.”

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SENTELL’S INTEL

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