Eddrick Houston: Priority 5-star target breaks down how he feels about the ‘Dawgs after latest visit
DawgNation Staff
Want to attack every day with the latest Georgia football recruiting info? That’s the Intel. This rep has the latest with 5-star EDGE Eddrick Houston. He ranks as the nation’s No. 1 DL and the No. 8 overall prospect for 2024 on the 247Sports Composite ratings.
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The University of Georgia has a lot of elite football players. Especially on the defensive side of the ball.
They do not have a surplus of players quite like 5-star Eddrick Houston at Buford. There are a lot of spots where Houston could play winning football for Georgia. He could be an “EDGE” prospect or a straight-up defensive end.
That’s where he has been rated and ranked in the past, but the ideal spot might be on the line as a “5″ tech. The Bulldogs do not have a chorus line of 5-stars and All-Americans tailor-made to play that position.
Houston is currently rated as the nation’s No. 1 DL prospect for 2024 on the 247Sports Composite scale. He rates as the No. 5 EDGE and the No. 24 overall recruit for 2024 for On3. Rivals pegs him as the nation’s No. 1 strong-side DE and the No. 12 overall prospect.
Houston needs no such encouragement to summon up his best effort on a practice field. Besides being an absolute game-wrecker on the field, he has also played three sports.
That’s football, wrestling and track. He’s not wrestling this year due to a shoulder issue but will run track this spring.
There is also the way he looks to help out young players. He’s admitted in the past he’s a sucker for anybody that comes up to him wanting to learn how to get better. Or to get their own offers.
It is like he is repaying the meter for all the blessings, offers and physical ability he’s been blessed with.
In short, the entire package here for Houston feels a lot like what Georgia has stocked its championship defenses with in the past. When a reporter has been around the Jordan Davis types, the Lewis Cines, the Nakobe Deans, the Travon Walkers, the Quay Walkers and the Nolan Smiths over the years, those young men give off a certain impression and vibe in their high school years.
Houston leaves the same impression. It is not so much the metrics and the football tools he has that make him such a special talent.
It is what he does with those tools.
“Do you know that saying where hard work beats talent when the talent doesn’t work hard?” Buford coach Bryant Appling said this year. “I’ve got a different one with Eddrick. He’s the hardest-working kid but then has all the talent in the world. How do you beat that?”
The best player on the defense. That also brings the best intangibles and cultural fit. Players like Houston are not just a fit, but an accelerator for the right culture creation. There aren’t many guys out there that check both of those boxes the way Houston does.
The ‘Dawgs just seem to find more than their share of them.
Kirby Smart saw him play live this year against Mill Creek. When he saw Houston on a visit shortly after, he told him what he thought of his game.
“He said I played well and he likes how I handle myself on the field,” Houston said. “I’m not really engaging with other players that are making comments that are unnecessary and things like that. He liked to see the leader that I try to be to help my teammates and push them beyond their limits.”
The fact Houston grew up in Atlanta surrounded by Georgia fans in his family only adds to the weight of this recruitment.
Georgia’s program has reached the point where there is no such thing as a “must-have” or a “gotta get” for the program. That doesn’t prevent an absolute snug-tight fit when it comes to Houston.
How does he feel about the ‘Dawgs? That’s worth an update after his latest visit to UGA for the national title celebration on Saturday in Athens.
Eddrick Houston on his most recent UGA visit
How does he feel now about his recruiting relationship with the Dawgs?
“Georgia is amazing,” Houston said. “Their contact is like no other. Everyday. Making sure I am alright and things like that. “They are pretty high up in my thoughts. Just because of the type of coach that Kirby is and the type of coaches he has with him.”
What does he think about what Georgia has been able to accomplish on the field the past two seasons?
“It is crazy,” Houston said. “Especially with that Ohio State game the other day. I watched that game.”
Those two programs have been way up in Houston’s thoughts for a long time now.
“Those are both great programs,” Houston said. “Coach [Ryan] Day and Kirby Smart are both great coaches.”
Houston had a few thoughts about his most recent UGA visit.
“It was fun talking with the coaches and seeing a bunch of players I’ve played with in youth football,” he said. “Also, it was great to see some and meet the players on Georgia that I see make plays on top of plays on TV.”
The coolest part?
“When we went in the weight room with coach [Scott] Sinclair and how fired up he was,” he said.
The DawgNation fan base made another strong impression.
“It was cool to see all of Georgia’s fans wait in the cold to watch the parade,” he said.
Did he learn anything new?
“Georgia has a great team and staff,” he said. “And it’s always great to be here but not really. I still try to do my own personal research.”
DawgNation also had an extended conversation with Houston in Texas at the All-American Bowl. He was a guest at the event. The All-American Bowl hosted several of the nation’s top 2024 prospects, including Houston.
This young man knows he’s not a finished product on the field.
“I’m just okay where I am at right now,” Houston said. “There is always room for improvement and I see a lot of room for improvement. Yeah, I had a good year last year. Did some things well. But there was always stuff in every game I could do better. There’s always room to work and that’s what I have been motivated by this offseason.”
He’s using the upset loss to Walton in the second round as fuel. It was the earliest playoff exit for the Wolves since 1999. That’s a shocker for a program that has reached the state semifinals in 19 of the past 23 seasons, including 13 state championships.
The Raiders shocked them at home by a 42-35 margin. They kicked onside. Went for it on fourth downs. The Wolves had 18 penalties that cost them 159 yards. Then they saw Walton score 21 points in the fourth quarter.
“I’ve been thinking about that ever since that game ended,” Houston said. “We were on fire. Playing well. Playing together and it was crazy how we went out like that.”
Check out Houston’s junior highlight reel below.
The really cool stuff about Eddrick Houston
Houston used to wrestle, but that labrum injury will keep him out of that sport this winter. He was more than capable on the mat last year. He lost in the Class 6A semifinals to the eventual state champ in 4-star 2023 Lousiville IOL signee Madden Sanker.
He will run track this spring. The 265-pound prospect will compete, not just train, in the 400 meters and the 4X400 relay in Class 7A. That’s basically unheard of for a 5-star All-American DL prospect in any era, much less the modern era.
“It helps my endurance on the field and with my explosiveness coming out of the blocks and out of my stance,” he said.
Don’t look for him to release a top 20 or a top 15. He’s looking to narrow his offer list to a top 5 and then commit. He said he did not see himself making a commitment prior to his senior year. He wants to take his visits during his senior season, he said.
What is the most important thing he is looking for?
“The community first,” he said. “How the community treats the players. Academics will come first there as well and then the athletics part of it.
He wants to study sports medicine when he is in college.
What sticks out the most to him right now about Georgia?
“Just their ability to win and that they love each other,” Houston said. “They love each other.”
When he’s at Georgia, he notices that the team is not just made up of guys putting in their three years, stacking up their game film and prepping for the NFL.
“It is not like that,” Houston said. “If you go there, then you will see it.”
SENTELL’S INTEL
(check on the recent reads on DawgNation.com)
- BREAKING: Elite class of 2025 OT Micah Debose commits to the G
- BREAKING: Elite class of 2025 in-state DL Justus “Jay” Terry commits to the G
- What we’re hearing on the national championship celebration recruiting weekend in Athens
- Remembering Devin Willock: Remember the life of a gone-far-too-soon championship Bulldog
- PHOTOS: Georgia football welcomes 5-stars and elite recruits to the national title celebration
- Ellis Robinson IV: Why the ‘Dawgs remain on top for the nation’s No. 1 cornerback prospect
- Colin Simmons: The nation’s No. 1 EDGE for 2024 previews his first UGA visit this weekend
- WATCH: Bill Goldberg steps in to congratulate Peyton Woodyard on committing to the G
- All-time great DGD Nolan Smith shares why the second championship means more for him
- The recruiting tale of the tape for the national championship skews heavily for Georgia
- Jordan “Big Baby” Hall: The story behind his viral “Money Drop” moment at the All-American Bowl
- Cover 4 on Georgia football: How many more national championship weeks like this one are coming?
- BREAKING: Nation’s No. 2 junior safety Peyton Woodyard had made his college decision
- The never-before-seen way (in Athens) the ‘Dawgs can sign ANOTHER All-American TE this year
- Peyton Woodyard: Decision day is here for the nation’s No. 2 junior safety (Preview)
- How in the world did the ‘Dawgs get in such a good position with 5-star TE Duce Robinson?
- Georgia recruiting: Even at less than half-strength, the ‘Dawgs stand tall at the All-American Bowl
- Jordan “Big Baby” Hall: The 2023 DL signee is tearing it up at the All-American Bowl this week
- Duce Robinson: What’s next for the 5-star target after the Under Armour All-American Game?
- Georgia football recruiting: What we learned about the six future ‘Dawgs at the Under Armour All-American Week
- BREAKING: Priority DL target Jordan “Big Baby” Hall is now a Bulldog
- BREAKING: 5-star EDGE Damon Wilson is a ‘Dawg
- AJ Harris: What DawgNation needs to know about its new 5-star signee
- Signing Day preview: The 12 Days of Christmas for the Georgia football recruiting class
- Roderick Robinson II: The stuff you don’t know about the next great RB at UGA is pretty special
BREAKING: Class of 2025 OT Micah Debose commits to Georgia football